Political Parties
Issues Surrounding the Quota System in Local Taiwan Government
Days before the second session of the 11th Legislative Yuan (立法院) came to a close, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) lawmaker Fan Yun (范雲) drew attention to the role of women in Taiwan politics when she called upon both women’s groups and fellow legislators to enact changes to Taiwan’s Local Government Act (地方制度法). The request was that the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee (內政委員會)—which is tasked with monitoring administration policies of the legislative and executive bodies—propose amendments that would raise the existing male-to-female ratio within municipal elected bodies from 1:4 to 1:3. (Article 33 of the Act currently calls for a woman representative or councilor for every four seats in special municipalities, counties, cities, and townships, but no clear formula if there are fewer than four seats.)
The Act, which was last amended in 1999, was forward-thinking at the time. However, as Fan Yun pointed out, the law didn’t guarantee the presence of women in smaller municipal or local councils which hold fewer elected seats, and this has translated into all-male representation in local governments. Radio Taiwan International reports that as many as 40 constituencies in 135 council districts have no women in office. Because of this, amendments to the Act would bring a better gender balance to Taiwan’s governing bodies—one that is already reflected among representatives from Taiwan’s urban centers.
Kaohsiung City Councillor Cherry Tang (湯詠瑜) has commented that, “The quota system has been instrumental in securing the presence and representation of female voices in politics over time, [and] I think it has led to a significant increase in female representation. For example, [and] according to my understanding, in the central level, Legislative Yuan, women currently make up around 40 percent of the members… I think these figures reflect the positive impact of [the] quota system in paving the way for women to participate actively in [the] decision making process.” [1]
That a gender divide exists between male and female politicians here in Taiwan might come as a surprise—even to those who follow Taiwan politics closely. After all, Taiwan did have Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who served two terms as president from 2016 to 2024. Its electorate has also chosen two women to serve as vice president: Annette Lu Hsiu-lien (呂秀蓮) from 2000-2004, and Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), elected in 2024. Further, as of January 2024, 47 out of 113 elected members in parliament—or about 41.59 percent—are women. Hsiao has since called for that figure to rise to 50 percent.
Click here to read the full article published by the Global Taiwan Institute on 19 February 2025.
Image by Global Taiwan Institute
Senior journalist Asma Shirazi on Sunday denounced a persistent harassment campaign targeting her and other female journalists, saying “enough is enough”, as prominent media figures endorsed a petition by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) calling for an end to organised harassment by political parties.
The petition has so far been signed by over 60 figures in print, television, and digital media.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Shirazi said that political parties have executed targeted harassment campaigns against female journalists for some time now, stating that the petition by the DRF showed that these campaigns will no longer be tolerated.
“I have been made a target several times,” she said. “I’m made a subject of discussion to intimidate and threaten others.”
Read here the full article published by The Dawn on 12 January 2025.
Image by The Dawn
Malta leads the EU in disagreeing that measures such as the gender quota system can solve the underrepresentation of women in politics, despite having a gender quota system itself.
This emerged from a Eurobarometer survey on gender stereotypes, which asked if “temporary measures (eg quotas) are necessary to overcome the existing underrepresentation of women in politics”.
At 62 per cent, Maltese respondents registered the highest disagreement with the statement, significantly above the EU average of 36 per cent.
Just over a third of Maltese respondents agreed with this statement, below the EU average of 55 per cent.
Malta is one of 13 countries in the EU with systems to try to ensure gender balance within national elections. The results of the study could suggest Maltese citizens are unsatisfied with its system, which has been in place since 2021.
Read here the full article published by the Times of Malta on 18 December 2024.
Image by the Times of Malta
In a dramatic shift in India’s electoral landscape, political leaders are increasingly vying for women’s votes through financial aid and empowerment schemes, sidelining the caste and religious agendas that typically dominate campaigns in an effort to woo a growing voter bloc seen as crucial for election success.
On Thursday, Arvind Kejriwal, embattled leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party) which governs Delhi state, became the latest to join the trend by announcing a Mahila Samman Yojana (Respect for Women Programme) that would give 1,000 Indian rupees (US$12) each month to all women over 18. He has also promised to double this amount if reelected.
Observers view this initiative as a strategic effort to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has not governed Delhi since 1998.
Kejriwal’s new initiative seems to borrow from the BJP’s own playbook, that contributed to their unexpected electoral success last month in Maharashtra, the state that houses Mumbai, India’s financial capital. The BJP’s approach included a programme that promised monthly payments of 1,500 rupees to women from families earning less than 250,000 rupees a year.
Read here the full article published by the South China Morning Post on 13 December 2024.
Image by the South China Morning Post
How do you boost women’s representation in government, ask Jay Euijung Lee and Martina Zanella? Simple gender quotas risk being gamed, for instance by parties fielding women in unwinnable constituencies. The key, they suggest, involves distinguishing between two different kinds of discrimination faced by women in political careers.
In the pursuit of women’s representation in government, gender quotas of various kinds have been adopted by over 130 countries. However, simply implementing quotas is not enough to guarantee meaningful change. Political parties and voters may resist quotas, especially when biases against women’s competence in politics are deeply entrenched. Our recent study shows that even in such settings, however, quotas can gradually reduce these biases if they are designed appropriately.
Our case study is municipal council elections in South Korea. Since their inception in the 1990s, these councils have been overwhelmingly male-dominated, with women making up a mere 2% of elected officials. On top of this, 60% of Korean respondents in the World Values Survey of 2005 agreed that men make better political leaders than women. To combat this gender imbalance, a quota was introduced in 2006 along with wider reforms to the electoral rules for these elections…
Read here the full article published by LSE Inequalities on 27 November 2024.
Image by LSE Inequalities
Malawi’s political landscape continues to be marked by a stark gender imbalance in its leadership structures, with men still occupying the majority of top positions across the country’s major political parties. Despite the growing calls for gender equality and the promises of progressive policies, women remain woefully underrepresented in political decision-making roles, with men dominating the ranks of party executives, national governing councils, and key leadership positions ahead of the 2025 general elections.
A recent analysis of political party conventions and executive committee compositions reveals a stagnant gender representation, with women holding only an average of 27 percent of seats in the National Executive Committees (NECs) of Malawi’s largest political parties. This troubling statistic underscores a persistent patriarchal hold over political power and raises serious concerns about the country’s commitment to achieving gender equality in the political sphere.
Read here the full article published by the Nyasa Times on 24 November 2024.
Image by Nyasa Times
Issues Surrounding the Quota System in Local Taiwan Government
Days before the second session of the 11th Legislative Yuan (立法院) came to a close, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) lawmaker Fan Yun (范雲) drew attention to the role of women in Taiwan politics when she called upon both women’s groups and fellow legislators to enact changes to Taiwan’s Local Government Act (地方制度法). The request was that the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee (內政委員會)—which is tasked with monitoring administration policies of the legislative and executive bodies—propose amendments that would raise the existing male-to-female ratio within municipal elected bodies from 1:4 to 1:3. (Article 33 of the Act currently calls for a woman representative or councilor for every four seats in special municipalities, counties, cities, and townships, but no clear formula if there are fewer than four seats.)
The Act, which was last amended in 1999, was forward-thinking at the time. However, as Fan Yun pointed out, the law didn’t guarantee the presence of women in smaller municipal or local councils which hold fewer elected seats, and this has translated into all-male representation in local governments. Radio Taiwan International reports that as many as 40 constituencies in 135 council districts have no women in office. Because of this, amendments to the Act would bring a better gender balance to Taiwan’s governing bodies—one that is already reflected among representatives from Taiwan’s urban centers.
Kaohsiung City Councillor Cherry Tang (湯詠瑜) has commented that, “The quota system has been instrumental in securing the presence and representation of female voices in politics over time, [and] I think it has led to a significant increase in female representation. For example, [and] according to my understanding, in the central level, Legislative Yuan, women currently make up around 40 percent of the members… I think these figures reflect the positive impact of [the] quota system in paving the way for women to participate actively in [the] decision making process.” [1]
That a gender divide exists between male and female politicians here in Taiwan might come as a surprise—even to those who follow Taiwan politics closely. After all, Taiwan did have Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who served two terms as president from 2016 to 2024. Its electorate has also chosen two women to serve as vice president: Annette Lu Hsiu-lien (呂秀蓮) from 2000-2004, and Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), elected in 2024. Further, as of January 2024, 47 out of 113 elected members in parliament—or about 41.59 percent—are women. Hsiao has since called for that figure to rise to 50 percent.
Click here to read the full article published by the Global Taiwan Institute on 19 February 2025.
Image by Global Taiwan Institute
This publication explains gender equality in political life in terms of access, voice and transformation and provides guidance on how to conduct a national assessment of gender equality in political life and on how to develop a national action plan based on the findings of the assessment.
The Gender-responsive Governance Toolkit is a series of targeted tools, each with a distinct practical and thematic focus. They introduce or advance institutional and policy solutions and practices for gender-responsive governance. The toolkit is aimed at participating States’ political parties, other democratic institutions and civil society organizations, and complements ODIHR’s existing gender-equality publications.
Read here the full publication posted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 12 September 2024.
Image credits: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
This publication, intended for gender equality and party development experts from political parties across the OSCE region and beyond, complements ODIHR's online gender audit tool and provides practical guidance on how to conduct gender audits and implement gender action plans.
The Gender-responsive Governance Toolkit is a series of targeted tools, each with a distinct practical and thematic focus. They introduce or advance institutional and policy solutions and practices for gender-responsive governance. The toolkit is aimed at participating States’ political parties, other democratic institutions and civil society organizations, and complements ODIHR’s existing gender-equality publications.
Read here the full article published by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 8 August 2024.
Image credits: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, women’s political participation and representation remain pivotal to building robust democracies and inclusive decision-making processes. In 2024, a historic milestone will be reached as 1.3 billion women across more than 60 countries exercise their right to vote. This unprecedented participation underscores the critical importance of addressing the barriers that still hinder women's full engagement in political life.
A pressing issue in the development space, particularly in women's development, is the often-missing dialogue between scholars and practitioners. Farida Jalalzai, PhD, in her role at Virginia Tech, has frequently highlighted this gap, emphasizing the need for a more integrated approach. Similarly, Farhat Haq, PhD, in her role at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) continues to emphasize the need for further inquiry and data in contextualizing women’s role in public spaces. As someone who straddles both worlds, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges and opportunities that arise when theory meets practice.
My career has afforded me unique insights into these dynamics. I have served as one of the youngest women in an executive cabinet in St. Louis County, been a board member for national organizations, and participated in local decision-making as an advisory committee member. These roles have exposed me to the systemic barriers, power dynamics, and patriarchal structures that women must navigate. As we rebuild from the failures of old systems, it is imperative to reimagine "inclusion"—not merely as a buzzword but as a fundamental principle guiding leadership, engagement, and participation.
Read here the full article published by The Friday Times on 30 July 2024.
Image by The Friday Times
Why do women continue to be under-represented in politics? The causes of this democratic deficit are well-studied, with women’s under-representation (and men’s over-representation) a combination of who comes forward for office and what obstacles are placed in their path.
Much popular and academic discussion around why women might not come forward has centred on political ambition—their interest in running for, and holding, elected office.
Click here to read the full article published by Social Europe on 27 October 2023.
Preventing Violence Against Women in Politics – Benchmarks for Political Parties (2022) is a joint paper by democracy organisations working with political parties, which presents interventions for political parties on how to prevent and address any form of violence against women in politics (VAWIP) in order to strengthen women’s participation and representation in politics and political decision-making.
The paper is produced by Demo Finland, International IDEA, The Oslo Center and The National Democratic Institute (NDI) as part of the Political Party Peer Network (PPPeer).
Click here to access the report.