Parliaments & Representatives
The event featured insightful discussions on gender equality and the importance of diverse representation in parliaments.
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Opening Remarks: Ulrike Bahr and Petra Grimm-Benne emphasized the global landscape of gender and democracy, highlighting the need for diverse voices in representation and law-making to hold governments accountable.
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The INTER PARES Handbook, "Beyond Numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments," was launched to explore the landscape of gender-sensitive parliaments. It highlights real stories of change, emphasizing that small actions can lead to broader impacts. Key contributors include Leena Rikkila Tamang from International IDEA, Silvia Erzeel, and Petra Ahrens
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Panel 1: Putting Gender on the Agenda: This panel focused on the role of critical actors in driving change and ensuring that gender issues are included in political debates. Speakers included Ulrike Bahr, Keiba Jacob Mottley, and Mihail Onea, who shared inspiring stories of advocating for women's interests and public engagement.
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Panel 2: Revealing Invisible Gender Inequalities: Panelists discussed how data and gender-sensitive scrutiny can uncover hidden inequalities. Fuziah Salleh, Mariadele Cucinotta, and Phuntshok Chhoden highlighted the necessity of using rules and procedures to advance gender equality.
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Panel 3: Diversity and Inclusion - Towards Impactful Youth Participation: This session explored how parliaments can better incorporate young people's views and ideas. Speakers Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Nicole Tepasse, Elaf AI-Najdafi, and Utaara Mootu discussed creating pathways for meaningful youth participation.
Overall, the event highlighted the vital role of gender-sensitive approaches in fostering inclusive and representative governance, demonstrating that small changes can lead to significant impacts over time.
Read here more about the event on 10 October 2024 by the Inter Pares Parliaments In Partnerships.
The event featured insightful discussions on gender equality and the importance of diverse representation in parliaments.
-
Opening Remarks: Ulrike Bahr and Petra Grimm-Benne emphasized the global landscape of gender and democracy, highlighting the need for diverse voices in representation and law-making to hold governments accountable.
-
The INTER PARES Handbook, "Beyond Numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments," was launched to explore the landscape of gender-sensitive parliaments. It highlights real stories of change, emphasizing that small actions can lead to broader impacts. Key contributors include Leena Rikkila Tamang from International IDEA, Silvia Erzeel, and Petra Ahrens
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Panel 1: Putting Gender on the Agenda: This panel focused on the role of critical actors in driving change and ensuring that gender issues are included in political debates. Speakers included Ulrike Bahr, Keiba Jacob Mottley, and Mihail Onea, who shared inspiring stories of advocating for women's interests and public engagement.
-
Panel 2: Revealing Invisible Gender Inequalities: Panelists discussed how data and gender-sensitive scrutiny can uncover hidden inequalities. Fuziah Salleh, Mariadele Cucinotta, and Phuntshok Chhoden highlighted the necessity of using rules and procedures to advance gender equality.
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Panel 3: Diversity and Inclusion - Towards Impactful Youth Participation: This session explored how parliaments can better incorporate young people's views and ideas. Speakers Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Nicole Tepasse, Elaf AI-Najdafi, and Utaara Mootu discussed creating pathways for meaningful youth participation.
Overall, the event highlighted the vital role of gender-sensitive approaches in fostering inclusive and representative governance, demonstrating that small changes can lead to significant impacts over time.
Read here more about the event on 10 October 2024 by the Inter Pares Parliaments In Partnerships.
The event featured insightful discussions on gender equality and the importance of diverse representation in parliaments.
-
Opening Remarks: Ulrike Bahr and Petra Grimm-Benne emphasized the global landscape of gender and democracy, highlighting the need for diverse voices in representation and law-making to hold governments accountable.
-
The INTER PARES Handbook, "Beyond Numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments," was launched to explore the landscape of gender-sensitive parliaments. It highlights real stories of change, emphasizing that small actions can lead to broader impacts. Key contributors include Leena Rikkila Tamang from International IDEA, Silvia Erzeel, and Petra Ahrens
-
Panel 1: Putting Gender on the Agenda: This panel focused on the role of critical actors in driving change and ensuring that gender issues are included in political debates. Speakers included Ulrike Bahr, Keiba Jacob Mottley, and Mihail Onea, who shared inspiring stories of advocating for women's interests and public engagement.
-
Panel 2: Revealing Invisible Gender Inequalities: Panelists discussed how data and gender-sensitive scrutiny can uncover hidden inequalities. Fuziah Salleh, Mariadele Cucinotta, and Phuntshok Chhoden highlighted the necessity of using rules and procedures to advance gender equality.
-
Panel 3: Diversity and Inclusion - Towards Impactful Youth Participation: This session explored how parliaments can better incorporate young people's views and ideas. Speakers Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Nicole Tepasse, Elaf AI-Najdafi, and Utaara Mootu discussed creating pathways for meaningful youth participation.
Overall, the event highlighted the vital role of gender-sensitive approaches in fostering inclusive and representative governance, demonstrating that small changes can lead to significant impacts over time.
Read here more about the event on 10 October 2024 by the Inter Pares Parliaments In Partnerships.
The event featured insightful discussions on gender equality and the importance of diverse representation in parliaments.
-
Opening Remarks: Ulrike Bahr and Petra Grimm-Benne emphasized the global landscape of gender and democracy, highlighting the need for diverse voices in representation and law-making to hold governments accountable.
-
The INTER PARES Handbook, "Beyond Numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments," was launched to explore the landscape of gender-sensitive parliaments. It highlights real stories of change, emphasizing that small actions can lead to broader impacts. Key contributors include Leena Rikkila Tamang from International IDEA, Silvia Erzeel, and Petra Ahrens
-
Panel 1: Putting Gender on the Agenda: This panel focused on the role of critical actors in driving change and ensuring that gender issues are included in political debates. Speakers included Ulrike Bahr, Keiba Jacob Mottley, and Mihail Onea, who shared inspiring stories of advocating for women's interests and public engagement.
-
Panel 2: Revealing Invisible Gender Inequalities: Panelists discussed how data and gender-sensitive scrutiny can uncover hidden inequalities. Fuziah Salleh, Mariadele Cucinotta, and Phuntshok Chhoden highlighted the necessity of using rules and procedures to advance gender equality.
-
Panel 3: Diversity and Inclusion - Towards Impactful Youth Participation: This session explored how parliaments can better incorporate young people's views and ideas. Speakers Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Nicole Tepasse, Elaf AI-Najdafi, and Utaara Mootu discussed creating pathways for meaningful youth participation.
Overall, the event highlighted the vital role of gender-sensitive approaches in fostering inclusive and representative governance, demonstrating that small changes can lead to significant impacts over time.
Read here more about the event on 10 October 2024 by the Inter Pares Parliaments In Partnerships.
Women are voluntarily leaving politics not because of sexism, double standards or work-life balance, but because they feel under-utilised, according to a new study.
Historian Alexandre Dumas was commissioned to conduct the study titled “Why do women leave politics?” by the women's committee of the Cercle des ex-parlementaires de l'Assemblée Nationale after a wave of departures in 2022.
According to his interviews with 21 former elected women, they had the impression of playing the “office plant”, he explained in parliament, borrowing the famous expression of former CAQ MNA turned Conservative Claire Samson.
At her last press briefing in June 2022, Samson shocked many by declaring that MNAs were treated "like plants" in the Salon bleu and that she had personally toiled harder as a 17-year-old at Da Giovanni.
According to Dumas, Samson — who was outraged at having to ask pre-scripted questions in parliamentary committee — “perfectly illustrates the frustration provoked by the feeling of playing a ceremonial role.”
“Women who leave politics ... feel that their skills are not recognised and that they have no other use than to be present in the House to ensure a quorum, ... in other words, to play the role of 'office plant'”, Dumas wrote.
Read here the full article published by CTV News on 11 October 2024.
Image credits: CTV News
A groundbreaking handbook titled Beyond Numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments was released on 10 October 2024, focusing on the vital role of gender representation in legislative bodies worldwide. Developed by INTER PARES within the EU’s Women and Youth in Democracy (WYDE) initiative, this publication delves into the transformative impact women have had in parliamentary processes globally. It features real-life accounts of how parliaments have embraced gender-sensitive reforms and empowered female legislators to drive change.
The handbook highlights the progress made in gender representation, noting a significant rise in the presence of women in parliaments—from 12 percent in 1995 to nearly 27 percent today. Despite this progress, only a small number of parliaments have reached or surpassed the 30 percent target set by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). These statistics underline that, while strides have been made, the journey toward equal representation is far from complete, with diverse regions exhibiting different levels of progress.
Read here the full handbook published by Inter Pares on 10 October 2024.
Women in politics receive twice as many sexist comments on social media as their male colleagues, writes Het Laatste Nieuws on Tuesday. This also applies to local councillors and politicians with an immigrant background.
Research by the Institute for Gender Equality, ULB and UGent, which analysed 44,000 reactions to politicians' posts on Facebook, Instagram and X, shows that every four out of 10 comments are negative.
Women receive many more negative comments, especially sexist ones. For female politicians, four per cent of all comments are sexist, compared to two per cent for men.
Women with a migration background receive twice as many negative comments as women without a migration background. Groen co-president Nadia Naji told Het Laatste Nieuws: "My colleague Jeremie Vaneeckhout gets comments about what he says. With me it's about my hair".
Read here the full article published by the Belga News Agency on 8 October 2024.
Image by the Belga News Agency
A record number of women are expected to run in the next general election but insults and misogyny make the job of parties more difficult to encourage women to enter politics.
South Dublin county councillor Teresa Costello was sitting at home on a Saturday afternoon last month when she received a phone call from an unknown number. The 47-year-old had just returned from a clinic, where she listens to and attempts to assist locals from her electoral ward of Tallaght Central.
“I answered the phone and it was a man. He asked me: ‘Are you Teresa Costello?’ and said: ‘You look like a porn star, how could you be capable of doing anything for your community?’” the Fianna Fáil representative recalls. “He said: ‘With your dyed blonde hair, your fake face and teeth.’
“He was saying, how could anybody take you seriously with how you look, and told me to let my hair grow out and not have any blonde any more.”
Costello has been a councillor since 2019 and in recent months was announced as a general election candidate for Fianna Fáil in Dublin South West, alongside the party’s sitting TD John Lahart. While she loves her role as a local representative and describes herself as a “strong-willed person”, she asks rhetorically: “Would a man get that call?”
Read here the full article published by The Irish Times on 5 October 2024.
Image by The Irish Times
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday named two women ministers to his Cabinet, down from five in the outgoing administration.
Women are poorly represented in politics and business in Japan, and the world's fourth-largest economy has never had a woman prime minister.
Japan ranked 118 among 146 nations in the 2024 World Economic Forum's gender equity rankings, up from 125th but still the lowest among Group of Seven nations.
The two women in Ishiba's 20-strong Cabinet have been given relatively minor positions, with Junko Mihara responsible for policies on children and Toshiko Abe in charge of education.
The government and businesses have regularly missed a range of self-imposed targets and plans to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
Read here the full article published by The Japan Times on 2 October 2024.
Image by The Japan Times
A historic law, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, mandates the reservation of one-third of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi for women.
In 2023, a historic law was passed to usher more women in governance. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, mandates the reservation of one-third of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi for women. But representation in leadership isn’t the only sign of gender parity in politics — active participation of the women electorate is also paramount.
So, how has India fared in both regards so far? India Today’s Data Intelligence Unit analysed the turnout data from 1962 to 2019 and candidates’ data from 1957 to 2019 and found a mostly positive trend.
TURNOUT GAP NARROWED
In 1962, men's turnout stood at 63.3 per cent, while women's turnout was notably lower at 46.6 per cent, indicating a considerable gap of 16.7 per cent. This gap fluctuated over the subsequent decades but generally narrowed. For instance, in 2014, men's turnout was 67.1 per cent, while women's turnout increased substantially to 65.6 per cent, resulting in a smaller gap of 1.5 per cent.
Read here the full article published by India Today on 13 April 2024.
Image source: India Today
A Qualitative Study on Violence against Women in Politics in Türkiye, prepared in cooperation with UN Women and Terra Development Cooperative, was introduced at an event organized in Ankara. A qualitative study, which provides important findings on the causes, occurrence, and consequences of violence against women in politics, was presented to the representatives from civil society organizations, public institutions, local governments, and political parties.
The Study on Violence against Women in Politics in Türkiye, which was started to be prepared by Prof. Dr. İknur Yüksel Kaptanoğlu, Project Coordinator of Terra Development Cooperative, together with her study team in 2022, was carried out within the scope of the project "Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Leadership in Political and Business Life” implemented by UN Women and financially supported by the Sweden through Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). In her opening speech, Swedish Ambassador to Ankara Malena Mård emphasized the importance of a political environment free from all forms of violence, especially for young people.
Click here to read the full report published by UN Women on 10 January 2024.
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A Glimpse into the Life of a Women in Politics: CEMR Unveils First Data Coming from 31 Countries
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has released the first infographics showcasing critical insights from their latest report, "Women in Politics."
The data offer a visual snapshot of the representation of women in elected roles across various subnational levels. Additionally, a detailed breakdown of their portfolios at the local level is provided. The second slide of the infographics unveils the results of an anonymous CEMR survey involving 2,424 participants from 31 countries. Focused on elected women in local and regional European roles, the survey explores their experiences of violence in the political realm.
Click here to see the infographic published by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions on 14 December 2023.
Image by Council of European Municipalities and Regions
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For a country with a significant female population, Nigeria has been poor in ensuring gender parity in elected and appointed leadership positions. Since 1979, the country has practiced a presidential form of government, with a devolved form of government across three tiers—federal, state and local levels. Yet, despite the number of elective constituencies available, there has been little to no women elected to these positions. Nigeria has never elected a female president, vice-president or a governor in any of its thirty-six states. Women elected to the national legislature have been a scant percentage in any of the ten constituted sessions of either chamber, with none emerging as president of the senate and a roughly five-month stint for the only woman to emerge speaker of the house of representatives (Polgreen, 2007).
Click here to read the full report published by the Centre for Democracy and Development on 27 November 2023.
Image by Centre for Democracy and Development
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Are the preferences of women and men unequally represented in public policies? This simple yet fundamental question has remained largely unexplored in the fast-growing fields of women’s representation and inequality in the opinion-policy link. Our study analyzes gender biases in policy representation using an original dataset covering 43 countries and four decades, with citizens’ preferences regarding more than 4,000 country-year policies linked to information about actual policy change. Our analysis reveals clear and robust evidence that women’s policy preferences are underrepresented compared to those of men. While this skew is fairly modest in terms of congruence, women’s representation is driven mostly by the high correlation of preferences with men. When there is disagreement, policy is more likely to align with men’s preferences. Our analyses further suggest that women’s substantive underrepresentation is mitigated in contexts with high levels of female descriptive representation and labor market participation. In sum, our study shows that gender inequality extends to the important realm of policy representation, but there is also meaningful variation in unequal representation across contexts.
Click here to read the full article published by the Cambridge University Press on 26 October 2023.
Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick are delighted to launch their new report Addressing Sexism in Politics: Creating Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Political Spaces for Everyday Women, this report is a collaboration between Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick and TUS research group EDGE.
Since 2019, WCI Limerick has been working specifically to strengthen and increase women’s participation and representation in local politics. In that time, they have worked with over 150 women and were instrumental in the establishment of the Limerick Women’s Caucus, the first of its kind a local level in the country. This work and the feedback they have been receiving from women led them to draft this report.
Click here to read the full report published by the Women's Collective Ireland – Limerick on 17 October 2023.