Local Government

Since its creation in 1999, the Scottish Parliament has provided a forum to address issues like health, education and the environment, which directly affect the nation. However, as far as representation goes, there is room for improvement. Things could change dramatically in this year’s parliamentary elections, set to take place on 6 May. This is the second of four reports.

The lower house of Western Australia’s newly elected 41st Parliament sat for the first time on Thursday, marking a momentous occasion with the swearing-in of a record number of women in the chamber and the first female speaker.

Of the 95 politicians who make up the upper and lower houses of parliament, 43 will be women after the upper house is sworn in next month.

Scottish voters go to the polls to elect a new crop of MSPs on 6 May, with parties under more pressure than ever to correct the imbalances in the gender and diversity of their representatives.

Could we be on course for the largest contingent of female MSPs ever, and the most diverse parliament in Holyrood's history?

What's the issue?

(CNN) - A new wave of Black women are breaking barriers as they ascend to mayoral seats in cities with deeply rooted histories of racism and inequality.

Purple Map shows women centers, day care centers and gender responsive municipal services of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

UN Women launched a gender responsive interactive tool called the Purple Map for the women of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. The map, which is an easy to use guide that shows women centers, day care centers and gender responsive municipal services of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, aims to make the city safer for women.

Elena Crasmari decided to run for office so that the local administration could meet the needs of all members of her community. She won a local councillor seat, making her the only woman on a nine-person team, and one of six local councillors with a disability in Moldova, out of 10,472 local councillors.

The Institute for Social Research of Austria (SORA) surveyed the proportion of women among all mayors and councillors in Austria as part of the “Equality Index” for the Austrian Association of Cities and Towns (AACT).