Parliaments & Representatives

Parliaments & Representatives

Parliaments & Representatives

Women make up only 23.5% of Members of Parliament according to the latest available data of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. While significant strides in women’s political participation have been made since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, which set Member States’ target of achieving gender balance in political decision-making, women are still underrepresented in political decision-making at all levels and gender balance remains an aspirational goal.  Gains in women’s participation have been notable in countries that have taken proactive steps to support women’s political participation, including reforming or amending discriminatory laws, taking concrete action to address violence against women in politics and gender discrimination within parliaments, addressing gender-specific barriers, and supporting women in all forms of decision-making including at local level and in executive government.

News

Group picture for Raedat members and International IDEA after the conclusion of the workshop in Tunis, Tunisia. Photo: International IDEA
30.03.2023
International IDEA in Tunis and Raedat on the front lines for gender equality in...
Despite the legal reforms that have been taken by various Arab countries following their ratification of various international agreements guaranteeing women's civil and political rights, women have...
Réseau des Femmes Parlementaires du Niger meeting with women's caucuses and parliamentary gender equality bodies from around the world
30.03.2023
Learning from each other: creating more gender-sensitive parliaments to strength...
No parliament in the world is fully gender-sensitive. Women and gender-diverse people are relatively recent arrivals into political life, so many parliamentary institutions have developed without...
IPU Parliament of Zimbabwe
28.03.2023
Zimbabwe launches Youth Caucus and new handbook
The Parliament of Zimbabwe has recently launched two initiatives to engage more youth and women in parliament.A new voluntary Youth Caucus has been set up to spearhead the inclusion of youth-related...
IPU Cynthia López Castro and  Dan Carden
28.03.2023
IPU elects new Presidents of young MPs and women MPs
At the 146th IPU Assembly in Manama, Bahrain, IPU Members voted in new Presidents of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians and the Board of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians. Both Presidents were...
Inter-parliamentary Union
28.03.2023
New IPU report shows that women MPs have never been so diverse
According to the latest IPU report, Women in Parliament 2022, women’s participation in parliament has never been as diverse and representative as it is in many countries today. And for the first...
UN Women ans IPU
07.03.2023
Women in power in 2023: New data shows progress but wide regional gaps
Geneva/New York — More women than ever hold political decision-making posts worldwide, but gender parity is still far off, according to the 2023 edition of the IPU-UN Women Map of Women in...
IPU
02.03.2023
History is made in Colombia with gains in diversity led by feminist movements
Elections in Colombia saw a political shift in 2022, and the greatest gains in terms of women’s representation in the Americas. The new government includes Francia Márquez, the country’s...
Parliament House of Australia
02.03.2023
Australia breaks records and tackles violence against women MPs
In 2022, Australia achieved record-breaking shares of women in both chambers of parliament, making it, along with New Zealand, the subregion with the highest average proportion of women MPs...
Noriko Suematsu, mayor of Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, speaks in an interview at Suzuka City Hall in October. | KYODO
17.02.2023
Survey highlights struggles faced by Japan's female politicians
TSU, MIE PREF. – Female politicians and leaders in Japan are more likely to face gender bias and sexual harassment than their male counterparts, with their competence often questioned regardless...

iKNOW Politics Partners Resources

UN Women, Inter-Parliamentary Union
Women in politics: 2023
UN Women and IPU
UN Women, Inter-Parliamentary Union
Women in politics: 2023
UN Women and IPU
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Women in parliament 2022: The year in review
Inter-parliamentary Union
Inter-Parliamentary Union
IPU statement on violence in the Senegal Parliament
A session in the Senegal Parliament, CARMEN ABD ALI / AFP

Related Websites

UN Women's Global Gender Equality Constitutional Database
City 50-50 Platform encourages gender parity in power spheres in Brazil
Violence against Women in Politics
E-learning Portal for Parliaments
Women’s Caucus Fact Sheet