Parliaments & Representatives
According to Gulmira Ileuova, a sociologist and the head of the Strategy Centre for Social and Political Research, gender equality in Kazakhstan has severely deteriorated. In an interview with TCA, she explains how social regression and a depletion of human resources are making it difficult for women to participate in political parties, social movements, and public services.
TCA: Sources illustrate that after the 2023 parliamentary elections, the representation of women deputies in the Majilis fell from 27% to 18%. In addition, Kazakhstan’s performance in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) has deteriorated. This year, the country fell from 62nd to 76th place. This index, which can be used to judge the economy’s stability and legal security, has a serious impact on investors. What, in your opinion, is the reason for this deterioration?
First of all, I would like to point out that until 2021, the Labor Code had restrictions on where women could work based on concerns about their health. Now that the restrictions have been lifted, progress is steadily being made in involving women in areas previously inaccessible to them. Some companies have already published data that women have begun operating heavy machinery, such as big trucks, which was not the case before.
As for politics and the civil service, it appears that under the spread of influence from the south, the country is reinstating traditional social relations. Independent Kazakhstan has entered a new period where traditional and non-traditional forms of Islam thrive, and hyper-masculine and patriarchal attitudes are on the rise. I emphasize the patriarchal division of life through reinforced gender roles because it is gaining strength and spreading across all regions of the country. Furthermore, this trend is moving into the sphere of politics and civil services.
Read here the full interview published by The Times of Central Asia on 16 September 2024.
Image credits: The Times of Central Asia
Online threats of death, rape, and physical violence against women in politics and public life have become alarmingly common, and the rise of artificial intelligence may further intensify the scale and reach of such online abuse, UN Women says in an explainer for the the International Day of Democracy on 15 September, and in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for the achievement of gender equality.
“Having more women in policymaking has shown to help advance legislation on crucial issues, such as health, education, childcare, infrastructure and ending violence against women and serve as an inspiration for girls to pursue higher education and career opportunities.”
“In 2024 that is one of the biggest electoral years in recent history, 107 countries have never had a woman Head of State. In 2024, women held only 27% of seats in national parliaments and 35.5 of seats in local governments.”
The countries going to elections include some of the highest and lowest in terms of women’s participation in the parliament: Mexico and Rwanda are the only two countries with 50/50 representation of women and men.
Read here the full article published by Moonshot on 12 September 2024.
Image by Moonshot
Women working in politics have spoken of the challenges of juggling work with their family life and caring duties.
Cumbria's constituencies are among the furthest away from London, adding to the demands on MPs who have caring responsibilities.
Julie Minns, MP for Carlisle and Lizzi Collinge, who represents Morecambe and Lunesdale, have spoken to BBC Radio Cumbria for a series looking at issues that affect women in politics.
They said balancing the demands of the job while caring for their families was challenging, but having diversity in politics was "fundamental".
Mrs Collinge's constituency straddles the border between Cumbria and Lancashire, where she lives with her husband and two children.
She said: "Travelling and being away from your family can be quite difficult for the kids and to be honest, I'm so busy in Westminster that it's easy to partition off, but you get the occasional pangs of missing your family."
'Diversity is fundamental'
Mrs Collinge said her casework often hits home, with recent examples including helping a homeless constituent and being involved with a debate around baby loss.
"This hits very close to me having lost a couple of pregnancies," she said.
However, she said diversity in Parliament was fundamental.
"I think if you only have one sort of person in Parliament then you don't get the action that's needed for everyone in the country," she said.
Ms Minns is an unpaid carer for her 90-year-old mother and her 99-year-old aunt and said she "hasn't caught her breath" since being elected in July.
Read here the full article published by the BBC on 7 September 2024.
Image credits: BBC
Abstract:
The media significantly influences the formation of public opinion as well as the development and maintenance of gendered stereotypes of men and women. Given this impact, understanding gender representation is crucial for evaluating news credibility and addressing gender stereotypes. In addition, media plays a key factor in the development of democratic societies. Apparently, women are underrepresented in the news, which suggests that although they make up about half of the world's population, they are not equally represented in the reality that the news generates. Thus, this study aims to investigate factors that might influence news reporting, especially about female politicians. Adopting a qualitative approach, 11 Malaysian journalists were interviewed on their journalism practices.
Read here the full article published by the Taylor's University on 6 September 2024.
Image credits: Taylor's University
The representation of women in Ghana's Fourth Republic Parliament has remained notably low.
According to Table 1, the percentage of female parliamentarians elected in the 2020 election 40/275(14.55%) marked the highest figure since 1996.
Yet, it falls significantly below the global and sub-Saharan averages of 26.7 per cent and 27.1 per cent respectively. Without deliberate measures, this percentage is likely to decrease by the upcoming elections on December 7.
While both the NDC and the NPP have nominated 39 and 36 female parliamentary candidates (FPCs) respectively for the 2024 elections, indicating a higher number compared to the 2020 figures, the expected representation of female MPs following the upcoming elections is anticipated to decrease.
Female candidates
The question is: Why should this be the case? The increased number of FPCs suggests a likelihood of electing more female MPs. However, the dynamics are different this time. First, many incumbent FPCs lost their primaries in their party strongholds to male in-party contestants. Consequently, these seats are expected to be occupied by male in-party counterparts.
Second, a significant number of seats being contested by FPCs are not within their parties' traditional strongholds where victory would be more easily attainable. For instance, out of the 36 seats to be contested by NPP FPCs, only 13 (36.11%) are within their stronghold, while the corresponding figure for the NDC is 9 out of 39 (23%).
This suggests that many FPCs are contesting primarily to bolster the votes for their party's presidential candidates.
Read here the full article published by Graphic Online on 6 September 2024.
Image credits: Graphic Online
Once celebrated for its progressive strides towards gender equality in politics, Nepal is now witnessing a troubling regression. Despite constitutional guarantees, the representation of women in key political positions is declining, exposing the persistent grip of patriarchal norms and the superficial commitment of political parties to genuine gender inclusivity.
Nepal now needs to ensure that it sustains earlier gains. The percentage of women in its parliament remains above the global average of 25%, and over the past decade, women have held the positions of president, chief justice and speaker of the House of Representatives.
Compared with its South Asian counterparts, Nepal has progressive constitutional provisions for promoting gender equality. The Constitution of Nepal guarantees 33% participation of women at every level, and the local level election act mandates a minimum of 36.71% female participation.
The World Bank Women, Business and Law Index 2024 gives Nepal the highest score in the region for closing the gender gap. More broadly in the South Asia region, the picture is grim. Pakistan has reserved only 17% of its parliamentary seats for women; in Sri Lanka the figure is just 5.33%.
Across the globe, only 13% of countries apply effective gender quotas, according to the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report 2024. The study states that if the current trend continues, it will take 134 years to achieve full gender parity.
Read here the full article published by Nikkei Asia on 4 September 2024.
Image credits: Nikkei Asia
Independent states in the Pacific region have the lowest levels of women’s political representation in the world. Fewer than seven percent of Pacific politicians are women, compared to 27 percent globally. The absence of women’s voices in political decision-making has been an issue consistently raised in regional forums, although progress has been slow. Yet in November 2022, a milestone was reached: for the first time, there was at least one elected woman in every Pacific parliament.
Click here to read the full article published by the Australian Institute of International Affairs on 17 October 2023.
The publication represents the findings of a national survey on the violence against women in politics in Georgia, gathering women’s experiences in politics in Georgia. Namely, it examines the factors that facilitate and obstruct women’s engagement in politics, including the forms of violence against women in politics, women’s experiences with seeking support, and the impact of violence on women’s concentration in politics and leadership.
Click here to read the full article published by the EU Neighbours on 4 October 2023.
As women’s representation in U.S. politics has grown, 53% of Americans say there are still too few women in high political office in the United States, and many see significant obstacles for women candidates. Our 2023 report on women leaders in politics explores Americans’ views about gender and political leadership, as well as views about the barriers women face.
Click here to read the full article published by the Pew Research Center on 27 September 2023.
Women and girls constitute more than half of Moldova’s population, yet they are under-represented in the bodies that make key decisions affecting their lives. Although Moldova committed to supporting the increase of women’s political participation by adopting in 2016 the 40% gender quota and by the nationalization of SDGs on gender equality, women remain under-represented in political and public leadership. Specifically, 2019 local elections contributed less to 22% women as mayors, 28.73% women district councilors and 36.5% women local councilors.
Click here to read the full report published by UN Women Moldova on 8 September 2023.
In August 2013, RepresentWomen launched the Gender Parity Index (GPI) to help researchers and advocates track progress toward gender-balanced governance and identify opportunities for increasing women’s political representation in the U.S. Each year, we assign all 50 states a Gender Parity Score, letter grade, and ranking according to their proximity to parity. One of the key takeaways from this exercise is that progress toward gender balance is slower and less stable than it first appears.
Click here to read the full report published by RepresentWomen on 7 August 2023.