Parliaments & Representatives

Highlighted Resources

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Gabriela Cuevas discuss women in politics

The new Women in Politics Map from the IPU and UN Women shows that women continue to be underrepresented across all levels of power. Watch this interview with Gabriela Cuevas, President of the IPU, and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, for insight on the progress of women's...

Women in parliament: 1995–2020 - 25 years in review

This year’s report looks back at 25 years of women in parliament on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing conference and its groundbreaking action plan for gender equality.IPU analysis shows that gender parity is possible. The overall percentage of women in parliaments has reached 24....

In 2020, world “cannot afford” so few women in power

Press ReleaseGeneva, Switzerland and New York City, USA – 10 March 15:00 CET/10:00 ETWomen’s representation in political decision-making continues to increase but at a sluggish pace according to new data presented in the 2020 edition of the IPU‑UN Women map of Women in Politics. The...

2019 Parliamentary Elections in Moldova - Gender perspective

The infographics are produced by the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, with the support of “Enhancing democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections” Project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Moldova) with the financial support of the United...

Pursuing equality in rights and representation – Women’s experiences running for parliament in Lebanon’s 2018 elections

In late 2018 and early 2019 UN Women interviewed 87 per cent of the women who ran for Parliamentary election (75 of the 86 women; of the 113 women who registered to run, 86 made it on to candidate lists). This report summarizes their stories and experiences as candidates and looks at issues of:...

HeForShe Action Kit for Parliaments

This Action Kit has been developed to guide the overall implementation of the HeForShe solidarity movement. It provides general information about the campaign, simple-to-follow implementation steps and a list of accessible campaign tools and resources. It is specifically tailored for...

Barriers to Women Entering Parliament and Local Government in the United Kingdom

In January 2018, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) commissioned this rapid evidence review, the two broad aims of which were to identify: a) barriers to women’s participation in local and national government; and b) evidence of policies and practices, sometimes referred to as Positive...

Representation Matters: Women in the U.S. Congress

The importance of having women serving in Congress is still not fully appreciated or understood. In order to document women’s contributions to governing and understand how women are navigating the contemporary environment of party polarization, the Center for American Women and Politics, with...

The International Congress of Parliamentary Women's Caucuses adopts the Dublin Declaration

The International Congress of Parliamentary Women's Caucuses took place on 9-10 September 2018 in Dublin Castle, Ireland.The conference brought together parliamentarians from across the globe to discuss issues facing women and how parliamentarians can work to address them. Parliamentarians came...

Women and corruption: What positions must they hold to make a difference?

This paper in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization - Volume 151 examines in what roles women have an impact on corruption by focusing on female labor force participation and their presence in the parliament. Since much of the corruption literature is plagued either by the lack of...

Fawcett Society Report: The Sex and Power Series

The Sex and Power series was first published by the Equal Opportunities Commission fifteen years ago, then taken over by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for several years, and then for 5 years up to 2015 the ‘Counting Women in Coalition’ collected and collated data on women’s...

Women in parliament: Assessing the effectiveness of gender quotas in Poland

Gender quotas aim to increase women’s parliamentary representation. However, the effectiveness of quotas varies. This article explores this issue further by examining the case of Poland, where gender quotas were introduced in 2011. The Polish case presents an interesting puzzle. Although the...