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.
Hattie Carraway [...] was the first woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. On Dec. 9, 1931, Carraway filled the seat vacated by her late husband. She was elected to a full term in 1932 and served as a Democrat from Arkansas through 1944.
The key message conveyed in Kelly O’Dwyer’s maiden speech in parliament was that of aspiration.
Archaic and chauvinistic practices are being used to prevent Swazi women from taking part in the upcoming primary elections, despite the country having a constitution that guarantees their rights, says political analyst Dr. Sikelela Dlamini.
To many, it may come as no surprise. Politics is a man’s world in the South Caucasus, where women remain a legislative minority, according to recent data from the World Bank.
The National Electoral Commission (NEC) yesterday released the final list of candidates who will run in the September 16 parliamentary elections, exactly a week ahead of the campaign trail.
Stella Creasy is young, female and very blonde, which would describe any number of aides around Parliament. But there aren’t a whole lot of anecdotes about this British politician being mistaken for a secretary or an intern.
A women’s group in Papua New Guinea says having three women in Parliament is a victory, but there is an ongoing struggle to have allocated seats.
Women aren't running for office because barriers to entry too high