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.
"So far according to our estimates, it is about seven per cent of women for the senate, seven per cent for the county assembly, and on
For Covington’s first female mayor, one perk is serving as a role model to young girls in a state the Center for American Women and Politics ranks 38th in the nation for women in elective office.
It's a great time for women, isn't it?
Senator Helen Esuene was Minister of State for Health and later Minister of Environment in the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the International Day to End Violence against Women, NDI launched its program to strengthen the capacity of legislators and representatives, and help women establish cross-party mechanisms for collaboration, platforms for civil soci
While several female politicians, including former legislator Angelina Sondakh, have been embroiled in graft cases recently, politicians and experts are upbeat that an increased number of women in the House of Representatives will boost the legislature’s performance and standing.
The Chairman of the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU), Mr Robert Walter
Sandrea Falconer, the minister with responsibility for gender affairs, in a statement in the Senate on Friday, said that women have broken the glass ceiling in politics but there is need for more to be involved in the process.
Even though Balkan countries are shy of the European average when it comes to women in politics, their presence in public life is growing.