Priced out of power: How economic barriers are limiting women in politics
Source: World Economic Forum
Last year, an aura of possibility hovered in anticipation of around 60 elections that were held across the world. Today, we face the outcomes of ballot choices that continue to cap women’s political leadership at a global level, as the UN Women's latest report highlights a slowdown of equality between women and men in politics.
Moving the needle on political empowerment
Approximately half of the head of state elections held in 2024 had women running for the top job. Out of virtual parity however, there were three times as many men re-elected than women elected overall. In terms of gender, the balance is slightly more positive. While two economies saw female incumbents replaced by newly elected male candidates, in four economies, electorates chose women to succeed men as head of state. However, when it comes to volume, out of the Global Gender Gap Report’s most populous economies, three elected men, and only one elected a woman as head of state.
For the legislative sphere, results are mixed. Among economies with parliamentary elections in 2024, Mexico and Rwanda continue to lead in female representation, with 50% and 64% of seats won by women in their lower houses, respectively. Belgium, Iceland, Senegal, South Africa, and the UK, achieved just over 40% of female representation. However, 80% of legislatures elected in 2024 selected men to the role of speaker, keeping legislative leadership overwhelmingly male.
Most countries have tackled the lack of female representation in their political decision-making by implementing legal candidate quotas. While this approach increased the proportion of female candidates, no major impacts have been observed on the proportional representation among elected officials. Notably, only two economies achieved higher percentages of elected women compared to female candidates.
Click here to read the full article published by the World Economic Forum on 17 March 2025.
Image by WEF
Last year, an aura of possibility hovered in anticipation of around 60 elections that were held across the world. Today, we face the outcomes of ballot choices that continue to cap women’s political leadership at a global level, as the UN Women's latest report highlights a slowdown of equality between women and men in politics.
Moving the needle on political empowerment
Approximately half of the head of state elections held in 2024 had women running for the top job. Out of virtual parity however, there were three times as many men re-elected than women elected overall. In terms of gender, the balance is slightly more positive. While two economies saw female incumbents replaced by newly elected male candidates, in four economies, electorates chose women to succeed men as head of state. However, when it comes to volume, out of the Global Gender Gap Report’s most populous economies, three elected men, and only one elected a woman as head of state.
For the legislative sphere, results are mixed. Among economies with parliamentary elections in 2024, Mexico and Rwanda continue to lead in female representation, with 50% and 64% of seats won by women in their lower houses, respectively. Belgium, Iceland, Senegal, South Africa, and the UK, achieved just over 40% of female representation. However, 80% of legislatures elected in 2024 selected men to the role of speaker, keeping legislative leadership overwhelmingly male.
Most countries have tackled the lack of female representation in their political decision-making by implementing legal candidate quotas. While this approach increased the proportion of female candidates, no major impacts have been observed on the proportional representation among elected officials. Notably, only two economies achieved higher percentages of elected women compared to female candidates.
Click here to read the full article published by the World Economic Forum on 17 March 2025.
Image by WEF