While there have been important advances in women’s leadership in politics, as of November 1 2017, women make up only 7.2% of Heads of State and 6.2% Heads of Government. Data on women representatives in local government, including as mayors, heads of villages and towns, is not well collected and analyzed. The adoption of an SDG indicator on women’s representation in local government is a great step forward in tracking progress on gender balance, allowing for the systematic collection and analysis of data on women in local government. Women’s access to and continued role in leadership positions is challenged by a range of barriers, including discriminatory laws and practices, as well as social norms that prescribe traditional roles and attitudes towards women’s participation in leadership and decision-making roles. Proactive gender-equality policies within political parties and local government structures, including quotas and special temporary measures, gender-sensitive approaches to electoral processes, support networks, mentoring, training, and engagement of male champions, can all help promote women’s role in political leadership.
Congress is sprinting to get through a lengthy and challenging legislative to-do list before the end of the year, including passage of President Biden's $1.85 trillion social services package that will provide child care subsidies, free pre-K, paid family leave and an
In order to pressurise the Taliban to allow space for women in the Ministry of Women's Affairs, hundreds of female protestors took to the streets in Afghan national capital, Kabul, on Monday.
Amid a well-documented deluge of online abuse, new data and research from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) show that physical violence targeting women in politics is also increasing in most regions of the world, creating additional—and at t
Gul Bano* and Karima* are activists who ran provincial branches of the ministry of women’s affairs in two different parts of Afghanistan.
LGBTQ Victory Institute’s The Decision to Run Report set out to uncover the barriers and motivators for LGBTQ women who want to run for office.
This policy brief shows that while much remains to be explored, there are clear links between anti-corruption and women's political participation that are important to understand for politicians, anti-corruption advocates, and those working on increasing women’s repre
Just before Christmas, a government report highlighted that over half of the Irish population believes the most important role for a woman is to take care of her home and family. The most important role for a man, according to a significant proportion of the popu
Domestic responsibilities and social constructs are the biggest hurdles to improving women's participation in politics, a researcher at the University of Indonesia's Politics Review Center (Puskapol UI), Beni Telaumbanua, has said.
Was it the year of the woman? Angela Merkel left the political stage. New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen were given gold stars for their respective responses to the pandemic. And Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emerged as Belarus’ democracy warrior.