Parliaments and Representatives

For the first time, the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are all women, as is the top White House budget official. Can they avert a fiscal disaster? They’re determined to try.

WASHINGTON — Inside a grand committee room in the Capitol on a recent afternoon, Senator Patty Murray paused at the end of the 31-foot conference table to re-enact how, as a rank-and-file lawmaker years ago, she would have to stand up and wave to catch the attention of the men running negotiations from the center of the room.

The daughter of an abattoir worker and fruit picker, Sepuloni could have exactly the expertise the PM needs to tackle a brutal cost of living crisis

C armel Sepuloni admits her father, who arrived from Samoa in 1964 unable to speak English, had difficulty taking in the news that his daughter was shortly to become New Zealand’s first Pasifika deputy prime minister.

A new law in Sierra Leone will ensure that at least 30% of parliamentarians are women and impose similar quotas in other institutions, including government, local councils, the diplomatic corps and the civil service. The Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act was signed into law by President Julius Maada Bio on 19 January, a few months before the country's next general election scheduled for July 2023.

Ardern says she slept soundly ‘for the first time in a long time,’ as colleagues in New Zealand deplore her treatment as PM and race begins to replace her

Jacinda Ardern has said she slept soundly after her shock resignation “for the first time in a long time”, as speculation grows that abuse and threats against the prime minister contributed to her stepping down.

Last Thursday, President Julius Maada Bio signed a new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill 2022, known also as the GEWE Act 2022, that is seeking to open up the country’s political space and establish a level playing field for women in politics.

Political parties are now required to ensure that 30% of their candidates for parliamentary and local council elections are women.

Of the 146 MPs in the country’s parliament, only 12.3% are currently women, and advocates of women’s rights are hoping that this new law will encourage more women to enter politics.

The Cork TD shared how she was left "absolutely terrified" after a stalker showed up at her home.

Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns has spoken about her experience with a stalker, and the level of abuse women in politics receive.

Speaking on Virgin Media TV's The Groupchat, Cairns told Richard Chambers, Zara King and Gavan Reilly that if she had known what was coming her way, she might not have gotten into politics in the first place.

Nominating and electing more female politicians can help to diffuse polarisation and reduce levels of hostility and distrust across party lines, a study shows.

Political parties that elect a greater number of women representatives are viewed more favourably by voters who support opposing parties.

Political polarisation, or animosity towards opposing political parties, takes many forms.