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Parliaments and Representatives

Democracy and the equal participation of men and women in the political arena are closely intertwined. No parliament or any decision-making body can claim to be representative without the participation of both men and women. As stated in the Universal Declaration on Democracy adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Member Parliaments in 1997, "The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarity, drawing mutual enrichment from their differences."

Recent years have seen a steady increase in the number of women in parliament, though the world average of less than 22 percent remains far from the goal of parity between women and men. The election of women to the highest positions of state and government in several countries has also contributed to the changing face of politics.

While the road to election is a difficult one, the challenges for women do not stop there. Once women enter parliament or other bodies, they are faced with many new challenges. Parliament is traditionally a male-oriented domain where the rules and practices have been written by men. It is, therefore, an ongoing challenge to transform parliament into a gender-sensitive environment, to ensure that actions are gender-sensitive and to guarantee that gender is mainstreamed throughout the legislature.

Interviews

Attacks on Women in Politics Are on the Rise Around the World

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January 17, 2022

Attacks on Women in Politics Are on the Rise Around the World

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

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

#NotTheCost - Stopping Violence Against Women in Politics: A Renewed Call to Action

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January 17, 2022

#NotTheCost - Stopping Violence Against Women in Politics: A Renewed Call to Action

In 2016 at the launch of the #NotTheCost campaign, NDI presented a list of strategies to address and prevent violence against women in politics, focusing on a wide range of potential change-makers, from the global to the grassroots levels.

In 2016 at the launch of the #NotTheCost campaign, NDI presented a list of strategies to address and prevent violence against women in politics, focusing on a wide range of potential change-makers, from the global to the grassroots levels.

Candidate officielle à la présidentielle française, Christiane Taubira veut bousculer le paysage à gauche. Crédits: Le Figaro
January 17, 2022
Former justice minister Christiane Taubira joins France's presidential race

France's former justice minister Christiane Taubira on Saturday launched her bid to unify the floundering French left and challenge President Emmanuel Macron in April presidential elections, but she faces a slew of competing candidates reluctant to cede the limel

Primera ministra de Barbados, Mia Mottley, en la XVI Conferencia Raúl Prebisch en Ginebra, Suiza, 10 de septiembre de 2019. Foto en Flickr de Timothy Sullivan, UNCTAD (CC BY-SA 2.0).
January 14, 2022
Barbados prime minister calls a snap election, the first poll for the island as a republic

For the first time in the island’s history, women leaders will take Barbados’ two major political parties into the arena as the island prepares for a snap general election.