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No parliament in the world is fully gender-sensitive. Women and gender-diverse people are relatively recent arrivals into political life, so many parliamentary institutions have developed without respect for their needs and experiences. This has led to discriminatory and exclusionary cultures, practices, and outcomes, many of which are unintentional.

The Parliament of Zimbabwe has recently launched two initiatives to engage more youth and women in parliament.

At the 146th IPU Assembly in Manama, Bahrain, IPU Members voted in new Presidents of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians and the Board of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians. Both Presidents were elected for two-year terms. They will also serve as Ex Officio Members of the IPU Executive Committee.

According to the latest IPU report, Women in Parliament 2022, women’s participation in parliament has never been as diverse and representative as it is in many countries today. And for the first time in history, not a single functioning parliament in the world is male-only.

As the IPU celebrates International Women’s Day, these are just some of the inspiring women MPs working actively in the IPU’s committees to promote gender equality, youth participation, peace and sustainable development.

Sahar Albazar, Egypt

President of the Board of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians

Geneva/New York — More women than ever hold political decision-making posts worldwide, but gender parity is still far off, according to the 2023 edition of the IPU-UN Women Map of Women in Politics.

Elections in Colombia saw a political shift in 2022, and the greatest gains in terms of women’s representation in the Americas. The new government includes Francia Márquez, the country’s first Afro-Colombian vice-president and only the second woman to hold this position. Women now hold 29.6% of the seats in the upper house (+8.3 percentage points) and 28.9% in the lower house (+10.2 percentage points).

In 2022, Australia achieved record-breaking shares of women in both chambers of parliament, making it, along with New Zealand, the subregion with the highest average proportion of women MPs across both houses (46.4%).

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.