Partner News

By Adina Trunk

November 2017 saw the launch of International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy report, which provided a global health check on democracy, both from a long and short-term perspective. The International Women’s Day provides time for reflection on the achievements and challenges on gender and women’s empowerment issues. Putting the gains and threats together ultimately leads to the question, what can we say about the global state of gender? 

Gender equality is undoubtedly a corner stone of democracy and a prerequisite for sustainable development, as defined by the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5. But how should one assess, the successes and obstacles on achieving gender equality today? 

International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Indices provides an overview on the trends on  gender equality globally by presenting the g data from 1975-2015 on women’s political and civil society participation and gender equality in schooling. Additionally, the Global State of Democracy report explores issues related to gender equality both in the form of the challenges to be addressed as well as mechanisms to strengthen and address threats to democracy itself.  

All the world’s regions have seen an improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975. Some regions have had a quicker rate of improvement than others, such as Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, which have seen a rapid increase since the 1990s, with Africa reaching Asia’s level of Gender Equality by the late 2000s.  Stark regional differences do remain, with the Middle East notably lagging behind other regions. 

In 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - a set of rights for the advancement of women’s human rights towards gender equality was established, including representation in governance. This lay the foundation for many international efforts to address women and gender rights. 

[[{"fid":"13003","view_mode":"media_original","fields":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-media-original","data-delta":"1"}}]] 

These trends are an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate to impact.

The recognition of women’s movements as crucial actors in democratization efforts, are another key achievement. Women’s movements often work across lines of conflict, historical divisions and ethnic divides. As such, women’s civil society movements have been key actors fighting democratic backsliding, such as the recent Women’s Marches in 2016 and 2017, anti-abortion legislation protests in Poland or the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) movement during the drafting of the new Zimbabwean constitution. 

There is more widespread involvement of women in many post-conflict countries, such as Nepal, Rwanda and South Africa, than in countries with similar levels of development that have not experienced conflict. In this line, the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction. It emphasizes women’s ability to affect change and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security.

While celebrating these steps towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, obstacles remain. SDG Target 5.5 calls for women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life. A healthy democracy is based on inclusiveness. Many parties are finding it harder to sustain this however, and evidence shows women’s exclusion from representative institutions. The percentage of women in parliament has increased from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23 per cent in 2017 worldwide, but at this rate it will take another 40 years to achieve true gender equality in legislatures. To address this, parties should have women’s chapters and caucuses, improve gender balance in party leadership and use all-women shortlists. Representative institutions should reflect the demographics of society by mentoring and recruiting more women into roles that lead to leadership positions.

[[{"fid":"13004","view_mode":"media_original","fields":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"2":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-media-original","data-delta":"2"}}]] 

Another challenge to women’s representation and political influence is access to political finance funding. Cultural perceptions and expectations of women’s roles can work to limit women politicians’ networking and political finance potential. Formal structures to address this imbalance are often lacking: only 13.3 per cent of countries provide direct public funding to political parties that is contingent on gender equality among candidates, and 86.5 per cent of countries have no legislation offering financial advantages to encourage gender equality within parties. Regulations linking provisions for public funding and other financial advantages should be promoted and enhanced, to level the playing field between men and women.

Both men and women should take International Women’s Day as a moment to reflect on the global state of gender, the gains that have been made, and the challenges that remain. However, honouring the achievements gives hope to those advocating for change, showing the strengths of past women’s movements and battles. 

By Adina Trunk

November 2017 saw the launch of International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy report, which provided a global health check on democracy, both from a long and short-term perspective. The International Women’s Day provides time for reflection on the achievements and challenges on gender and women’s empowerment issues. Putting the gains and threats together ultimately leads to the question, what can we say about the global state of gender? 

Gender equality is undoubtedly a corner stone of democracy and a prerequisite for sustainable development, as defined by the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5. But how should one assess, the successes and obstacles on achieving gender equality today? 

International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Indices provides an overview on the trends on  gender equality globally by presenting the g data from 1975-2015 on women’s political and civil society participation and gender equality in schooling. Additionally, the Global State of Democracy report explores issues related to gender equality both in the form of the challenges to be addressed as well as mechanisms to strengthen and address threats to democracy itself.  

All the world’s regions have seen an improvements and progress towards gender equality since 1975. Some regions have had a quicker rate of improvement than others, such as Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, which have seen a rapid increase since the 1990s, with Africa reaching Asia’s level of Gender Equality by the late 2000s.  Stark regional differences do remain, with the Middle East notably lagging behind other regions. 

In 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - a set of rights for the advancement of women’s human rights towards gender equality was established, including representation in governance. This lay the foundation for many international efforts to address women and gender rights. 

[[{"fid":"13003","view_mode":"media_original","fields":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-media-original","data-delta":"1"}}]] 

These trends are an encouraging sign that efforts to address gender equality do translate to impact.

The recognition of women’s movements as crucial actors in democratization efforts, are another key achievement. Women’s movements often work across lines of conflict, historical divisions and ethnic divides. As such, women’s civil society movements have been key actors fighting democratic backsliding, such as the recent Women’s Marches in 2016 and 2017, anti-abortion legislation protests in Poland or the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) movement during the drafting of the new Zimbabwean constitution. 

There is more widespread involvement of women in many post-conflict countries, such as Nepal, Rwanda and South Africa, than in countries with similar levels of development that have not experienced conflict. In this line, the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction. It emphasizes women’s ability to affect change and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security.

While celebrating these steps towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, obstacles remain. SDG Target 5.5 calls for women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life. A healthy democracy is based on inclusiveness. Many parties are finding it harder to sustain this however, and evidence shows women’s exclusion from representative institutions. The percentage of women in parliament has increased from 11 per cent in 1995 to 23 per cent in 2017 worldwide, but at this rate it will take another 40 years to achieve true gender equality in legislatures. To address this, parties should have women’s chapters and caucuses, improve gender balance in party leadership and use all-women shortlists. Representative institutions should reflect the demographics of society by mentoring and recruiting more women into roles that lead to leadership positions.

[[{"fid":"13004","view_mode":"media_original","fields":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"2":{"format":"media_original","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-media-original","data-delta":"2"}}]] 

Another challenge to women’s representation and political influence is access to political finance funding. Cultural perceptions and expectations of women’s roles can work to limit women politicians’ networking and political finance potential. Formal structures to address this imbalance are often lacking: only 13.3 per cent of countries provide direct public funding to political parties that is contingent on gender equality among candidates, and 86.5 per cent of countries have no legislation offering financial advantages to encourage gender equality within parties. Regulations linking provisions for public funding and other financial advantages should be promoted and enhanced, to level the playing field between men and women.

Both men and women should take International Women’s Day as a moment to reflect on the global state of gender, the gains that have been made, and the challenges that remain. However, honouring the achievements gives hope to those advocating for change, showing the strengths of past women’s movements and battles. 

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Global highlights

The year 2017 saw some positive developments in women’s participation in elections, according to the Women in Parliament in 2017: The year in review, released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ahead of International Women’s Day. However, in global terms, the number of women in national parliaments has only increased by 0.1 percentage point from 2016, from 23.3% to 23.4%.

A record number of women contested elections held in 2017, and more seats were won by women than in previous years: 27.1% compared with 22.3% in 2016. This was largely due to measures such as electoral quotas for women. In the 20 countries where the quotas were used, women won over 30% of the seats, while only 16.8% of the seats were won by women in the 16 countries where quotas were not used. Countries who elected the highest percentages of women in 2017 were Senegal (41.8%) and Norway (41.4%).

Europe, which made the greatest gains in the number of women MPs, also recorded the greatest losses. In France, for example, women MPs now hold 38.6% of seats in the National Assembly, up from 26.6%—an increase of 12 percentage points. On the other hand, Iceland and Liechtenstein dropped by at least 8 percentage points.

If women are to play a bigger role in politics, parliament should be a place where they are able to work without fear of being harassed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Women MPs have complained of being sexually harassed and have felt unable to could speak out against it (see IPU’s Issues Brief, Sexism, harassment and violence against women parliamentarians). The #MeToo movement, which swept through the world in 2017, is changing this culture by raising awareness of sexual misconduct and sexism in all areas of work, not just politics. In 2017, more women MPs came forward, which led several parliaments—such as Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament—to examine their own working environment.

“It worries me that progress made in women’s political involvement is slowing. With the exception of some countries that have made a headway because of political will, this has been, overall, a disappointing year,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong. “It is vital that women are part of decision-making institutions such as parliament. It is fundamental, not just for gender equality but also for democracy and the legitimacy of the process thereof.”

Regional highlights

The Americas

Women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas rose by 0.3 percentage points to 28.4%. The trailblazers were Argentina (38.1%), Chile (22.6%) and Ecuador (38%), countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. In the Bahamas, the number of women appointed to the upper chamber nearly doubled from four to seven, and both the President and Vice-President of the Senate are women.

In contrast, elections in Honduras took place against a backdrop of violence, including systemic violence against women. In spite of the fact that Honduras had legislated gender quotas in 2009, the number of women MPs dropped by 4.7 points to 21.1%.

Latin America also recorded setbacks among the top echelons of power: between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female Heads of State. However, by the end of 2017, there were none.

Africa and the Arab States

There was not much change in these regions, as fewer elections were held than in previous years. In Kenya, numbers of women at all levels of government reached historic highs in 2017 despite political instability. Women now hold almost 22% of the seats in the lower house and just over 30% in the upper house. In a first, three women were elected governors, and two of the women elected at the parliamentary level were under 27 years old. In spite of these gains, women candidates reported numerous incidences and threats of violence.

Algeria was the only country in the Arab region to hold elections for its legislature in 2017. Algeria is a pioneer in the region: it has transformed its political system through successive electoral reforms. These include to the institution of a multi-party system in 1989, and the introduction of a gender quota in 2012. The gender quota resulted in an improvement in the percentage of women MPs to almost 32%, 6.2 percentage point increase. In the 2017 elections, however, this went down to 25.8%.

Asia and the Pacific

2017 elections across the Asia-Pacific region continued to push the boundaries of what constitutes “appropriate” women’s roles in politics. Gender norms continue to work against women’s entry into politics, as societies lay stronger emphasis on women’s role in the unpaid, domestic sphere. While Asian parliaments experienced a slight decrease in the number of women elected (down 0.7 points to 18.6%), there was progress in the Pacific region, up by 0.5 points to 17.9%.

In Tonga, reforms passed in 2010 increased the number of women in the Legislative Assembly from nine to 17 in 2017. This gain is remarkable given the conventional ideas about gender roles in the country that normalise men’s role in politics and women’s place in the home.

Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea witnessed striking setbacks. Although women make up 32% of the national parliament in Timor-Leste, that figure represents a drop of 6 percentage points from 38.5%. In Papua New Guinea, not a single woman was elected in spite of the fact that a record number of women candidates (167) contested the elections.

New Zealand, where 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister, also saw the highest proportion of women MPs in the country’s history: they made up a total of just under 39%. Ms. Ardern's pregnancy gave rise to a national debate on women’s ability to balance political leadership with motherhood.

Europe

The most prominent increase in the region was in France, where women now make up 38.6% of the National Assembly, catapulting it from 64th to 17th place in the IPU’s global ranking of women’s parliamentary representation.  President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move party not only fielded gender-balanced electoral lists but also promoted diversity by nominating half the candidates from civil society. Two countries, Albania and Armenia, with historically low numbers of women in elected office, also made significant progress. In Albania, the proportion of women jumped from 17.9% to 27.9%, while Armenia saw an increase of 6.5 points from 2012.

In the United Kingdom, a record-breaking 208 women were elected to the House of Commons (32%) and women lead three political parties (Conservatives, Scottish National Party and the Democratic Union Party). Kazakhstan, Slovenia and Bulgaria saw increases of 4.3, 2.5 and 3.8 points respectively. However, the gains were offset by some significant losses: Iceland recorded a decrease of 9.5 points to 36.5% representation; women’s representation in Germany also declined by 5.7 points to 30.7%; and in Liechtenstein, the proportion of women MPs fell by 8 points to 12%.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.

Beirut, February 8, 2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon and TheUnited Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program- LEAP and the European Union organize a six-day training program, divided in two phases, on electoral campaigning management and skills development targeting a group of women involved in the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 2018. The first training kicked off on February 5, 2018.  

The event held at Mövenpick hotel between February 5 and 10, 2018 comes in the context of the Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon and aims to enhancing the capacities of the Lebanese women aspirants, candidates and women in political parties to manage and engage in the upcoming elections. It is divided in two phases and targets two groups of participants for a total number of 45 women.

The first group that participated in the first phase, between February 5 and 7, 2018 included women belonging to political parties. The second group that participated in the second phase, between February 8 and 10, 2018 included potential women candidates belonging to the civil society.

Each group of women attended five sessions over three days which included theory and practical elements, a description of the electoral system and actors in the electoral process according to the Lebanese constitution and the electoral law. The participants were also informed about the components of a successful electoral campaign and the process for formulating a plan for it. They were also provided with practical tools on forming the electoral campaign’s team and with instructions on the basic skills for communicating with the public.

The Roadmap for Political Empowerment and Leadership of Women in Lebanon was launched in Beirut on 17 January 2018 at the conference "Fostering the role of political parties to promote women representation in the upcoming parliamentary elections" under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Roadmap aims to building the capacity of women leaders, women candidates and voters (male and female) to promote women's representation in politics. The Roadmap also consists of a broad advocacy campaign including the launch of a media awareness campaign under the theme "Half the society, half the parliament" to promote and support women's participation in politics and advocate for political parties to endorse women candidacy in electoral lists.