politics

Fewer than one in five members of Congress in the US is a woman -- and that's actually a record high.

But one place where women are faring better is in state legislatures. Across the nation, nearly one-quarter (24.2 percent) of all state legislators are women, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

This was discussed at the Fiji Women’s Forum Candidate Strengthening Workshop in the Holiday Inn in Suva, today. Representatives from Political parties met to discuss and support the women candidates that have been announced or with the intention of running through the political party. FemLink Coordinator, Sharon Bhagwan Rolls says the workshop is to also provide for spot for campaign organizers as well.

Turkey's first women-only party was established on June 26 after a group of women has submitted a petition to the Interior Ministry, allowing it to participate in parliamentary elections held in 2015.

The party demands the construction of democratic political parties, transparency in election laws and a reduction of the electoral threshold to 3 percent.

Benal Yazgan, the head of the Women Party Initiative stated that what they want is to take the initiative a step further and turn it into a political party.

Gender quotas have worked to increase the number of women getting elected in politics and should be looked at along with other measures to encourage women to become candidates, Northern Ireland MLA, Anna Lo of the Alliance Party told a Sinn Féin summer school at the weekend.

Women still know less about politics than men despite progress in sexual equality, especially in Britain, academics have said.

A study of 10 nations found an "unmistakable gender gap" even in apparently progressive richer nations.

The division was particularly stark in Britain, which was found to have the second-widest gulf in knowledge between the sexes.

More female candidates are needed in local elections, along with better gender equality programmes in the FYR of Macedonia's local government, NGOs say. This is why the Macedonian Women's Lobby prompted 100 NGOs to sign a declaration demanding more female mayoral candidates for the March local elections. Currently, Macedonia does not have a female mayor.