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.
This report compiles the speeches and presentations made during the seminar entitled, "Parliament and the Budgetary Process, Including from a Gender Perspective," held in Manila, Philippines in July 2002.
This declaration was adopted by participants to Parliamentarians' Day, which was held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on the occasion of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
This poster-sized map is a "snapshot" of the presence of women in executive and legislative branches of government as of March 2000.
This study analyzes the political experiences of women from all over the world, based on a series of interviews with women politicians conducted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
This report compiles the speeches and presentations made during the seminar entitled, "Parliament and the Budgetary Process, Including from a Gender Perspective," held in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2000.
This report is a compilation of the speeches and statements made during the seminar entitled, "Parliament and the National Budget: Legislative and Oversight Functions," which was held in Dili, Timor Leste in May 2003.
These statistics track the progress and developments regarding women in the political field.
This paper focuses on the quantitative aspect of women's participation in parliaments. It provides an overview of the gains relating to women's access to parliaments and executive bodies, and highlights some of the factors that influence women's access to decision-making positions.
This case study examines the Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) efforts to promote women’s participation in parliament. It focuses particularly on the use of quotas and the role of international organizations in advancing women's political participation.