Women make up only 23.5% of Members of Parliament according to the latest available data of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. While significant strides in women’s political participation have been made since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, which set Member States’ target of achieving gender balance in political decision-making, women are still underrepresented in political decision-making at all levels and gender balance remains an aspirational goal. Gains in women’s participation have been notable in countries that have taken proactive steps to support women’s political participation, including reforming or amending discriminatory laws, taking concrete action to address violence against women in politics and gender discrimination within parliaments, addressing gender-specific barriers, and supporting women in all forms of decision-making including at local level and in executive government.
By Gillian Brockell
By Gillian Brockell
Only two of the government briefings held at the height of the coronavirus pandemic were led by a female politician, and in both cases it was the home secretary, Priti Patel, a report into gender representation across the UK’s top jobs has shows.
Alexa McDonough, whose leadership of the Nova Scotia NDP in 1980 made her the first woman to lead a major political party in Canada, has died at the age of 77.
Dozens of women held a protest in the Afghan capital on Sunday demanding the release of a female military officer who was taken prisoner by the Taliban four months ago, and also against the arbitrary killing of a young Hazara woman by the Taliban two days ago.
Following the publication of the IPU’s regional study on Sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments in Africa, many African parliaments accepted the IPU’s call to amplify the findings of the study and talk about sexism with the following local i
Centre-right Maltese lawmaker Roberta Metsola, chosen Tuesday as only the third woman to head the European Parliament, is viewed as a political moderate despite controversy over her anti-abortion stance.
By Sophie Stowers
