There would have been fewer fights in the Ukrainian parliament if more women were among the deputies. At least female parliamentarians were not seen taking part in the multiple brawls that marked the first working days of Ukraine’s newly elected legislature this week.
The political culture in Ukraine is male-dominated and it may stay that way for a long time. Only 44 members of parliament in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada are women, still under 10 percent. That’s eight more than in the previous parliament, but still leaves Ukraine far from European standards of gender equality with the next scheduled parliamentary election in 2017.
There is a connection between women in power and the strength of a nation’s democracy.
Studies have shown that women are more likely to rise to positions of power in open and democratic political systems, and such societies are usually fairer and less corrupt than countries led mainly by men. By contrast, the role of women is often limited in authoritarian and less developed countries.
Read more at Kyiv Post, published 14 December 2012.
There would have been fewer fights in the Ukrainian parliament if more women were among the deputies. At least female parliamentarians were not seen taking part in the multiple brawls that marked the first working days of Ukraine’s newly elected legislature this week.
The political culture in Ukraine is male-dominated and it may stay that way for a long time. Only 44 members of parliament in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada are women, still under 10 percent. That’s eight more than in the previous parliament, but still leaves Ukraine far from European standards of gender equality with the next scheduled parliamentary election in 2017.
There is a connection between women in power and the strength of a nation’s democracy.
Studies have shown that women are more likely to rise to positions of power in open and democratic political systems, and such societies are usually fairer and less corrupt than countries led mainly by men. By contrast, the role of women is often limited in authoritarian and less developed countries.
Read more at Kyiv Post, published 14 December 2012.