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.
The local elections in March 2014 will have a vital bearing on the future of Turkish politics. The presence of women in the parliament, although still totally inadequate, went up to 14.5 % in the last elections. However, the status of women in local administrations is truly dismal.
By some important measures, women are on the move, with impressive and increasing representation in the House of Commons and cabinet. By others, they still have a long way to go before achieving gender parity in terms of numbers and influence in our public policy process.
2012 represented nearly a 1 percentage-point increase in the world average (20.3%). With the exception of 2007, this is nearly double the annual rate of increase.
2012 represented nearly a 1 percentage-point increase in the world average (20.3%). With the exception of 2007, this is nearly double the annual rate of increase.
President Michael D Higgins said last night that the low level of women in the political world was of serious concern.
The Indonesian Women’s Caucus for Politics (KPPI) in Bali has started a movement for the greater representation of women in the legislature for the 2014 general elections.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing annual session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) has given Shen Jilan, 84, a chance to consolidate her position as one of the world's most venerable political figures.
The Tanzanian Centre for Democracy – an organization bringing together all political parties to promote multi-party democracy in Tanzania – will conduct an assessment of local democracy later this year from a gender perspective using International IDEA’s State of Local Democracy (S
Lima, 8 March 2013