Facts and figures: Leadership and political participation

Women in parliaments

• Only 24.3 per cent of all national parliamentarians were women as of February 2019, a slow increase from 11.3 per cent in 1995 [1].
• As of June 2019, 11 women are serving as Head of State and 12 are serving as Head of Government [2].
• Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide, where, women have won 61.3 per cent of seats in the lower house [3].
• Globally, there are 27 States in which women account for less than 10 per cent of parliamentarians in single or lower houses, as of February 2019, including 3 chambers with no women at all [4].

Across regions

• Wide variations remain in the average percentages of women parliamentarians in each region. As of February 2019, these were (single, lower and upper houses combined): Nordic countries, 42.5 per cent; Americas, 30.6 per cent; Europe including Nordic countries, 28.6 per cent; Europe excluding Nordic countries, 27.2 per cent; sub-Saharan Africa, 23.9 per cent; Asia, 19.8 per cent; Arab States, 19 per cent; and the Pacific, 16.3 per cent. [5].

Other domains of government

• As of January 2019, only 20.7 per cent of government ministers were women; the five most commonly held portfolios by women ministers are: Social Affairs; followed by Family/Children/Youth/Elderly/Disabled; Environment/Natural Resources/Energy; Employment/Labour/Vocational Training; and Trade/Industry [6].
• In 103 countries and areas with relevant data, women's representation in elected local deliberative bodies varied from less than 1 per cent to close to parity, at 50 per cent, with a median of 26 per cent [7].
• Women’s representation in local governments can make a difference. Research on panchayats (local councils) in India discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62 per cent higher than in those with men-led councils. In Norway, a direct causal relationship between the presence of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage was found [8].

Expanding participation

• As of February 2019, only 3 countries have 50 per cent or more women in parliament in single or lower houses: Rwanda with 61.3 per cent, Cuba with 53.2 per cent and Bolivia with 53.1 per cent; but a greater number of countries have reached 30 per cent or more [9]. As of February 2019, 50 single or lower houses were composed of 30 per cent or more women, including 22 countries in Europe, 12 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 12 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2 in the Pacific and 1 each in Asia and Arab States; more than half of these countries have applied some form of quotas - either legislative candidate quotas or reserved seats - opening space for women's political participation in national parliaments [10]. Gender balance in political participation and decision-making is the internationally agreed target set in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action [11].
• There is established and growing evidence that women's leadership in political decision-making processes improves them [12]. Women demonstrate political leadership by working across party lines through parliamentary women's caucuses - even in the most politically combative environments - and by championing issues of gender equality, such as the elimination of gender-based violence, parental leave and childcare, pensions, gender-equality laws and electoral reform [13].