Elections

Highlighted Resources

The blame game: Analyzing gender bias in Danish local elections

Diagnosing women’s under-representation in electoral politics often involves a “blame game,” seeking to identify the primary factor responsible for depressing the share of women among candidates as well as elected officials. The Danish electoral system – in which parties present ordered lists of...

Participants of National Forum on Women in Politics activities

Women representation in 2022 Fijian Elections

The 2022 Fiji general election, for 55 seats in the Parliament, will take place on 14 December 2022. So far 316 provisional candidates have been named from 8 of the 9 political parties of which 55 are women—17 per cent of the total number. The figure is likely to increase with more provisional...

US midterm elections: Why Bolivia's lawmakers are 50% women

Despite historic gains in the past two congressional elections in the US, women hold just 27% of the seats. As Americans prepare to reshape Congress in the midterms, could Bolivia inspire change?Bolivia is one of the few countries in the world where roughly 50% of lawmakers at every level of...

The "women not afraid to fight" movement. Image courtesy of Mídia Ninja

Brazil’s ghost candidates: How politicians abuse a law meant to encourage women in politics

Despite being 53% of eligible voters, participation of women in Brazilian politics is still much lower compared to men. A law created in the 1990s aimed to increase the number of female candidates per election, but the law has been abused by politicians to syphon resources and register ghost...

Lebanon: 2022 Parliamentary Elections Monitoring Report – From a Gender Perspective

In in the context of promoting democracy, equality and equal opportunities, UNDP partnered with the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) to develop a report on observing parliamentary elections from a gender perspective in order to promote women’s rights and political participation....

ZGC targeting to capacitate Zimbabwe women in politics

The Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) is capacitating women across the country to contest in the forthcoming general elections under the programme Women Rise in Politics, with support from United Nations Women. Under the programme, the commission is hosting workshops for women interested in...

Shared hurdles: How political races change when two women compete (2022)

With more and more women running for office, races between women candidates will become the norm — not a novelty. Shared Hurdles reveals how candidates’ race, political party, and gender interact to influence voter opinion when more than one woman is on the ballot.Research on gender dynamics in...

Aussie federal election 2022: Data shows Labor, Liberal Party more likely to preselect women in marginal seats - News.com.au

Australian federal election 2022: Data shows Labor, Liberal Party more likely to preselect women in marginal seats

Despite repeated warnings, Australia’s two major political parties continue to make one big mistake – and one MP has issued a scathing rebuke.The women chosen by Australia’s two major political parties to run in the upcoming federal election are predominantly chosen for seats they are unlikely to...

Presidential candidate Martha Karua,(Photo by Gallo Images / Nation Media / Jared Nyataya)

Kenya election: sexist language shows that patriarchy refuses to give way

In December 2020, a leading Kenyan political party official, Edwin Sifuna, made vulgar remarks against a woman member of parliament. While campaigning for their political allies in a by-election, Sifuna said the woman is “not attractive enough to rape”.In January this year, controversial bishop...

Intractable barriers to women’s election in Tonga

In this In brief, the authors consider lessons learned in the aftermath of women candidates’ defeat in the 18 November 2021 general election. They identify five intractable barriers to women’s election in Tonga: voters’ expectations of reciprocity in exchange for electoral support; deeply...

Few women at the top of electoral management bodies worldwide

Electoral management bodies (EMBs) are responsible for ensuring a level playing field for political representation and meaningful participation across the entire electoral cycle. Yet, International IDEA data shows that only 22% of EMBs themselves are chaired by women.When...

USA: The contingent effects of sexism in primary elections

Although the landscape for female candidates in U.S. politics has improved, research continues to find that many voters possess sexist attitudes. We rely on a standard political communication framework to help reconcile sexism in the electorate with increasingly favorable outcomes for women in...