Parliaments & Representatives

Highlighted Resources

Ignoring online abuse of women MPs has dire consequences

Women MPs are exposed to daily online harassment, and social media platforms provide unlimited scope for anonymous, hostile and aggressive behaviour to be targeted at them. As the unprecedented cyber abuse of female MPs is known to be detrimental to their personal and professional lives, today’s...

Uganda: 'People find us easy targets': Women politicians face a torrent of online abuse but say they won't stop their work

Doreen Nyanjura is a modern politician. She announced on Twitter that she would be standing in Uganda's 2026 presidential election; has a name for her supporters -- the Nyanjuraholics -- and has characterized her platform with a catchy hashtag: #ThePoliticalAntidote.But with this presence online,...

Nigeria: UN Women seek action against electoral gender-based violence

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, has underscored the promotion of women’s empowerment in Nigeria’s political sector and the need to tackle electoral gender-based violence in the country.According to UN Women statistics, Nigeria has one...

Women’s representation in Turkey’s new parliament increases to 20 percent but remains low

Among the female candidates who were nominated by political parties for a seat in the Turkish parliament in the May 14 general election, 121 have been elected, corresponding to 20 percent of the 600-seat legislature, the Kronos news website reported.According to unofficial election results, there...

Mika Inomata (center), a municipal assembly member of Ebetsu, Hokkaido, speaks with supporters at her office. | BLOOMBERG

A small Japanese town sets new precedent for women in politics

A handful of small cities in Japan have managed to do what the rest of the country hasn’t: Elect women.Among the country’s city councils and assemblies, men held more than 80% of the total seats as of 2021. But in Ebetsu, a small city in northern Hokkaido, more than 40% of the city council members...

INTER PARES Partnership with Niger - Exchange with Women’s Caucuses and Women Deputies

As part of the INTER PARES Partnership with the National Assembly of Niger, a hybrid peer-to-peer exchange on the role and responsibilities of Women’s Caucuses and Women Deputies took place on 19 October 2022.

The cost of doing politics: A critical discursive analysis of Australian liberal politicians’ responses to accusations by female politicians of bullying and intimidation

Recent conversations prompted by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have put issues of workplace sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault into the global spotlight. This paper examines how members of the Australian Liberal Party made sense of, and responded to, accusations by female Liberal MPs...

Infographic: Mexican women in politics

In celebration of International Women's Day, we review the history of women in politics in Mexico. Gender parity electoral laws, leaders who value women's inclusion, and fierce women who have propelled Mexico's gender equality movement forward have altogether helped realize the major strides in...

Equality in the heart of democracy: A gender sensitive House of Commons

This is a House of Commons Committee report, with recommendations to government. The Government has two months to respond.While there is still some way to go to achieve equal representation of women in the House of Commons, and in the wider political and public sphere, in recent decades the focus...

Matilda Davies , Anna Lombardi and Venetia Menzies (The Times)

UK: Women in politics, facts and figures

Today’s parliament has more female MPs than ever but they remain a minority. What do they think is needed for equality in the corridors of power?Viscountess Nancy Astor was the first woman to take a seat in parliament, receiving 2,000 letters a week from female voters desperate to finally have...

Representative budgeting: women mayors and the composition of spending in local governments

One potential consequence of increasing women’s numeric representation is that women elected officials will behave differently than their men counterparts and improve women’s substantive representation. This study examines whether electing women to local offices changes how local government...

In Pakistan, gendered politics prevail

Pakistan’s constitution makes no distinction between genders but women in parliament know that’s not the reality in politics. Despite impressive records of women in the legislative assembly, female parliamentarians still face barriers to entry that their male colleagues don’t - keeping many women,...