Young, female and diverse: Legislatures begin to change to save democracy
Source: Pass Blue
As many political analysts see democracy weakened by introverted, xenophobic parties and autocratic leaders, a glimmer of hope is offered by a new generation of candidates and voters. This year will test that optimism in a series of important elections around the world.
Changes in the composition of national legislatures were already being recorded before 2018 ended. In November, a record number of women were elected or re-elected to the United States Congress, raising the percentage of women to nearly a quarter of the 435 members of the House of Representatives and 25 percent of the 100-seat Senate. Nancy Pelosi is now House speaker after her Democratic party became the majority in that chamber.
Among the newcomers, some members arrived vowing to take on President Trump in any legal way possible, including impeachment. Among the women elected to Congress, two are Muslim and two are Native American — a first in both cases. Trump’s relationships with minority populations have been abysmal.
National legislators seem to be getting younger in numerous countries. In December, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) reported a still-small but rising percentage of legislators under age 30 over the last two years, edging to 2.2 percent from 1.9 percent. The Geneva-based IPU, with 178-member parliaments representing 6.5 billion people worldwide, began tracking ages of legislators in 2014 and has established an annual global conference for young parliamentarians.
Surveying women in politics, the IPU reported that 30 percent of the delegates to its annual assemblies are women, up from 7.7 percent four decades ago. The organization says it is committed to promoting gender parity.
Gabriela Cuevas Barron, a Mexican senator who has been chairperson of the Mexican Senate’s foreign relations committee, is now president of the IPU and the youngest person, at 39, to hold that office. She has been a prominent advocate for adherence to international humanitarian law and has taken a special interest in the welfare of migrant children.
Click here to read the full article published by Pass Blue on 15 January 2019.
As many political analysts see democracy weakened by introverted, xenophobic parties and autocratic leaders, a glimmer of hope is offered by a new generation of candidates and voters. This year will test that optimism in a series of important elections around the world.
Changes in the composition of national legislatures were already being recorded before 2018 ended. In November, a record number of women were elected or re-elected to the United States Congress, raising the percentage of women to nearly a quarter of the 435 members of the House of Representatives and 25 percent of the 100-seat Senate. Nancy Pelosi is now House speaker after her Democratic party became the majority in that chamber.
Among the newcomers, some members arrived vowing to take on President Trump in any legal way possible, including impeachment. Among the women elected to Congress, two are Muslim and two are Native American — a first in both cases. Trump’s relationships with minority populations have been abysmal.
National legislators seem to be getting younger in numerous countries. In December, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) reported a still-small but rising percentage of legislators under age 30 over the last two years, edging to 2.2 percent from 1.9 percent. The Geneva-based IPU, with 178-member parliaments representing 6.5 billion people worldwide, began tracking ages of legislators in 2014 and has established an annual global conference for young parliamentarians.
Surveying women in politics, the IPU reported that 30 percent of the delegates to its annual assemblies are women, up from 7.7 percent four decades ago. The organization says it is committed to promoting gender parity.
Gabriela Cuevas Barron, a Mexican senator who has been chairperson of the Mexican Senate’s foreign relations committee, is now president of the IPU and the youngest person, at 39, to hold that office. She has been a prominent advocate for adherence to international humanitarian law and has taken a special interest in the welfare of migrant children.
Click here to read the full article published by Pass Blue on 15 January 2019.
