Elections

Highlighted Resources

Will quota seats in Iraqi politics advance women's rights?

In-depth: More than 95 female candidates were elected in Iraq's election according to preliminary results, exceeding the 83-seat quota. But some say political parties are manipulating the system for electoral gain, rather than to empower women.“Women set a historic record in the election,” Iraqi...

Iceland's prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, speaks to the media at a polling station in Reykjavik on Saturday. Photograph: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty

Iceland no longer has more female than male MPs after recount

Initial election result gave women 33 seats, but total was later revised down to 30.Iceland briefly celebrated electing a female-majority parliament on Sunday, before a recount produced a result just short of the landmark for gender parity in the north Atlantic island nation.The initial vote count...

From fundraising to the VP, why 2020 was a pivotal year for women in US politics

2020 was a milestone year for women in politics in the US. The country saw the highest numbers of women entering Congress and the executive in its history.Progress built on the midterm elections in 2018, and women now occupy 26.9 per cent of seats in Congress. This figure represents a 50 per cent...

Women in Parliament in 2020: The year in review

Elections in 2020 were profoundly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in delays and cancellations, logistical challenges for candidates and election administrators and often low turnout. Women’s leadership was frequently in the spotlight during the pandemic. The pandemic raised complex and...

Women’s groups welcome move, but say implementing it in time for Feb. 8 vote will be challenging

Somali PM reserves 30% of parliament seats for women in upcoming poll

GAROWE, Somalia, Jan 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly a third of Somalia's parliamentary seats will be reserved for female lawmakers in an election next month, the prime minister said, a measure long demanded by women's rights campaigners in the Horn of Africa nation.While...

Africa misses opportunity to promote equality in elections

Women make up more than half of Africa's population, but their representation in politics in the past decade has been insignificant.With a numerical significance of 52 percent against their male counterparts, women are least likely to hold political positions and exercise authority across the...

Does Women’s Political Presence Matter? Examining the Effects of Descriptive Representation on Symbolic Representation in Uruguay

The research presented in this paper provides useful insights into how increasing women’s descriptive representation within a legislature affects citizens’ interest and engagement in the political process, or their symbolic representation. Uruguay’s first quota law was implemented in the 2014...

RAU report finds that violence discourages young women from participating in politics in Zimbabwe

The Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) has cited violence as a leading factor discouraging young women from actively participating in politics.Zimbabwe will hold general elections next year, and women participation is pivotal as they constitute 52% of the population.In a recent report titled “Do...

SheVotes: Examining women's participation in elections

Despite women comprising nearly half of the world’s population, they continue to be drastically underrepresented in political leadership positions around the world. In fact, most have little or no access to the very decision-making tables where the policies are made that govern their lives....

The Price of Power: Power Seeking and Backlash Against Female Politicians

In an effort to address the persistent gender gap at the highest levels of political office, this study investigates one of the stereotype-based social costs that women face as political candidates. Because power and power-seeking are central to the way masculinity is socially constructed and...

A Seat at the Table: The Fight for Gender Parity in Kenya and Somalia

For women across the world, electoral politics can be a hostile and violent place. Women who stand for office can expect casual sexism and discrimination, ranging from snide remarks about their appearance to being propositioned by their male colleagues. In some countries, this psychological...

Votes for Women: Electoral Systems and Support for Female Candidates

It is a well-established finding that proportional representation (PR) is associated with greater female legislative representation than single member majoritarian systems However, the degree to which different types of PR rules affect voting for female candidates has not been fully explored....