Women's political participation

Following David Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle, the UK government has moved from having three women in the cabinet to five: and these two new members are working mothers, a presence not there before.

This still fails to improve the overall gender equity: according to theInter-Parliamentary Union the UK currently ranks 65th globally for women parliamentary membership. Women comprise 22.6 per cen of the total UK parliament, compared to 51 per cent of the population.

Women in politics is high on the agenda this week after David Cameron's reshuffle which his own spin doctors rather unfortunately dubbed a ‘catwalk reshuffle’.

More women ministers is a welcome development but with just half as many women in his cabinet as Tony Blair did seven years ago, the PM still has some catching up to do.

Somali women leaders met in Mogadishu on Sunday (July 20th) to demand greater representation in national politics and clear constitutional provisions protecting their participation, Somalia's Hiiraan Online reported.

Chair of the Somali National Women's Association Batulo Sheikh Ahmed Gaballe and several of Somalia's women lawmakers attended the meeting.

From time being, sex stereotyping has always been an issue in contemporary setting. It assumes that masculine and feminine traits are intertwined with leadership. Due to the aggressive and competitive nature of politics, the belief is that participation in elected office requires masculine traits.

Charging the former Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of "betraying women by not giving reservation to them in decision-making bodies", BJP today said it was committed to political empowerment of the fairer sex by granting 33 per cent reservation to them.

As the vote count at the UML general convention continues, 10 women candidates from Madhav Kumar Nepal panel and nine contestants from KP Oli have won the election to the Central Committee of the party. 

We invite our users to read the full article published on July 16th 2014.

Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls says Australia can help Pacific nations improve poor levels of female leadership.

Natasha Stott-Despoja is the head of an Australian delegation to Tonga to meet about 30 women in politics from around the region.

Female representation in Pacific parliaments is around five per cent compared to the global average of almost 22 per cent.

Susan Wismer, challenger of incumbent Gov. Dennis Daugaard, is the first woman to be nominated by a major party for the state's high office.

Wismer says that had nothing to do with her decision to run, but she knows it matters to some of the women who support her. "I'm understanding more and more how much it means to women across the state," said Wismer, a state representative from Britton.