Parliaments & Representatives
This article by Fjola Zlatku was first published in Albanian by Portalb.mk and translated into English by Meta.mk. An edited version is republished here under a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and Metamorphosis Foundation.
Despite visible progress in the fight for women’s rights, increased representation of women in politics and greater attention to issues affecting women, the tendency to express contempt and insult women persists. More specifically, these attacks target women who are increasingly exposed to hate speech because of their profession, especially on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). In most cases, this kind of speech is used as a tool to undermine their dignity and social standing, according to Portalb.mk.
A study by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) revealed that in the first half of 2024, 3,380 comments with sexist language targeting women in politics were identified. These tend to peak during pre-election periods. The problem is further exacerbated by the inadequate regulation of social platforms, which often fail to effectively address ongoing violations against women in the public sector, as well as by the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators from the relevant authorities. This lack of accountability negatively affects both women who are targeted and broader efforts to promote respectful public discourse.
Read here the full article published by Global Voices on 20 December 2024.
Image by Global Voices
The old saying “all politics is local” has become increasingly outdated in a world of growing political polarization. In recent years, federal lawmakers have been motivated to focus more on national politics, WashU political scientist Jaclyn Kaslovsky said.
“Politics has become more competitive, and representatives from both parties feel incentives to coalesce around national brands,” said Kaslovsky, an assistant professor of political science in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Still, some politicians continue to keep their home districts in mind. In a paper recently published in the American Journal of Political Science, Kaslovsky and co-author Pamela Ban, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, found that women in the U.S. House of Representatives were especially likely to discuss their districts when speaking on the congressional floor. “Women are bringing their constituents into the conversation,” Kaslovsky said.
Read here the full article published by the Washington University in St. Louis on 23 January 2025.
Image by Washington University in St. Louis
Newly appointed Minister of State Niamh Smyth has conceded the Government has a “big body of work” ahead of it in arresting a gender divide in politics after less than a quarter of ministerial posts were assigned to women.
The Cavan-Monaghan TD was one of six women to be appointed to minister of state roles by Taoiseach Micheál Martin yesterday with the remaining 17 positions going to their male counterparts.
That followed three out of 15 full cabinet positions which went to women less than a week earlier, figures which meant just 24pc of the 38 posts which were up for grabs went to females.
Ms Smyth had been widely touted for promotion following her eye-catching performances as chair of the Oireachtas Media Committee during various RTÉ payments controversies last year.
Read here the full article published by the Irish Independent on 31 January 2025.
Image by Irish Independent
Among the most pressing issues we face today is the persistent harassment of women in politics and government — a problem that undermines both the integrity of public service and the diversity of leadership our communities desperately need.
Across the nation, women in the political sphere face heightened scrutiny, verbal attacks, and even threats of violence simply for doing their jobs. Indiana is no exception. From social media vitriol aimed at female candidates to inappropriate behavior within government offices, harassment in its many forms continues to discourage talented women from entering and remaining in public service. If we want Indiana to thrive, we cannot afford to allow this environment to persist.
The statistics are alarming. Studies show that women in politics are disproportionately targeted by online abuse compared to their male counterparts. Harassment often focuses on gender, appearance, or personal life, rather than policy or qualifications, creating an additional mental and emotional burden for female leaders. For many, these attacks don’t stop at words. A 2022 survey by the Center for American Women and Politics found that 25% of women in public office reported threats or acts of violence.
Read here the full article published by the Indiana Capital Chronicle on 31 January 2025.
Image by Indiana Capital Chronicle
British MP Jess Phillips describing the online attacks she has received from Elon Musk in recent days as “very, very, very tiring” will have struck a chord with many women. Powerful men trying to silence women happens so often that it rarely makes news.
But Musk’s comments calling Phillips, who currently serves as safeguarding minister, a “rape genocide apologist” and saying she should be in prison has brought the online abuse of women politicians, and the danger that it presents, back into sharp focus.
Never before has an overseas tech mogul (who happens to be the world’s richest man) targeted government ministers and MPs for personal abuse like this. The accusations have encouraged others to attack Phillips, posing a very real threat to her safety. Phillips has reportedly been assigned close protection officers and been told not to go out in public alone.
Read here the full article published by The Conversation on 10 January 2025.
Image by The Conversation
Some reports suggest that female politicians face such behaviour more often than their male counterparts and it has even been reported that female politicians have begun to view toxic messages and harassment as just a part of the job.
This kind of hostility can deter women from remaining in politics and discourage those who haven't run for office from considering it. Politicians, including former UK Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan and former MPs Heidi Allen and Dehenna Davison have cited abuse and harassment as factors in their decisions to step down.
Such toxic behavior could ultimately hinder women's participation in public debate and democratic engagement overall.
In a new comparative study co-authored by Professor Anne Rasmussen, of King’s College London, and Dr Gregory Eady, from the University of Copenhagen, and published in the the American Political Science Review, more light is shed on the issue of toxicity in politics.
The researchers found that abuse directed at women in politics is viewed as more severe than those aimed at men, even if the nature and frequency of abuse received is similar. The study also explains why this occurs, showing that attacks on women are more likely to be perceived as motivated by misogyny and a desire to exclude women from public office, compared to abuse directed at men. In contrast, attacks on women are less likely than those on men to be seen as driven by other factors, such as policy disagreements.
Read here the full article published by King's College London on 22 January 2025.
Image by King's College London
Gender quotas have emerged globally as a key solution for improving women's political representation. Yet in Britain—where they take the form of all-women shortlists (AWS)—they remain contentious, both within and outside political parties.
In this article, Mary K. Nugent and Mona Lena Krook identify and evaluate nine common criticisms of AWS in the British context, which—similar to predictions made in other cases—focus on dynamics of candidate recruitment and selection, party and voter support and the effectiveness of ‘quota women’ as politicians. The authors do not address purely principled objections (i.e., ‘quotas are unfair’), but rather focus on claims—including some principled arguments—referencing assumed realities that can be assessed using empirical data (i.e., ‘quotas are unfair because they undermine merit’). The nine claims emerged as common themes across extensive interviews and comprehensive searches of news coverage around AWS. The data used to evaluate these claims come from various sources, including qualitative interviews conducted in 2012 and 2013 with men and women from the three main parties; as yet unpublished data on candidate selection collected by the Labour Party; original quantitative datasets constructed from publicly-available sources; and existing quantitative studies by other scholars. The authors also include evidence from international studies, whenever possible, to situate these findings in relation to the conclusions reached in other contexts.
The authors find, in short, that criticisms against these measures do not hold when subjected to rigorous empirical analysis. AWS, much like gender quotas elsewhere, do not facilitate the entry of unqualified women, jeopardise a party's electoral fortunes or lead to the election of sub-par MPs. Rather, they reduce barriers for well-prepared women to stand as candidates, have neutral or positive effects on party vote shares and produce diligent and active MPs.
Click here to access the article.
This Issues Brief aims to clearly delineate the issues at stake by analysing the results of a first study specifically devoted to the subject of sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliament. It seeks to clarify what this phenomenon consists of, where, why and in what forms it occurs, who are the perpetrators and what is its prevalence.
Click here to access the brief.
Gender equality is fundamental to responsive and accountable democratic societies. Women’s representation in elected institutions in equal proportion to men is key to the credibility and legitimacy of parliaments, national assemblies and local governments. Yet, globally, just over a fifth of members of parliament are women.
To combat discriminatory legislation and policies and improve gender equality outcomes in policymaking, elected representatives in countries in the region have established structures and strategic plans to improve women’s political participation and gender equality. UNDP has facilitated the creation of such structures in many countries, recognizing the important role they play in empowering women as parliamentary representatives, supporting the emergence of gender-sensitive parliaments, and adopting gender-sensitive policy and legislative frameworks. The UNDP Gender Equality Strategy 2014-2017 highlights the critical importance of gender equality and women’s participation in decision-making to sustainable development, and calls for the empowerment of women as voters, political actors and decision-makers.
This paper examines UNDP’s parliamentary assistance programming and support to existing gender equality initiatives in political participation, in particular, the role and impact of parliamentary structures for gender equality in the ECIS region. It illuminates existing and planned UNDP parliamentary assistance initiatives, highlights good practice and identifies entry points for replication or scaling up. Its findings are intended to assist members of parliament and parliamentary institutions as well as civil society organizations and international organizations in advancing gender equality in parliamentary practices. Click here for more information.
Extensive research shows that when women run for office, they perform just as well as men. Yet women remain severely under-represented in our political institutions. In this report, we argue that the fundamental reason for women’s under-representation is that they do not run for office. There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition; men tend to have it, and women don’t.
The results put forward in this report are based on the Citizen Political Ambition Panel Study, a research project the authors Richard L. Fox and Jennifer L. Lawless have been conducting over the course of the last seven years. In 2001, they surveyed more than 3,700 lawyers, business leaders and executives, educators, and political activists about whether they ever considered running for office. They re-surveyed more than 2,000 of these individuals in 2008. Because they surveyed well-matched pools of men and women who work in professions that most typically precede a political candidacy, they could provide the first comprehensive investigation of the process by which women and men decide to enter the electoral arena. They could also determine the extent to which political ambition has changed over time.
The authors offer clear and compelling evidence that women, even in the highest tiers of professional accomplishment, are substantially less likely than men to demonstrate ambition to seek elected office. These results hold regardless of age, partisan affiliation, income and profession.
The authors link the persistent gender gap in political ambition to several factors. Women are less likely than men to be willing to endure the rigors of a political campaign. They are less likely than men to be recruited to run for office. They are less likely than men to have the freedom to reconcile work and family obligations with a political career. They are less likely than men to think they are “qualified” to run for office. And they are less likely than men to perceive a fair political environment.
In the end, this report documents how far from gender parity we remain, as well as the barriers and obstacles we must still overcome in order to achieve it. But the results also offer guidance to organizations and individuals seeking to increase the number of women in elected positions. Recruiting women candidates, disseminating information about the electoral environment and working with women to quell their anxiety about campaigning can help narrow the gender gap in political ambition and increase women’s numeric representation.
Access the report here.
Gender mainstreaming has been embraced internationally as a strategy towards realizing gender equality. Gender mainstreaming has a double dimension: it requires both integrating a gender perspective to the content of the different policies, and addressing the issue of representation of women and men in the given policy area. Both dimensions – gender representation and gender responsive content - need to be taken into consideration in all phases of the policymaking process.
Equality between women and men is recognized by the EU as a fundamental right, a common value of the EU, and a necessary condition for the achievement of the EU objectives of growth, employment and social cohesion. Since 1996, the Commission committed itself to a “dual approach‟ towards realizing gender equality. This approach involves mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies, while also implementing specific measures to eliminate, prevent or remedy gender inequalities. Both approaches go hand in hand, and one cannot replace the other. Within the European Parliament, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM Committee) is the main body in charge of promoting gender equality and gender mainstreaming in all the EP‟s policy and legislative processes. Click here to access the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality on gender mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament for 2015.
The UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality monitors and promotes the participation of women at local level across the world. The Committee firmly believes that the participation of women in local decision-making is the foundation of global development. The Standing Committee works with local elected women and grassroots organizations to build their capacities and increase women’s representation.
Local and regional governments have a long track record of working internationally for gender equality, with a particular focus on increasing the representation of local elected women and the promoting the participation of all women in local decision-making:
[[{"fid":"11048","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","link_text":null,"field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"style":"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;","class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"1"}}]]
Click here to read the UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality's report on the role of local governments in advancing and promoting gender equality for sustainability.