Belgium’s first female prime minister in its 189-year history has taken office, after Sophie Wilmès was named as the head of the country’s next caretaker government.

Wilmès succeeds the liberal leader Charles Michel, who will become president of the European council on 1 December. Her role has been described as a poisoned chalice, as linguistically divided parties struggle to form a government.

Many feminists celebrated the incredible progress made in 2018 when more women were elected to Congress than ever before—but victories at the state level warranted commemoration, too.

Claudia López, a gay politician who advertises herself as "incorruptible", has become the first woman to be elected mayor of Colombia's capital, Bogotá.

The 49-year-old centre-left candidate had won 35.2% of the vote with nearly all votes counted.

Mayor of Bogotá is widely considered the second-most important political post in Colombia after the presidency.

Members of Portugal's new parliament took up office on Friday, among them the country's first black women lawmakers who campaigned on promises to fight racism and inequality.

The three women, who all trace their origins to Guinea-Bissau, an impoverished former Portuguese colony in west Africa, won office in the October 6 general election when Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialists were re-elected but without an absolute majority.

The Ethiopian Chapter of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) is launched on Monday at an event attended by United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde.'

President Zewde said the launch of the chapter was a major milestone that will benefit all Ethiopian women and ensure their voice is better heard and their issues better addressed.

As Myanmar’s historic reform process continues to evolve, more women are needed in leadership roles of all kinds, including in parliaments. Despite their low numbers, the positive contributions of women MPs in both national and subnational parliaments have already earned the recognition of their constituents. With general elections approaching in 2020, it is time to ask if Myanmar’s political parties will nominate more women, and if so, will they be elected.

International IDEA organized the Inter-Regional Roundtable on the Intersections between Gender and Political Finance in Brussels on 16-17 October 2019. The Roundtable provided a forum for female and male politicians and practitioners from about 20 countries to discuss the interlinked dimensions of gender and political financing and how they influence gender equality in politics at all levels.