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.
According to a new study, around 80% of women in Parliament are exposed to gender-based violence. In May, the study surveyed 33 women who are working in or have recently quit Parliament, with 25 women responding.
There are currently 22 gender-balanced cabinets, of which 14 have at least 50% of women ministers.
Female representation in Nepal's parliament has increased dramatically in the last 10 years.
The state of women’s political participation in Zimbabwe is undesirable, an anti-thesis to the country’s development.
A great deal has happened on the international scene and in countries around the world since the UN first observed the International Day of Democracy
This Workshop will bring together scholars and parliamentarians in order to discuss research findings which are likely to be of practical use to parli
Violence against women is one of the most widespread human rights violations, and the world of politics is also affected by this scourge.
(Tokyo, 27 June)—In the lead up to the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25) and UN Women’s ground-breaking campaign commemorating the anniversary, “Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal
The new-look European Parliament includes the youngest person ever to sit as an MEP.
Kira Peter-Hansen, from Denmark, is just 21 and was still studying at university when she was elected.