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

Senegalese deputies take part in a parliamentary session in Dakar in September 2022 [File: Carmen Abd Ali/AFP]
05.12.2022
Politician slaps a woman MP in Senegal parliament, sparking brawlà l’Assemblée
Tensions have grown between ruling and opposition politicians since legislative elections in July when leading coalition lost its comfortable majority.A violent brawl broke out in Senegal’s...
Rally in Paris, France © SERGE TENANI / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP
25.11.2022
Violence against women parliamentarians: Causes, effects, solutions
Women account for just over 26% of parliamentarians worldwide according to the IPU’s latest figures. Despite progress made in recent years, significant obstacles continue to block their...
Italian women MPs win right to breastfeed in chamber (Picture: Senato Stamp)
21.11.2022
Italian women MPs win right to breastfeed in chamber
Breastfeeding members of the chamber of deputies will be allowed to sit in the top row of the assembly, or in a reserved gallery.Rome: Italian women MPs will be allowed to breastfeed their...
Sierra Leone's President, Julius Madaa Bio.
17.11.2022
Sierra Leone passes bill To give women 30% representation in parliament
Sierra Leonean lawmakers on Tuesday voted unanimously to pass the Gender Empowerment Act, ensuring that one in three members of parliament, as well as local councillors, is a woman.Currently only 19...
Miri Regev, 2019. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
03.11.2022
Eight out of 65 seats: Who are the women of Israel's newly elected governme...
Overnight, Israel saw the number of women in the government shrink from 24 seats to just eight. Who are the women of Israel's new government?Despite making up just over 50% of Israeli society today,...
DMK leader Kanimozhi openly apologised on her Twitter account (File)
31.10.2022
After DMK functionary’s derogatory remark against women, Kanimozhi apologises: “...
Saidai Sadiq said that unlike the DMK, BJP depended on the "actresses" to make inroads into Tamil Nadu.Lok Sabha MP and DMK leader Kanimozhi Thursday issued an apology after a party functionary...
Pelosi has repeatedly condemned heated and violent Republican rhetoric in recent years. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
31.10.2022
Attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband follows years of GOP demonizing her
A man with right-wing views who broke into the House speaker’s home yelled “Where is Nancy?” before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, police say.In 2010, Republicans launched a “Fire Pelosi”...
New Zealand
27.10.2022
New Zealand’s Parliament becomes majority female — "about blimmin’ time...
New Zealand made history — or herstory — this week as female lawmakers became the majority, narrowly outnumbering their male counterparts in Parliament for the first time.On Tuesday, Soraya Peke-...
Julia King will be the sixth woman to hold a seat in Vanuatu’s parliament since it gained independence from Britain and France 42 years ago. Photograph: Ginny Stein
24.10.2022
Vanuatu to welcome first female MP since 2008 after snap election
Vanuatu Election Commission yet to declare official results but Julia King likely to be lone female voice in 52-member parliament.Votes are still being counted in Vanuatu’s snap election, but with...

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
IPU - Celia Xakriaba, a climate activist, is one of 4 indigenous women to be elected to the Brazilian Parliament. © Douglas Magno/AFP
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