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Parliaments and Representatives

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.

November 9, 2022
USA: These 2022 candidates made history with their election wins

As the results from the midterm elections started pouring in Tuesday night, a number of candidates made history. So far, there have been barriers broken by women including women of color, young people, and members of the LGBTQ community.

November 7, 2022
Political leaders commit to 30% women representation in elections

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Leaders from various political parties today were all on the same page in their commitment to achieving the target of fielding 30 per cent women candidates in elections, in turn increasing female representation in the country’s legislative bodies

November 7, 2022
Denmark elects record 44% women to parliament with female PM set to win another term
  • Number of women in legislature jumps to highest after election
  • Female prime minister is also likely to win another term
November 4, 2022
Female politicians disadvantaged by online prejudices and stereotypes

2022 ELECTIONS