Women's Leadership

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A century after Britain’s first election in which women voted and stood for parliament, female activists called on Friday for further reform to achieve equality amid abuse and prejudice.

Despite celebrations to mark 100 years since most women aged over 30 won the right to vote - including unveiling a statue of women’s suffrage activist Emmeline Pankhurst - male lawmakers outnumber women two to one.

When Ayanna Pressley heads to Congress in January, the newly elected Massachusetts representative will work from the same office that Shirley Chisholm once occupied decades ago. The symbolism is powerful: Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress 50 years ago, while Pressley is part of the incoming class of Black women who made history of their own in 2018.

As a single mother, Beatrice Duran never imagined that she would get involved in politics. When she moved to Las Vegas in 1985, her focus was on keeping “a solid job” as a food server to provide for her young daughter and, later, her son.

Opportunities to become involved in public life felt out of reach.

51 women from different political parties and civil society organizations in Adana, southern Turkey, made a joint statement calling for more gender equality in politics at workshop organized by UN Women.

The need for the media to be gender sensitive in reporting electoral issues ahead of the 2019 general elections and change the negative stereotyping of female politicians, was the pivot of a one-day seminar held in Lagos by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its partners.

Two powerful women – Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia – have dominated Bangladeshi politics for decades, but the South Asian country's women are still underrepresented in parliament and are politically marginalized.

Nazla Ibtesham, an 18-year-old student, was hugely disappointed when election officials turned down her voter ID due to some "technical issues." She and her friends wanted to make their voice heard in the upcoming parliamentary elections.