Parliaments & Representatives

Tamika Davis is a first-term MP from Jamaica, part of the historic high of 29% of incoming women MPs in the House of Representatives and the first woman to be elected in her constituency. The CIP team spoke with Ms Davis about her views on digital technologies. 

MPs have become digital content creators, as well as legislators

Campaigning for the next election, expected to be in September 2025, is already underway. Ms. Davis spoke of how MPs need to be present on different social media channels, such as Facebook and TikTok, to engage with constituents. Even if they have lots of in-person interactions, MPs also need to be on social media, since “If you are not out there you are not visible”, she said. 

Ms. Davis showed examples of digital content posted by MPs, including videos, highlighting the need for MPs to be creative and to have access to content creation skills. In her own case, she has a two-person team helping her to produce digital content. She feels that with the current mobile apps, there are no excuses for not creating good-looking content.

Disinformation and online abuse take their toll on MPs

Deepfakes, disinformation and online abuse, particularly against women MPs, has entered the digital space of Jamaican politics, Ms. Davis says. She wants more action to deal with online attacks and abuse against women MPs, noting the mental health issues that can arise from this. 

Ms. Davis showed the CIP a very recent video, where an opposition MP is purported to be having a fictional (and ridiculing) telephone call with a member of her party. However, the MP’s voice had been sampled from a recording in another context several years ago. She also highlighted the example of another female MP who suffered a breakdown due to similar attacks and temporarily withdrew from politics. Ms. Davis is glad that this issue is becoming more recognized locally and globally, and called for more action to better protect and resource women MPs.

Read here the full article published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 22 July 2024.

As of December 2023, women constituted 61.3 percent of the Rwandan parliament (lower or single house). This makes it the country with the highest share of women in parliament worldwide. Cuba had the second highest share of female MPs with 53.4 percent, followed by Nicaragua. The European country with the highest percentage of women in their parliament was Andorra with 50 percent.

See here the full graphic published by Statista on 4 July 2024.

Image by Statista

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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Women are not only underrepresented as political candidates across the country, they're also underrepresented as donors.

Driving the news: Women donors made up just 29% to 33% of the contributions to general election candidates at statewide and state legislative levels between 2019 and 2022.

That's according to a new report on the "donor gap" from Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics using data from OpenSecrets.

Click here to read the full article published by Axios on 17 October 2023.

How is the world doing on gender equality? According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the picture is mixed. The needle is moving in the right direction, according to its latest Global Gender Gap report, but incrementally. At the current rate of progress, the report finds, it will take 131 years to reach full parity. And no country has yet achieved full gender equality.

Click here to read the full article published by the BBC News on 28 September 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.

In both politics and public life in the UK, women have historically been underrepresented. In recent years women’s representation has increased, although in most cases men remain overrepresented, especially in more senior positions.

This briefing presents statistics on a range of positions in UK politics and public life held by women. Data on the demographic characteristics of different workforces tends to be limited, so it is not always possible to include intersectional analysis, for example, on disabled women or women from minority ethnic groups.  

Click here to access the report.

Introduction

The trajectories of and challenges to women’s political participation in Morocco are complex. This complexity can be better understood by unpacking three dimensions for the analysis: the legal reforms, party structures, and women’s individual experiences.

Since the 2002 legislative elections, the antinomic evolution of women's political participation in Morocco has challenged researchers in the political field. We speak of antinomy in the sense that this observation is recorded at the numerical level and is accompanied by a decline in the effective representation of women in decision-making positions. The different governments that have alternated over Morocco since have introduced a series of reforms and measures aiming at encouraging women's political participation, notably the integration of the principle of positive discrimination, better known as the quota system.

Click here to read the paper published by the Arab Reform Initiative on 6 April 2023.

The “Women in politics: 2023” map, created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women, presents new data for women in executive positions and national parliaments as of 1 January 2023. Data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off.

Women serve as Heads of State and/or Government in only 31 countries. Women make up 26.5 per cent of Members of Parliament. Globally, less than one in four Cabinet Ministers is a woman (22.8 per cent). New data show that women lead important human rights, gender equality, and social protection policy portfolios, while men dominate policy areas like defence and economy.

Source: UN Women

In the 2020 elections in Georgia, women increased their share of seats in parliament from 14 to almost 20 percent.

This was the highest it had ever been. But it is not enough, say two MPs, Ana Natsvlishvili from the opposition party, Lelo, and Nino Tsilosani from the ruling party, Georgian Dream.

Both women acknowledge the role of gender quotas, introduced in the last parliamentary (2020) and local elections (2021), in breaking the decades-long underrepresentation of women. “If it wasn’t for gender quotas, political parties would not have put talented and competent women on electoral lists,” says Natsvlishvili. 

Tsilosani says women’s political participation is linked to their economic empowerment. “Sixty percent of Georgian women are left outside the formal labour market. This means that they are neither employed nor looking for a job. Imagine what a gain it would be for the economy if we could get them to employment and economic activity. We must offer women services and support to help them become active and contribute to the country’s economic growth.”

Click here to read the full article published by UNDP on 29 June 2022.

Number and Percentage of Women in State Legislatures, 1980-2022

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Current State Legislature

2,300

(1,516D, 764R, 13NP, 5Ind, 2Prg)

31.2% of 7,383 seats

Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled.

NP = non-partisan, Ind = Independent, Prg = Progressive

State-by-State Summary Data on Current Women State Legislators

Click here to access the data.

Click here to read the full article published by Parliament of Australia on 20 April 2022.

Data provided by the Center for American Women and Politics and KnowWho Data Services. Numbers include members and officers of the municipal legislative branch of incorporated cities and towns with populations over 10,000 as per the U.S. Census. These bodies vary by municipality, but include city councils, boards of alderman, city commissions, among others. Mayors and other officials who perform mayoral functions are included in these counts. Data is as of March 2022 and will be updated annually.

Click here to access the data.

A survey on politicians in Japan has shown that many former and current female national legislators and local assembly members have been subject to sexual harassment.

"I was threatened that if I did not kiss them, they would not vote for me," and "I was told that young women win elections even if they are not qualified," are examples of some of the responses.

Released in February, the results were a part of a "politician harassment white paper" containing the results of a survey carried out by Tokyo-based Woman Shift, a network of young female lawmakers and assembly members, as well as Polilion, a Gifu Prefecture-based organization that conducts harassment training for legislatures and assemblies. The survey was carried out between August and October 2021, and 200 people (100 men, 98 women and 2 others) responded.

Click here to read the full article published by The Mainichi on 29 March 2022.

In celebration of International Women's Day, we review the history of women in politics in Mexico. Gender parity electoral laws, leaders who value women's inclusion, and fierce women who have propelled Mexico's gender equality movement forward have altogether helped realize the major strides in women's representation, especially since the turn of the century. Women have not only vied for more elected positions; they have also secured a historic number of governorships and legislative seats, effectively reaching gender parity in Congress. President Lopez Obrador has also made a point to promote women to appointed positions, both in his cabinet and in the Supreme Court. While Mexico still has a way to go in reaching full gender equality and equity, gender quotas have had the positive effect of normalizing women's active role in politics and of welcoming them as viable and worthy contenders in the political arena, moving the needle in a necessary and positive direction.

Click here to read the full article published by The Wilson Center on 7 March 2022.

Today’s parliament has more female MPs than ever but they remain a minority. What do they think is needed for equality in the corridors of power?

Viscountess Nancy Astor was the first woman to take a seat in parliament, receiving 2,000 letters a week from female voters desperate to finally have their voices heard.

More than 100 years later, women account for just a third of seats in the Commons and only a quarter of sitting peers in the House of Lords.

Click here to read the full article published by The Times on 8 March 2022.

Sitting at her desk with the Central African flag behind her, Beatrice Epaye’s sustained gaze hints at courage and determination. And she has both in quantities. While running for a parliamentary seat in the December 2020 election, she recalls the many physical and verbal attacks and threats she faced as a woman.

“It is our right to sit at the decision-making tables, not just around them. Last elections showed us that we still have a long way to go,” she nods. “Many more women [than men] are attacked during an election campaign,” says the MP and women’s rights advocate.

Violence against women is clearly a deterrent to their involvement in politics, pushing many of them out of political activities and muting their voices. According to an Expert Group Meeting from 2018, 44.4 percent of women in politics surveyed across 39 countries in 2016 reported having received threats of death, rape, assault, or abduction. One fifth said they had been subjected to sexual violence. But the severity of this matter is perhaps greater as violence against women tends to be under-reported, and crimes unpunished.

Click here to read the full article published by UN Peacekeeping on 13 December 2021.

But what is far too often the exception should become the norm.

“A country without a woman MP is not a democratic country”, declared Dame Carol Kidu, Papua New Guinea’s former – and only female – opposition leader, this month.

Dame Carol’s comment refers to the current state of politics in PNG, a democracy, where only seven women have ever been elected to its parliament. Dame Carol is one of them. She had a long, successful career there (1997–2012) including being the only woman and Minister for Community Development for much of her tenure. Preceding Dame Carol were the founding women: Dame Josephine Abaijah, the first woman elected to PNG’s Parliament (1972–82), Nahau Rooney (1977­–87), and Waliyato Clowes (1977­–82).

Click here to read the full article published by The Interpreter on 18 February 2022.

Every decision a parliamentarian makes is a chance to advance gender equality. From choosing a topic for an oversight inquiry to drafting legislative amendments, gender-sensitive scrutiny can help bring inequalities to the surface and find remedies.

The idea of a ‘gender-sensitive parliament’ has evolved over time. A new definition was recently coined: “A gender-sensitive parliament values and prioritises gender equality as a social, economic and political objective, and reorients and transforms a parliament’s institutional culture, practices, and outputs towards these objectives.”

Click here to read the full article published by Chwaraeteg on 9 February 2022.

By Akshi Chawla

As women elected officials move from local politics towards the subnational and national levels, they begin to be replaced by more and more men.

Women comprise just over one-third (36 percent) of the over 6 million elected members in deliberative bodies of local governments globally, according to a new working paper released by U.N. Women last month. Although far from parity, this is the best representation women seem to get across levels of government: As they move towards the subnational and national levels, they begin to be replaced by more and more men, data shows.

Click here to read the full article published by Ms Magazine on 15 February 2022.

Political decisions get better the more diverse the people are who make them. That is especially true in deeply divided societies, in countries that want to move from war to peace. Yet, women and marginalised groups are often absent from tables where key decisions are made. The same applies to our own EU and national institutions. Foreign and security policy often remains a closed circle of “people with badges talking to people with badges”. And the higher the level, the “harder” the security, the fewer women. This shouldn’t be news, but it is important to have data on the subject matter to push for real change. And that is why I set out, in 2020, to build the #SHEcurity Index; together with a growing team of supporting organisations and individuals.

This is the 2nd edition of the #SHEcurity Index. The index for the first time gave a comprehensive overview of how far we have come with regards to gender equality in Peace & Security and UN resolution 1325. 

Click here to read the full report published by SHEcurity.

In 2011, the Arab Spring precipitated fervent calls for democratic reforms, leading the Moroccan government to enact gender quotas that reserved seats for women in Parliament as well as regional, district, and communal councils. As a result of these new electoral laws, Moroccan voters elected an unprecedented number of women to legislatures at all levels of government, from local councils to the House of Representatives.

Gender quotas have successfully increased the descriptive, or numerical, inclusion of women in Moroccan government. It is not immediately clear, however, how these gains in women’s descriptive representation have affected women’s substantive representation—the representation of their policy preferences and priorities.

This article examines whether extensive gender quota provisions in Morocco have meaningfully contributed to women’s political inclusion. 

What are Gender Quotas?

Gender quotas are an affirmative action measure designed to address the underrepresentation of women in politics. They were originally adopted by political parties in Norway during the 1970s, and they have since become one of the fastest-growing legal trends spreading to different regions of the world and different political contexts. Today, 132 countries have implemented some kind of quota for women.

Click here to read the full article published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security on 21 July 2021.

Black women in politics face a harrowing reality: Harassment, abuse and death threats for doing their jobs as Black women. To better understand their experiences, the PBS NewsHour requested interviews with more than 61 Black women who have held office or run for office at various levels of government and across the political spectrum Eighteen women, 16 of them Democrats, shared their stories. Here’s what they described.

Black women are harassed differently than their white or male colleagues. Moya Bailey of Northeastern University coined the term “misogynoir” to describe the anti-Black misogyny that Black women face. Women in public-facing roles are more likely to receive physical threats, said Mary Anne Franks, a professor at the University of Miami’s School of Law, and these threats often are charged with racism and sexism.

Black women largely see racism and misogyny on the job as an unchangeable reality. The majority of the women interviewed by the NewsHour experienced some form of racist or sexist targeted hate while serving in or running for office at various levels of government, from school board races to Congress. Several of the women NewsHour interviewed commented that the harassment they experienced, though shocking in its aggressiveness and vulgarity, was something they had ultimately come to expect as “part of the job.” Some said they were discouraged — either by colleagues or people in their personal lives — from speaking publicly about the harassment they face.

Click here to read the full article published by PBS on 29 June 2021.

Development of local or regional caucus for women councillors – identifying interest and examining possible supports.

Women’s caucuses have been established in political institutions around the world to strengthen cross-party cooperation among women politicians and to enhance the recruitment of new women candidates. Drawing on extensive research with women councillors and other key stakeholders, this report offers a pathway for the establishment of local or regional caucuses in local government in Ireland and makes recommendations to local authorities and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in relation to maximising supports. Importantly, the research also documents the opportunities and challenges experienced so far by established caucuses in Limerick and Dublin City and explores related cross-party initiatives for women councillors that have taken place at regional and national level. This research was kindly supported by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

Source: National Women’s Council

Mexico is the first country in the world to implement gender parity so thoroughly and effectively. The journey has not been easy—and is far from over.

In 2018, women won half the seats in Mexico’s Congress. They then championed a groundbreaking constitutional reform: gender parity for all candidates for elected office, and for top posts in the executive and judicial branches. Called “parity in everything,” the reform sailed to victory in May 2019. Not a single member of Congress voted against it.

This easy success seems astounding, but parity in everything capped a decades-long process of increasing Mexican women’s access to political power. By 2019, political parties already respected 50–50 rules when nominating candidates for the federal Congress, the state legislatures, and the municipal governments, including mayors. The last holdout among elected positions were coveted governor positions. Only seven of Mexico’s 32 states have ever elected a woman governor: That’s seven women compared to 344 men since Mexican women gained the right to vote in 1953.

Feminists hope that number changes on June 6, 2021, when Mexico holds midterm elections and gender parity applies to gubernatorial nominees for the first time. Other newly-implemented rules further tilt the electoral playing field in women’s favor, and not just in the governor races. Those convicted of violence against women cannot stand for elected office. And of the campaign resources that parties distribute to candidates, 40 percent of the money and 40 percent of the advertising time must go to women.

Click here to read the full article published by MS Magazine on 4 June 2021.

There are few women in political and leadership spaces in Nigeria. Currently only seven out of 109 senators and 22 of the 360 House of Representatives members are women. Ogechi Ekeanyanwu, from The Conversation Africa, asked Damilola Agbalojobi, political scientist and gender specialist, to explain the lack of representation, why it matters and how to remedy it.

Why are women so poorly represented in leadership positions?

There are multiple factors. Some are related to the political party systems and structures. For instance, the high cost of politics prevents women from standing for positions. Often women don’t have enough money to pay for the mandatory expression of interest and nomination forms required by political parties to run for positions on their platforms. In addition, election campaign costs are exorbitant. So poor access to education means poor access to gainful employment. Unpaid labour burdens, unequal inheritance rights and outright discrimination also mean that women are less likely to be able to afford to follow through the process of getting leadership position.

Click here to read the full article published by The Conversation on 3 May 2021.

Around 120 years ago, Australia became the second country where women won the right to vote. But its political arena is still struggling with sexism, as underlined by a series of sexual-assault allegations around the government and lewd acts within Parliament House itself. Tens of thousands of women rallied in March to demand greater female representation and tough action against sexual violence and discrimination. Whether a tipping point has been reached in a long history of sexism in the workplace depends in part on how conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison handles the fallout.

Click here to read the full article published by The Washington Post on 7 April 2021.

African countries are still far from achieving women’s equal and effective participation in political decision-making.

Women constitute only 24 per cent of the 12,113 parliamentarians in Africa, 25 per cent in the lower houses, and 20 per cent in the upper houses of parliament. While local government is often hailed as a training ground for women in politics, women constitute a mere 21 per cent of councillors in the 19 countries for which complete data could be obtained.

The Barometer is a key resource of the consortium Enhancing the Inclusion of Women in Political Participation in Africa (WPP) which aims to provide legislators and policymakers with data to assess progress in women’s political participation over time.

Source: International IDEA

The IPU-UN Women map, which presents global rankings for women in executive and government positions as of 1 January 2021, shows all-time highs for women heads of state and heads of government, women Speakers of parliament and women MPs and ministers. 

Source: IPU

The recent election of Kamala Harris as the first woman vice president of America has ignited the aspirations of countless women in politics globally. However, in India, climbing the ladder of political leadership for women remains an inequitable feat. While reservations and active efforts to increase diversity have improved women’s participation in politics, much of the day-to-day functioning of Indian politics, even grassroots governance, remains a man’s game.

At the national level, only 14% of Members of Parliament in India are women, with roughly half of them coming from only four states. At the state level, the figure is even lower: women make up only 9% of the elected candidates of State Legislative Assemblies. Globally, India ranks in the bottom quartile when it comes to women’s representation in Parliament, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020 that ranked India 122 out of 153 countries.

Women’s representation in grassroots institutions in India, on the other hand, is relatively better. Reservations for women brought in by the 73rd constitutional amendment save one-third of leadership positions in village-level governance for women. However, this increased representation has failed to trickle upwards and mask the barriers that women face in getting elected or while in office.

Click here to read the full article published by News 18 on 1 March 2021.

Fifty years after getting the right to vote, women are better represented in the Swiss parliament than ever. In a ranking of 191 countries worldwide, Switzerland is in 17th place. But this is deceptive: at the local level, representation is still low.

On February 7, 1971, Swiss men decided by referendum to let women have say in Swiss politics. The federal elections on October 31, 1971, were the first in which women could vote as citizens or stand as candidates; 11 women made it into the House of Representatives, giving them a proportion of 5.5%, and one woman took one of the 42 seats in the Senate.

What has happened since? Have Swiss women been able to take their rightful place in national politics over the past 50 years?

The ‘women’s’ election

The most recent federal parliamentary elections, held in October 2019, went down in history as the “women’s” electionExternal link. More women than ever were elected to the two houses of parliament. With a proportion of 41.5% women in the House of Representatives, the country now ranks 17th in a ranking of 191 states worldwide.

Several societal and political factors led to this success, such as the #MeToo movement and protests against the sexism of ex-United States President Donald Trump. In Switzerland, womens’ strikes and mounting climate change activism also led to more women being elected.

Click here to read the full article published by Swiss Info on 3 February 2021.

This GSoD In Focus showcases global and regional data around trends in and the progression of gender equality, based on data from the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices. The GSoD Indices are International IDEA’s measurement of democracy for 158 countries between 1975 and 2017.

The political position of women today is better than just 20 years ago. Trends in the GSoD Indices Gender Equality subcomponent show improvement in gender equality in every region of the world. Women are in more positions of political power, are more represented in the political sphere, have higher access to education and less barriers to civil society participation. In 1997, only 3 per cent of countries had a lower chamber legislature made up of more than 30 per cent women; in 2017, this had risen to 28 per cent of countries. These gains should be celebrated, although much progress remains to be made before most countries have a critical minority of women in parliament. Furthermore, progress with women in ministerial positions is slower. Although gender equality is a necessary ingredient for a healthy democracy, some of the countries in the GSoD sample have a high proportion of women in political office coupled with low levels of democratic performance overall. While these countries are often hailed for their high levels of gender equality, these gains need to be analysed critically, as women’s political agency within regimes that have democratic deficits may be limited.

Click here to see the report.

This map is a unique visual tool that captures women’s participation in executive government and in parliament on a given date—1st January 2019. The map of Women in Politics not only provides a country ranking for both ministerial and parliamentary representation, but also statistics on women in political leadership positions—Heads of State or government, women Speakers of Parliament, as well as ministerial portfolios held by women throughout the world. Borders are depicted and used on the map in order to present data. They are not the expression of any opinion concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries.

Click here to download the map in English. 

Path to Parity: How Women Run and Win distills Political Parity’s research on women candidates and elected officeholders, drawing on additional studies to illuminate issues and proffer strategies for overcoming barriers to political parity. Each chapter provides links to multimedia resources which provide more in-depth information for further reading and research.

This free reader is for use by community groups, political organizations, teachers, prospective candidates, and committed citizens to frame questions about why women are underrepresented in elective office in the United States — and how that might change.

Click here to learn more.

IPU launched New Parline, a new version of its online open data platform on national parliaments. The platform is intended for MPs, academics, civil society, the media, and all those interested in parliaments as the core institution of democracy.

The IPU has been collecting data on parliaments since its inception in 1889, including information on women’s participation in politics since 1945. Through New Parline, the IPU has pooled all of its data into one hub, allowing the user to see trends over time, as well as compare progress or regression between different regions of the world.

New Parline contains information on the structures of parliament’s working methods, including the representation of women and youth. Much of the data is unique. Most of the information on the platform comes from national parliaments directly. The IPU updates it regularly to take into account changes that result from elections and other circumstances. The data covers a wide range of themes; for example, the number of chambers, the number of women MPs, the number of laws initiated by parliament and the average age of MPs.

Click here to see the database.

Obsession with female politicians’ appearance in the media is putting young women off going into politics, a study has revealed, prompting campaigners to call for an end to sexism in political media coverage. 

41 per cent of girls aged between nine and 16 think there has been a rise in media sexism in the last six months, while 39 per cent said this has knocked their confidence, according to the new research by Girlguiding, the UK’s leading charity for girls and women.

The charity has launched a campaign encouraging all young women to vote, but has voiced concern that the continual objectification of female politicians and media focus on what politicians look like is side-lining girls from the political conversation.

It cited the infamous “Legs-it” headline – referring to a meeting between Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon - and “constant editorial features detailing politicians’ outfits” as clear examples of sexist attitudes. 

A youth panel member of the charity from Northern Ireland, Emma Taggart, 16, said: “Sexist depictions of female politicians in the media put me off engaging with politics. Focusing on a politician’s appearance instead of want she has to say sends the message that even women in the most powerful roles in the country aren’t taken seriously.” 

Responding to the findings, Sophie Walker, leader of the Women's Equality Party, told The Independent: "As a mother of two daughters, it really upsets me that media sexism is having a direct impact on the self-confidence of girls and young women.

“The Women's Equality Party has made fair treatment of women in the media a core objective because we understand that the press has enormous power to shape the culture we live in.

In light of the survey results, Girlguiding has called for the media to stop talking about politicians’ appearances and focus on their “opinions not pins”, and to include young women in debates and ensure their views are represented in political coverage.

It also urged the press to recognise the diversity of young women’s voices including those who are too young to vote now, but will still be affected by the decisions of the next government.

Click here to read the full article published by the Independent on 4 May 2017. 

LAS VEGAS — Cheaper tampons. Office breaks to pump breast milk. No co-pay on birth control.

These are not the talking points of a ladies’ happy hour. They are among the State Senate and Assembly bills being considered in the Nevada Legislature. Not only were the bills designed solely with women in mind, they each were sponsored by a female lawmaker.

At 39.7 percent, Nevada now ranks near the top for women’s representation in state politics, second only to Vermont. The bills women are bringing to the State Senate floor this session range from the annual ranking of companies by how fairly they pay men and women to arguably the most historic — the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The state legislature is a testimony to what many who study gender inequity in politics theorize to be true: Increased gender representation directly translates into better consideration of women in the drafting of law and policy.

Click here to read the full article published by the New York Times on 18 April 2017. 

A unique visual tool to capture women’s participation in executive government and in parliament on a given date – 1st January 2017. The map of Women in Politics not only provides a country ranking for both ministerial and parliamentary representation, but also statistics on women in political leadership positions – Heads of State or government, women Speakers of Parliament, as well as ministerial portfolios held by women throughout the world. Borders are depicted and used on the map in order to present data. They are not the expression of any opinion concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries.

Click here to download the map in English. 

CDRSEE organized four seminars in Thessaloniki that joined Members of Parliament from Southeast Europe, Western Europe and the European Parliament, as well as numerous professionals, economists, and journalists to discuss issues of concern for the region. Four topics were focussed on in the seminars: the working of parliamentary democracy, the relationship between politics and the media, the working of a free market economy, and the organisation of political parties. The participants of the conferences all recognised and noted the importance of reconciliation in the region, and the vitality of dialogues such as the ones facilitated through this project for reaching that goal. 

The Center's Young Parliamentarians' Project was built around a series of seminars that enabled young Members of Parliament from Southeast Europe to join parliamentarians from both Western Europe and the European Parliament, as well as professionals, economists and journalists, to discuss issues of urgent and continuing concern to the region. Four seminars took place in Thessaloniki over the course of February to June 2000. 

The results of the seminars were resoundingly positive: Members of Parliaments from Southeast Europe noted the significance of meeting each other as well as the importance of talking with other parliamentarians and professionals from Western Europe. The subjects explored at the seminars were: 

• The working of parliamentary democracy (pdf, 31Kb),
• The relationship between politics and the media (pdf, 31Kb),
• The working of a free market economy (pdf, 31Kb),
• The organization of political parties.

Source: Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe

Since 2013, the Australian Futures Projects have worked with the major political parties and leading educational institutions to create Australia’s first and only Leadership Program for Parliamentarians. It builds the capability of parliamentarians along three streams:

• The Person: Motivations, strengths, and pathways to grow as a leader.
• The Role: Effective approaches to governing in a 21st Century democracy.
• The Context: The complex and rapidly changing world around us. 

The Leadership Program for Parliamentarians has been developed in collaboration with La Trobe University and Trinity College in the University of Melbourne, with pro bono input from the Program’s Advisory Council and the Australian Futures Project’s Learning and Leadership Advisory Group.

It has been designed with input from politicians and both the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia. The program draws on international best practice from the Harvard Kennedy School in the USA, the Institute for Government in the UK, Boston Consulting Group’s work with presidential appointees in the USA, and corporate leadership programs at the likes of AT Kearney, IBM, and Toyota.

Source: Australian Futures Projects

Strengthening women’s rights and addressing barriers to political participation are critical to achieving gender equality and female empowerment. USAID is supporting women around the world by:

• Providing training for female members of political parties and parliaments and supporting the development of women’s caucuses
• Providing skill building and leadership training for women civil society members, women’s organizations, and female journalists
• Supporting women’s participation in political and post-conflict transitions
• Improving women’s access to justice and increasing women’s participation and representation in the justice sector
• Supporting local efforts to advocate for legal rights that enable women to participate fully in the political and economic life of their societies
• Building capacity for civil society organizations to advocate for women’s participation in political transitions and governance processes

To help USAID better achieve these goals, in 2012 the agency launched the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG Center), a global resource for evidence-based research. Since its launch, the DRG Center has provided technical expertise, urgent funding, and critical information to the U.S. Government and international development community. 

• The Women in Power (WiP) Project: A research and learning project that reviewed USAID’s programming related to the promotion of women’s political empowerment and leadership, examined successes and challenges in historical and current programming, and tested a new statistical model for measuring women’s political leadership. The project concluded with the Women’s Leadership and Political Empowerment Progress Review and Ways Forward Workshop in November 2014. In 2015, USAID will implement a follow-on activity to the WiP project that will produce learning products for internal and external distribution and integrate research results into existing trainings. WiP resources include:

1. Desktop Study of USAID Programming: The Desktop Study documented objectives, approaches, and results USAID activities , that aimed to increase women's political representation and leadership.
2. Country Case Studies: Five case studies, conducted in Cambodia, Georgia, Jordan, Kenya and Mexico, provide a deeper look at the objectives and achievements of select USAID-funded programs with a significant focus on women's leadership and political empowerment.
3. Diamond Leadership Model Report: The Report on the Diamond Leadership Model provides information on a new measure of women's leadership and power in the public arena. The model, piloted in 30 countries, measures three levels of leadership (high, mid, and low) across four government sectors (legislative, executive, judicial, and security).
4. WiP Video: View the video clip(link is external) for an overview of the project, including interviews with USAID leadership and segments from the 2014 WiP Workshop.
5. Women in Power Summary Report [PDF, 1.2MB]: The report gives an overview of the WIP program and Diamond Leadership Model, key findings, and recommendations for USAID and external partners. 

• Global Women’s Leadership Program (GWLP): Supports the participation of women in peace processes, political transitions, donor conferences, and other decision-making processes relevant to conflict prevention and resolution, democratic development, and human rights. The GWLP has supported female delegates to Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference and women involved in peace-building and national reconciliation efforts between the North and South of Yemen. In Burma, GWLP activities were geared toward integrating gender into electoral systems and processes. GWLP programming has worked with female members of parliament (MPs) and civil-society leaders to understand opportunities within the electoral reform agenda in advance of the 2015 elections. In addition to individual consultations, three successful events were held with female MPs and civil society leaders to discuss women’s political leadership and learn from Indonesia’s electoral reform process. 
• Global Labor Program (GLP): With a budget of $50 million, the five-year program (2016 - 2021) is being implemented by the Solidarity Center, and promotes labor rights and access to justice for workers. The new award supports country programs inCambodia, Bangladesh, Burma, Ukraine, Morocco, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico and regional programs in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southern Africa and Latin America that cover activities in 31 countries. The regional program in Latin America has a dedicated Central America component, housed in El Salvador. All program activities are designed to be inclusive of vulnerable populations, including women. Cross-cutting regional and global activities include grassroots trainings for advocacy to address gender-based violence at work.

Source: USAID