gender equality

Following the elections and President Jacob Zuma's recent cabinet appointments, South Africa has missed its last opportunity - so tantalizingly close - to achieve gender parity in politics ahead of the 2015 deadline.

The 50% target for women's representation in all areas of decision-making is enshrined in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development adopted in South Africa in 2008.

Colorado Republicans, concerned about their string of statewide losses in recent years, have been making some efforts to reach out to demographic groups that have not historically backed their party.

Women were angered by the percentage allocated to their representation in the future parliament according to the new parliament law, the National Council for Women said on Thursday.

A committee formed by a presidential decree to draft this new law announced it yesterday.

Mervat Talawi, the council's head, said that the reason for this reaction from women is that approving the law in its current form is a wrong interpretation of the new constitution, a council statement said.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw many highs for women. 

Does this mean that finally the Women’s Reservation Bill and others Bills pertaining to women’s representation, security and development will be passed?

The 16th Lok Sabha will have the highest number of women MPs since the first election in 1952, 61. It had the maximum number of women candidates, 668 and the highest women voter turnout in numbers. 

Big brows may be trendy, but the American public’s sense of propriety gets inflamed if they’re on a female elected official’s face. According to a recent study from Dartmouth University, and published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, female candidates are less likely to win elections in conservative states if their faces have mannish, or gender atypical, features. That includes thick eyebrows, ladies.

SEVEN out of 10 voters believe their local authority would make better decisions if it had more female councillors, a new opinion poll reveals.

The survey illustrates a strong desire among the electorate for greater female representation in local politics.

Some 69pc of those surveyed believe their local authority would deliver better outcomes for communities if more seats were occupied by women.

More participation of women in politics will go along way in making democracy in Nigeria an interesting game, even as it would help in stamping out corruption in the political system. This position was made by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi called on women in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to actively participate in politics and win elective positions in the upcoming 2015 elections.

The Vanuatu Council of Women says the government needs to come up with more strategies to push women's political representation in the country.

The non-governmental organisation has launched a report on women's participation in politics from 2009 to now to mark National Women's Day.

The coordinator of the study, Seman Serekan, says no women being elected in the 2012 general election forced the government to introduce reserved seats for women in municipal elections.