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.
Beirut, 12 December 2022 – Today, UN Women and ESCWA jointly launched a report on women’s political participation entitled “Women at the Table: Insights from Lebanese Women in Politics”.
Fijian women remain severely under-represented in politics.
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The deal to upholding women’s political participation and leadership in the 2023 presidential and General elections remains elusive and daunting, as the Woman Legislative Caucus of Liberia launches a two-day workshop for women aspirants to solicit support and mobilize
(CNN) — Dina Boluarte took office as the new President of Peru on Wednesday, after Congress ousted former president Pedro Castillo.
Peru has a female president for the first time, after ex-president Pedro Castillo was impeached - hours after he tried to dissolve parliament.
From Hillary Clinton to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, some things have yet to change.
Gujarat Assembly Election: The sexist rant by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad comes a day before voting in 93 constituencies in Gujarat, the second phase of a closely watched state election.
SACRAMENTO — The California Legislature that will be sworn in Monday will include more women than ever before, accounting for about 42% of state lawmakers.