Women have made great progress in the struggle for equality. But when it comes to filling leadership positions, women lag substantially behind men across industries, including in law, medicine, finance, academia and politics.

Money is a necessary component of the democratic process, enabling the expression of political support as well as competition in elections. At the same time, if the funding of political parties and election campaigns are not effectively regulated, money could also undermine the integrity of processes and institutions of political participation and representation.

LONDON — Female parliamentarians have called for a global network to combat issues including online abuse from the public, threats to their safety and discrimination by male colleagues.

A gathering of female members of parliament (MPs) from dozens of countries across the world highlighted shared challenges over gender equality in politics and urged a joint response, said a report on the conference published on Monday by British politician Harriet Harman.

 Women are increasingly spotlighting gender as they run in record-breaking numbers in 2018. From breastfeeding on camera to sharing intimate stories of sexual abuse, women running for office are turning campaign norms — and long-held gender stereotypes — on their head with a flurry of new ads that highlight once taboo topics.