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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.

Gender quotas do not pose a threat to “merit” at any stage of the political process

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January 11, 2017

Gender quotas do not pose a threat to “merit” at any stage of the political process

January 10, 2017
Even with rise of political outsiders, women take traditional path to power in the US

When she thinks about getting women

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January 10, 2017
Increase women MPs or face fines, parties told in the UK

Political parties must face

December 28, 2016
More Women elected to Ghana's Parliament

Sources from the Electoral Commissi

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December 27, 2016
Seven women win seats on Oman’s Municipal Council

Seven women were elected to Oman’s

December 16, 2016
ExCHANGE - Activists across the Atlantic cracking the glass ceiling

From November 30 to December 2 leading activists in the field of women in politics from Europe and the US came together to jointly strategise around how we can get m