IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Dansk Interparlamentarisk Gruppes bestyrelse 2023-24
IPU Alm.del Bilag 11
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HIGHLIGHTS

• The share of women

in national parliaments

increased by 0.4 percentage

points, from 26.5% on

1 January 2023 to 26.9% on

1 January 2024. This was a

similar rate of progress as

in 2022.

• In the 52 countries that held

parliamentary elections in

2023, women accounted for

27.6% of elected or appointed

MPs – a 1.4-percentage-point

improvement as compared

to the previous polls in these

same countries.

• Women took 27% of elected

or appointed seats in lower

or single chambers in

2023, and 31% of seats in

upper chambers.

• The Americas remained

the region with the highest

representation of women,

who accounted for 42.5%

of members elected to nine

chambers in the six countries

that held parliamentary

renewals in 2023. Overall, as

of 1 January 2024, women

accounted for 35.1% of

all parliamentarians in the

region, across all chambers

and countries.

• Eswatini recorded the

highest progress in

women’s representation

among countries that held

elections in 2023, with a

20-percentage-point increase

in its upper chamber. It was

followed by Benin and Sierra

Leone, with increases of

18.5 and 15.9 percentage

points respectively.

• Quotas continued to be

a significant factor in

women’s representation in

parliament in 2023. The 43

chambers that had some

form of quotas elected

28.8% women on average,

versus 23.2% in chambers

with no quotas. The share

of women elected was the

highest (33.5%) in chambers

that had both legislated and

voluntary quotas.

Women in parliament in 2023

The year in review

Gender issues were prominent in several elections held in 2023. A protester in Poland holds a sign with

the slogan “SMASH PATRIACHY” (sic). © Artur Widak/NurPhoto/NurPhoto via AFP

Introduction

In 2023, progress on women’s representation in parliament was slow and mixed. Globally,

the share of women MPs stood at 26.9% on 1 January 2024 – only 0.4 percentage points

higher than it was 12 months earlier. This represented a similar rate of progress as in 2022,

but slower than in the preceding years.

Parliamentary elections were held in 2023 for 66 chambers in 52 countries. In 32 of these

chambers, women’s representation increased. The share of women fell in 19 chambers,

and remained the same or changed by less than 1 percentage point in 15 others. In

the countries that held parliamentary renewals in 2023, women accounted for 27.6%

of elected MPs across all chambers – a 1.4-percentage-point increase as compared to

the previous polls in these same countries. Cuba elected a female-majority parliament

while the United Arab Emirates had a parliament with parity for the second consecutive

time. In 19 chambers, women accounted for between one third and half of elected or

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

• Electoral systems also

made a clear difference

in parliamentary renewals

in 2023: countries using

proportional representation

or mixed electoral systems

elected a higher share of

women than those with a

majority/plurality electoral

system. The former were also

more likely to have electoral

quotas for women.

• At the end of 2023, six

countries had parity (or a

greater share of women

than men) in the lower or

single chambers of their

parliaments. This was the

same number as at the

beginning of the year. Rwanda

continued to lead the world

with women accounting

for 61.3% of parliamentary

membership, followed

by Cuba and Nicaragua

with 55.7% and 53.9%

respectively, while Andorra,

Mexico and the United Arab

Emirates had parity.

• In 49 countries, women

held between one third and

half of seats in the lower or

single chamber of parliament

at the end of 2023, up from

48 countries at the end

of 2022.

• At the end of 2023, women

accounted for less than 10%

of members of the lower or

single chamber of parliament

in 21 countries, down from

22 at the end of 2022. This

figure included two countries

– Oman and Yemen – with

no women MPs in their

lower chamber.

• Globally, the share of women

Speakers of parliament

increased to 23.8% (up

1.1 percentage points) in the

12 months to 1 January 2024.

appointed MPs. In six countries, less than one tenth of seats went to women, while no

female MPs were elected to the lower chamber of the parliament of Oman – the only

chamber electing no women in 2023.

Beyond elections, the decision by several prominent female leaders to resign from their

positions and/or quit politics highlighted the challenges of equal political participation.

Despite the disappointments, there was notable progress in certain regions and countries

in 2023, often driven by electoral reform and institutional change. Women also reached

historic milestones in a number of countries.

Figure 1:

World and regional averages of women in parliaments (%), 1995 and 2024

World average (+15.6)

11.3

26.9

12.7

35.1

13.2

31.6

9.8

27.3

6.3

22.5

4.3

16.5

13.2

21.4

1995

2024

Americas (+22.4)

Europe (+18.4)

Sub-Saharan Africa (+17.5)

Paciﬁc (+16.2)

MENA (+12.2)

Asia (+8.2)

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) data for all houses combined, figures correct as of 1 July 1995 and

1 January 2024 respectively. The baseline year of 1995 corresponds to the time of adoption of the Beijing

Declaration and Platform for Action.

There were some notable developments in regions around the world:

•

In the Americas, women comprised 42.5% of all MPs elected, nominated or appointed

in the chambers that saw renewals in 2023, the highest representation among all

regions in the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the highest improvement among all regions on women’s

parliamentary representation in 2023.

In Europe, the share of women exceeded 40% in 7 of the 21 chambers that held

elections in 2023.

In Asia, progress remained mixed, with Kazakhstan recording a decline in the share of

women MPs in its lower chamber.

While the United Arab Emirates has parity in its parliament once again, setbacks in

Oman and Tunisia held back progress on women’s representation in the Middle East

and North African (MENA) region.

•

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Ecuadorians elected a record 43.1% women to parliament in 2023. The country has set incremental quotas for the top of candidate lists,

with the ultimate aim of achieving gender parity. © Franklin Jacome/Getty Images South America/Getty Images via AFP

Regional trends

The Americas: The forward march continues

Overview

The Americas region continued to lead the way in 2023,

maintaining its long-held position as the region with the

highest representation of women in parliament. As of

1 January 2024, women accounted for 35.1% of all MPs in

the Americas. The region is home to a number of countries

with particularly high shares of women parliamentarians,

including five – Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, Costa Rica and

Bolivia – that rank among the top 10 globally in terms of

women’s representation in parliament.

However, 2023 saw slower progress in the nine chambers

in six countries in the region that held parliamentary

elections: women took 42.5% of the seats up for election

on average, which was only 0.7 percentage points higher

than the share of women MPs following the previous

renewals. Women’s representation improved in six of these

chambers in 2023, while the share of women dipped in

the other three (the lower chamber in Argentina and both

chambers in Antigua and Barbuda).

Cuba, where women already held more than half of

parliamentary seats, improved its record further: women’s

representation jumped from 53.2% to 55.7% in 2023, with

the country continuing to have the second-highest share of

women MPs in the world, behind only Rwanda. Argentina

placed second in the region, with women accounting

for 45.8% and 43.2% of MPs in the upper and lower

chambers respectively. Third was Ecuador, with women

holding 43.1% of all parliamentary seats.

In 2023, there were a number of milestones in women’s

leadership in the region. In Dominica, Sylvanie Burton

was elected president, becoming the first woman and

the first person from an Indigenous community to hold

the position.

Christine Kangaloo was elected as only the

second female president of Trinidad and Tobago. In Brazil,

Sonia Guajajara, an influential Indigenous activist who was

elected as an MP in 2022, was appointed as the country’s

first-ever minister of Indigenous peoples in the newly

elected government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, becoming

the first Indigenous person to hold a ministerial role in

the country.

presidentoffice.gov.dm/president-of-the-commonwealth-of-dominica

news.mongabay.com/2023/01/sonia-guajajara-turnaround-from-jail-

threats-to-minister-of-indigenous-peoples/

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Women’s representation slips marginally in the lower

chambers of Argentina, and Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

has long been a pioneer in women’s

representation in parliament. It introduced legally mandated

quotas for women candidates in 1991,

becoming the first

country to legislate candidate-level gender quotas.

Over

the years, the law has ensured substantial representation

of women in the national legislature. Several other

countries in the region have followed in the footsteps

of Argentina and introduced quotas of their own, and

women’s representation has touched, or even exceeded,

50% in some of them.

The progress enabled by quotas does, however, seem to

be plateauing. In 2023, the share of women in the Senate

of Argentina (the upper chamber) increased from 43.1% to

45.8%. However, women’s representation in the Chamber

of Deputies (the lower chamber) saw a small decline in

2023. The chamber held a partial renewal, with 130 of

its 257 seats up for election. Women were elected to 49

of these seats – a share of 37.9%. In contrast, women

accounted for 46.5% of MPs elected to the seats in the

2021 polls. As a result, the total share of women among

all MPs in the lower chamber now stands at 43.2%, down

from 44.7% before the election held in 2023.

Antigua and Barbuda

is a regional outlier: women’s

representation in parliament – and especially in the House

of Representatives (the lower chamber) – has consistently

been very low when compared to other countries. In

2023, only one woman was elected to the 18-member

chamber, whereas the outgoing house had two female

MPs. Women’s representation has historically been higher

in the Senate (the upper chamber), but the share of female

members also fell following the 2023 renewal, which saw

seven women appointed (41.2% of seats). By contrast,

women made up 52.9% of the outgoing Senate.

Electoral reforms enable improved representation in

Ecuador and Paraguay

Ecuador,

the 2023 elections saw an encouraging shift in

trends. For many years, the share of women in the national

parliament seemed to have plateaued, with women holding

38% of seats following the 2019 and 2017 polls, and 38.7%

following the renewal in 2013. In 2023, however, 59 women

were elected. This represented 43.1% of seats in parliament

– a 5.1-percentage-point increase when compared with

women’s representation following the previous renewal.

The electoral law in Ecuador mandates equal

representation of women on parties’ candidate lists.

While parties are required to alternate male and female

candidates, there was historically no horizontal quota

mandating an equal share of women at the top of candidate

iknowpolitics.org/sites/default/files/schwindtbayer2009_lsq_en_pdf.

pdf

www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-gender/article/abs/

gender-quotas-and-womens-substantive-representation-lessons-

from-argentina/7AA9E3D4D0DEB6754A4528FDCCD9811D

lists. To address this, in 2020, Ecuador introduced a gender

parity law

that requires parties to progressively increase

the share of women at the top of their lists. In 2021, the

requirement was 15%. This was increased to 30% for the

elections held in 2023. In 2025, parties will be required to

ensure parity among candidates heading party lists.

Notable progress was made in

Paraguay,

where women’s

representation increased in both chambers of parliament.

Eleven women were elected to the Senate (the upper

chamber), representing 24.4% of seats, up 6.7 percentage

points from the previous polls. Similarly, in the Chamber

of Deputies (the lower chamber), women’s representation

increased by 7.5 percentage points, with women now

comprising more than one fifth (22.5%) of all members.

This improvement happened despite the fact that women

made up a smaller share of candidates in 2023 than in

the previous polls. In 2018, over one third of candidates

contesting seats in the lower chamber were women, while

in 2023, this share was 26.2%. For the Senate, the share

of women among candidates fell from 39.9% to 27.9%.

In 2023, Paraguay moved from closed lists to a system

where voters rank their preferred candidates.

This type of

voting system has been shown to improve the chances of

women getting elected.

Europe: A year of mixed progress

Overview

In Europe, elections were held for 21 chambers in 17

countries. As a result of those elections, women’s

representation in this group of countries increased by

1.2 percentage points, from 30.7% to 31.9% at the end

of 2023.

Following renewals in 2023, women held a higher proportion

of seats in nine of these chambers, with Luxembourg,

Monaco and Switzerland (upper chamber) seeing the

biggest gains in the shares of women elected. Women’s

representation fell in five chambers, with the biggest

declines in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland (upper chamber)

and Switzerland (lower chamber). In the remaining seven

chambers, women’s representation remained the same or

changed marginally (by less than 1 percentage point).

As of 1 January 2024, the overall share of women in

parliaments across Europe stood at 31.6%, an increase

of 0.6 percentage points as compared to the situation

12 months previously.

Andorra, which held a parliamentary renewal in 2023,

achieved parity and ended the year with the highest

representation of women in the region (and the fourth-

highest in the world). In Estonia, Kaja Kallas was re-elected

www.ifes.org/news/stronger-together-women-and-men-unite-gender-

equality-ecuadors-political-parties

www.reuters.com/world/americas/paraguays-women-battle-break-

political-glass-ceiling-2023-04-29/

www.representwomen.org/ranked_choice_voting_women_win

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

as prime minister, and Evika Silina was

elected as prime minister of Latvia. With

her election, all three Baltic countries

– Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – ended

2023 with female prime ministers.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Kristo

became the chair of the Council of

Ministers, while in Spain, women made

up more than half of the ministers in

the new Cabinet of the re-elected prime

minister Pedro Sánchez.

Gains in Luxembourg and a landmark

election in Estonia

Since 2016,

Luxembourg

has had a law

in place mandating that women account

for at least 40% of candidates on party

lists.

The 2023 renewal was the second

election held since the introduction of

this law. Women comprised 42.8% of all

candidates running for the election and

won 18 seats, making up 30% of all MPs

– an increase of 10 percentage points

versus the previous polls.

Estonia,

30 women were elected to

parliament, making up 29.7% of all MPs – a

figure that was largely unchanged from the

share in the previous polls. Kaja Kallas, who

became the first female prime minister

of Estonia in 2021, was re-elected to

serve a second consecutive term. Women

accounted for 32.6% of all candidates

contesting the 2023 election, only

marginally higher than the figure for the

2019 renewal (32.1%). The share of women

candidates was higher than average among

the three parties that eventually went on to

form a government together: the Reform

Party (36%), Estonia 200 (Eesti 200) (39%)

and the Social Democratic Party (44%).

The election was notable for other reasons,

too: it saw the highest-ever turnout in the

nation’s history and, for the first time, more

voters voted online than in person,

with

women comprising more than half of those

who voted online.

Figure 2:

Parliamentary renewals in 2023

Progress and setbacks (in percentage points) of women in lower or single houses of parliament

renewed in 2023

Benin

Sierra Leone

Eswatini

Micronesia (Federated States of)

Monaco

Luxembourg

Paraguay

Gabon

Marshall Islands

Ecuador

Andorra

Thailand

Mauritania

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cuba

Türkiye

Greece

China

Netherlands

Turkmenistan

Slovakia

Poland

Guatemala

Nigeria

Spain

Bulgaria

Djibouti

Estonia

Timor-Leste

United Arab Emirates

Brunei Darussalam

Serbia

Zimbabwe

Finland

Montenegro

Liberia

Argentina

Oman

New Zealand

-0.3

-0.6

-0.7

-1.0

-1.2

-1.4

-1.6

-2.3

-2.8

-3.0

-3.2

-3.9

-4.8

-5.6

-6.3

7.5

6.6

6.1

5.1

3.6

3.4

3.0

2.8

2.5

2.3

1.6

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.3

0.0

10.0

15.9

14.4

14.3

12.5

18.5

centraleuropeantimes.com/2023/09/all-three-

baltic-countries-now-led-by-women-as-silina-

becomes-latvia-pm/

9 www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-

database/country?country=130

10 news.err.ee/1608884594/women-s-

representation-in-estonia-s-riigikogu-election-is-

growing-steadily

11 investinestonia.com/estonia-makes-history-with-

i-voting-majority-and-record-female-presence-in-

new-parliament/

12 www.valimised.ee/en/archive/statistics-about-

internet-voting-estonia

Switzerland

Kuwait

Guinea-Bissau

Cambodia

Antigua and Barbuda

Tunisia

Kazakhstan

-8.7

-10

-5

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

The 2023 elections in Luxembourg resulted in the election of 30% women MPs, a 10 percentage point increase from the previous polls but

still well below the 40% candidate quota law. © Johanna Geron/AFP

An election with women’s issues at the centre in Poland

In 2020 and 2021,

Poland

saw massive public protests

against a court ruling that paved the way for severe

restrictions on access to abortion. Polish citizens,

especially women and young people, took to the streets

demanding a rollback. The 2023 parliamentary elections

were the first to be held in the country following the

changes and protests. Women’s representation in the

Sejm (the lower chamber) increased slightly, from 28.7%

to 29.3%. However, the share of women in the Senate

(the upper chamber) fell by 5 percentage points, from 24%

to 19%.

Women’s participation and representation remained

central to the election. Despite making up 44.5% of all

candidates, women comprised just one quarter (24.9%) of

candidates topping party lists.

For example, while 40.4%

of candidates standing for the incumbent Law and Justice

(PiS) party were female, women only topped 24.4% of

the party’s electoral lists.

The share of lists headed by

women was higher for the main opposition party, the Civic

Coalition (KO), at 41.5%. In fact, 48% of KO’s candidates

were women, and the party launched a campaign to

actively promote its female candidates.

For Third Way,

the share of party lists topped by women was just 20%,

even though women formed 41.2% of the candidate pool.

Additionally, women candidates faced a non-conducive

environment, including sexual and physical threats and

violence.

PiS ended up winning the largest number of seats, while

KO and Third Way won the second and third-largest

numbers respectively. As a consequence, while the share

of women contesting the 2023 election was high, the share

of seats eventually won by women was lower.

Small gains in France and Türkiye

France,

2023 saw a partial renewal of the Senate (the

upper chamber), with 170 of the 348 seats up for election.

A total of 65 women were elected, thus filling 38.2% of the

seats at stake. After the election, women’s representation

in the chamber as a whole increased by 2.9 percentage

points to 36.2%.

France has long had legislated quotas to ensure gender

parity among candidates across political levels. In fact,

it was the first country in the world to introduce a

law mandating 50% representation of women among

candidates.

However, this long-standing legislation has

not translated into parity among MPs. In the Senate,

candidates are elected through either a majority vote

16 www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/4/555048.pdf

17 www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-database/

country?country=76

13 twitter.com/ISPThinkTank/status/1701219317302399338

14 notesfrompoland.com/2023/09/15/polish-opposition-launch-campaign-

to-mobilise-female-voters/

15 Ibid.

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

system or a proportional list system, based on whether a

district is electing one or two senators (the former) or three

or more senators (the latter). Since there is no horizontal

parity law, more men end up leading candidate lists, which

translates into a male-majority chamber.

Additionally,

unlike the situation in other countries where candidate lists

that do not comply with the gender quota are rejected, the

law in France provides for financial penalties for parties

that do not adhere to the law, enabling them to field fewer

women by paying the fine.

Türkiye,

119 women were elected in 2023, representing

19.8% of all MPs. While this share was still low, it was

nevertheless 2.5 percentage points higher than the figure

following the previous polls held in 2018.

There are no legally mandated quotas in Türkiye, although

some political parties have adopted voluntary quotas. Also,

in 2023, political parties were less likely to place women

at the top of their electoral lists, which further reduced

their chances of getting elected.

For example, women

comprised 18.8% of candidates standing for the incumbent

Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

However,

only 4 of these 113 women candidates topped the party’s

lists. The Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main

opposition party, fielded 156 women candidates (26% of

all candidates), but only placed 11 women at the top of its

lists.

On an encouraging note, the election saw a number

of young women stand for election, including an 18-year-

old.

The two youngest winning candidates were both

women: Zehranur Aydemir (25 years old) and Rumeysa

Kadak (27 years old).

Finland records a small decline in women’s representation

Finland,

a total of 92 women were elected, making up

46% of the 200-member Eduskunta - Riksdagen, down

1 percentage point versus the situation following the

previous poll.

Women’s representation among candidates stood at 42.9%

overall, with variations across parties.

For example,

women accounted for 47.2% of candidates standing for the

National Coalition Party (KOK), which won the most seats.

But the Finns Party (PS), which won the second-highest

number of seats, stood only 35% women candidates.

18 www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2023/09/24/french-senatorial-

elections-a-guide-to-the-september-24-vote_6138887_5.html

19 www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2022/0617/Where-is-my-place-

Women-push-back-against-French-politics-machismo

20 esik.org.tr/kategori/basin-aciklamalari/74104/kesinlesen-milletvekili-

aday-listelerine-gore-yeni-meclis-te-33-ilden-kadin-vekil-olmayacak

21 www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/10/women-face-political-barriers-

ahead-turkey-elections

22 Ibid.

23 www.trtworld.com/turkiye/a-look-at-women-and-youth-participation-

in-turkiyes-upcoming-elections-13145940

24 www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230516-womens-representation-in-

turkiye-parliament-at-highest-level-in-history/

25 www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/23214-women-

account-for-42-9-of-candidates-in-2023-finnish-parliamentary-

elections.html

26 pxdata.stat.fi/PxWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__evaa/statfin_evaa_

pxt_13sr.px/table/tableViewLayout1/

By contrast, more than half (56.2%) of candidates standing

for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which won the third-

highest number of seats, were women.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Two steps forward, one step back

Overview

In sub-Saharan Africa, elections were held in 2023 for

18 chambers in 13 countries. On average, 19.1% of those

elected across the region were women – an increase of

3.9 percentage points when compared with women’s

representation following the previous renewals for

these same chambers. This was the biggest increase

recorded across all regions in the world in 2023. All in all,

women’s representation increased in 11 chambers, with

some of the biggest gains recorded in Eswatini (upper

chamber), Benin and Sierra Leone. In four chambers,

women’s representation remained the same (or changed

by 1 percentage point or less), while the share of women

MPs fell in three chambers: Guinea-Bissau, Liberia (lower

chamber) and Nigeria (upper chamber).

Across the 13 countries that held renewals in 2023, the

highest shares of women elected to parliament were

recorded in the upper chambers of Zimbabwe (45%) and

Eswatini (43.3%). By contrast, Nigeria elected the least

gender-representative parliament in the region, with

women making up only 2.8% of MPs in the upper chamber

and 3.9% of MPs in the lower chamber following the

2023 polls.

At the beginning of 2024, the share of women in

parliaments across sub-Saharan Africa was 27.3%, a

0.8-percentage-point increase relative to 12 months

previously and the third highest among all regions in the

world. A notable development was the appointment of

Manuela Roka Botey as the first female prime minister of

Equatorial Guinea.

She became the first woman to hold

this position in the entire West African region. Another

significant development was the election of Kandia

Kamissoko Camara as the Speaker of the Senate of Côte

d’Ivoire (the upper chamber) – the first time a woman had

ever held this position.

Decisive steps forward in Sierra Leone and Benin

In January 2023,

Sierra Leone

enacted the Gender

Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act, which

introduced a mandatory 30% quota for women among

election candidates.

A few months later – in July 2023

– the country held its first election with the new quota

in place. Ahead of the poll, the IPU organized a series of

workshops to promote the new law. These workshops

included recommendations on a range of issues, including

how to better support female candidates. Several MPs –

27 www.reuters.com/world/africa/equatorial-guinea-appoints-its-first-

female-prime-minister-2023-02-01/

28 www.ipu.org/news/news-in-brief/2023-01/sierra-leone-opens-door-

more-women-in-parliament

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

In Benin, where a new electoral code adopted in 2019 introduced reserved seats, women now make up 25.7% of MPs, up from 7.2% in

the previous polls. © Yanick Folly/AFP

male and female alike – as well as the women’s caucus of

MPs advocated for their parties to include more women on

candidate lists.

A total of 41 women were returned to parliament across

the 135 seats that were up for election, representing

30.4% of directly elected MPs following the renewal.

In addition, only one woman was elected among the 14

indirectly elected paramount chiefs in 2023. As a result,

women accounted for 28.2% of the final 149 MPs – an

increase of 15.9 percentage points versus the share of

women elected in the previous polls held prior to the

introduction of the new law.

Benin,

28 women were elected to parliament, a historic

high for the country.

Together, they accounted for over

one quarter (25.7%) of all MPs, a jump of 18.5 percentage

points versus the situation following the previous polls.

This significant increase was the product of a constitutional

amendment and the subsequent introduction of a new

electoral code in 2019, which added 24 reserved seats for

women in parliament.

As a result of this reform, which

followed IPU-supported dialogue between parliament’s

leadership and relevant stakeholders, women made up

26.3% of electoral candidates in 2023 – up from 8.4%

at the previous election. At the beginning of 2023,

Benin ranked 169th in the world in terms of women’s

parliamentary representation. By the end of the year, it had

moved up to 87th position.

Disappointments in Nigeria

Nigeria,

women’s representation in the Senate (the

upper chamber), which was already very low, shrank

further by 3.7 percentage points in 2023. Only three

women were elected in 2023, together representing just

2.8% of the total membership of the chamber. Women

also remained vastly underrepresented in the House of

Representatives (the lower chamber): in 2023, just 14

women were elected to the 358-seat chamber, accounting

for 3.9% of all MPs – marginally higher than the 3.4%

share recorded following the previous election.

In 2023, women comprised 8.4% of candidates running for

the Senate and 9.2% of those standing for the House of

Representatives.

In fact, in 5 of the 36 states of Nigeria,

there were no women candidates for the Senate. The

likelihood of women standing for major political parties

was even smaller, and analysis shows that 90% of women

candidates in the 2023 elections across different political

levels represented small parties.

29 www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home/sdc/aktuell/

newsuebersicht/2023/02/benin-frauen-nationalversammlung.html

30 www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-database/

country?country=24

31 www.vanguardngr.com/2022/09/2023-election-only-8-9-of-candidates-

are-women-report/

32 carnegieendowment.org/2023/05/09/why-women-haven-t-been-

successful-in-nigerian-elections-pub-89707

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Table 1

Women in lower and single chambers after parliamentary renewals in 2023

No.

Country

United Arab Emirates

Andorra

Finland

Monaco

New Zealand

Spain

Argentina

Ecuador

Total seats

470

200

123

350

257

137

149

200

250

279

101

460

149

2977

109

125

240

176

300

150

160

600

500

154

477

125

102

358

Total women

262

155

111

135

790

119

% women

55.7

50.0

46.4

46.0

45.8

45.5

44.3

43.2

43.1

40.3

38.5

38.0

33.8

30.8

30.0

29.7

29.3

28.2

26.5

25.7

25.6

24.5

24.2

23.3

23.1

23.0

22.5

22.0

21.6

21.0

20.0

19.8

19.2

18.4

16.2

14.3

12.8

12.1

11.0

10.4

9.8

8.8

5.6

3.9

3.1

0.0

Quota

Yes**

Yes*

Yes***

Yes**

Yes*

Yes**

Yes***

Yes**

Yes***

Yes**

Yes*

Yes**

Yes***

Yes*

Yes**

Yes*

Yes**

Yes***

Yes**

1 Cuba

10 Netherlands

11 Switzerland

Serbia

13 Timor-Leste

14 Zimbabwe

15 Luxembourg

16 Estonia

17 Poland

Sierra Leone

China

20 Benin

21 Turkmenistan

22 Gabon

23 Bulgaria

24 Mauritania

25 Djibouti

26 Greece

27 Paraguay

28 Slovakia

29 Eswatini

Montenegro

Guatemala

Türkiye

Thailand

Kazakhstan

Tunisia

Micronesia (Federated States of)

37 Democratic Republic of the Congo

38 Marshall Islands

39 Liberia

40 Cambodia

41 Guinea-Bissau

42 Brunei Darussalam

43 Antigua and Barbuda

44 Nigeria

45 Kuwait

46 Oman

Note: * indicates one or more political parties adopted a voluntary measure to increase the number of women candidates,

** indicates a legislated quota (either candidate quota or reserved seats), and *** indicates both legislated and voluntary

party quotas

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Nigeria ranked among the bottom five countries

globally for women’s representation in parliament and

has consistently had very low shares of women in its

legislature. Research commissioned by the IPU has

identified a range of institutional and sociocultural

factors that prevent women in Nigeria from being able

to participate in politics on an equal footing.

These

include gatekeeping by political parties, high candidate

registration fees, the inconvenient scheduling of political

meetings, the high cost of electoral campaigns, political

violence and sexual harassment, clientelism (and,

therefore, dependence on narrow networks of men),

a ban on independent candidacies, and patriarchal

social norms.

Since 2020, the IPU has supported the National

Assembly of Nigeria in identifying and considering

the best means to promote more equal and inclusive

representation of women in parliament. However, none

of the measures envisaged, such as the introduction of

an electoral gender quota, had been adopted ahead of

the 2023 elections.

Pacific: Small gains

Overview

Three countries in the Pacific region held parliamentary

elections in 2023: the Marshall Islands, the Federated

States of Micronesia and New Zealand. Across these

renewals, the share of women elected was 36.5% on

average – marginally higher than the share following the

previous polls (35.9%).

However, there was great variation between the three

countries. New Zealand elected the highest share of

women MPs (45.5%), while the Marshall Islands elected

the lowest share (12.1%). In New Zealand, women’s

representation fell by 2.8 percentage points, while it

increased in both the Marshall Islands and the Federated

States of Micronesia.

At the beginning of 2024, some 22.5% of MPs across the

region were women – 0.1 percentage points lower than

the situation 12 months previously. Yet this headline figure

conceals a regional skew: excluding Australia and New

Zealand, the average share of women MPs in the region

was only 7.1%. Additionally, the Pacific was the only region

where the average share of women MPs declined in 2023.

33 Expert report produced on behalf of the IPU’s Gender Partnership

Programme as part of its cooperation with the National Assembly of

Nigeria, July 2021.

34 www.ipu.org/news/statements/2023-02/more-women-needed-in-

decision-making-in-nigeria

In 2023, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, a 21-year-old Māori politician, became the youngest person to be elected as an MP in the history of

New Zealand. © Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images via AFP

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Table 2

Women in upper houses after parliamentary renewals in 2023

No.

Country

Total seats

259

348

100

109

Total women

111

126

% women

45.8

45.0

43.3

42.9

41.2

40.0

36.2

34.8

31.9

31.0

24.7

24.4

22.9

22.0

20.7

19.0

13.3

12.0

10.0

2.8

Quota system

Yes*

Yes***

Yes**

Yes***

Yes*

Yes***

Yes*

Yes***

Yes*

1 Argentina

2 Zimbabwe

3 Eswatini

4 Spain

5 Antigua and Barbuda

6 Netherlands

7 France

8 Switzerland

9 Congo

10 Cameroon

11 Côte d’Ivoire

Paraguay

Gabon

Oman

Poland

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bhutan

Liberia

14 Kazakhstan

20 Nigeria

Note: * indicates one or more political parties adopted a voluntary measure to increase the number of women candidates,

** indicates a legislated quota (either candidate quota or reserved seats), and *** indicates both legislated and voluntary

party quotas

Some setbacks for women’s representation in New Zealand

The biggest and most prominent election in the region

was in

New Zealand,

which had attained some notable

success on women’s representation in politics in recent

years, including electing one of the most diverse groups of

MPs

despite not having legislated quotas, and appointing

one of the most representative national Cabinets.

However, there were some setbacks for women’s

representation in the country in 2023. A total of 56 women

took seats at the year’s election, accounting for 45.5% of

all MPs. By contrast, 48.3% of MPs were women following

the polls held in 2020. In fact, in 2022, the New Zealand

Parliament became female-majority after the election

of Soraya Peke-Mason, which took the total number of

women to 61 in the 120-member chamber.

As a result

of this decline, New Zealand ranked 16th in the world for

women’s parliamentary representation at the beginning of

2024, down from 4th place a year earlier.

The New Zealand National Party, which won the highest

number of seats at the 2023 election, had the lowest

share of women among its candidates across all political

35 www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/19/new-zealand-elects-most-

diverse-parliament-boosting-female-lgbtiq-and-maori-mps

36 www.ft.com/content/ccfc8195-aa97-4845-b16b-4f0762a168ed

37 www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/new-zealand-parliament-

celebrates-majority-women-mps/

parties.

It also fared poorly on representation of diverse

ethnic groups, having the lowest proportion of ethnic-

minority MPs among political parties.

As a consequence,

ethnic diversity in parliament also declined following the

2023 election. On a more positive note, the election saw a

number of young women enter parliament.

They included

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke,

a Māori politician who, at

21 years of age, became the youngest person to be elected

as an MP in the country’s history.

Small but notable gains in the Federated States of

Micronesia and the Marshall Islands

It was as recently as November 2021 that a woman

entered the Congress of the

Federated States of

Micronesia

for the first time in the Pacific island nation’s

history. Even though no women were elected during the

midterm elections in March that year, history was made

when Perpetua Konman was elected as an MP in a by-

election in November 2021 for the seat vacated by her

38 www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/133124359/a-lot-of-blue-suits-

parliament-is-majority-male-again-after-nationals-election-success

39 theconversation.com/lost-voices-ethnic-diversity-in-the-new-zealand-

parliament-will-decline-after-the-2023-election-217648

40 www.1news.co.nz/2023/10/16/history-made-as-2023-election-sees-

young-women-cemented-in-politics/

41 www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300980315/te-pti-mori-candidates-

home-invaded-threatening-letter-left-party-says

42 www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/20/a-lot-on-the-line-new-

zealands-youngest-mp-looks-to-maori-ancestors-to-build-new-future

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

In 2023, women were elected to 19.2% of seats in the House of Representatives of Thailand, a 3.4-point increase from 2019.

late husband. In 2023, women’s representation increased

further: 2 women were elected to the 14-member

parliament – a share of 14.3%. In all, 3 women contested

the election, along with 26 men.

Following the 2023 election, there were four women MPs

in the Nitijela, the parliament of the

Marshall Islands,

up from two women previously. As a result, women’s

representation increased by 6.1 percentage points to

12.1%, the highest in the country’s history.

Asia: Sluggish progress

Overview

In Asia, parliamentary elections were held for nine

chambers across eight countries in 2023. On average,

women made up 24.7% of all elected candidates – an

increase of 1.3 percentage points versus the share of

women elected in the previous rounds of elections in these

same countries and chambers. In Timor-Leste, women

comprised 33.8% of all MPs elected in 2023, the highest

share among the parliaments that saw renewals in the

region in the year. At the opposite end of the spectrum

was Brunei Darussalam, where only 8.8% of all MPs

appointed in 2023 were women – the lowest among all

Asian countries where parliamentary renewals took place

in 2023.

Women’s representation increased in three chambers in

the region in 2023: China, Kazakhstan (upper chamber)

and Thailand (lower chamber). By contrast, it declined

in another three chambers: Bhutan (upper chamber),

Cambodia (lower chamber) and Kazakhstan (lower

chamber). In the remaining three chambers – Brunei

Darussalam, Timor-Leste and Turkmenistan – women’s

representation remained relatively unchanged versus

the previous composition (a change of less than

1 percentage point).

As of 1 January 2024, women held 21.4% of parliamentary

seats in the Asia region. This was the second-lowest

among all regions in the world and 0.4 percentage points

higher than the share 12 months previously.

Small gains in Thailand

Thailand,

96 women were elected to the House of

Representatives (the lower chamber), making up 19.2% of

the cohort of MPs – 3.4 percentage points higher than the

share following the previous election in 2019. While this

gain was encouraging, women continued to face resistance

from their male peers in the political arena.

Only 18% of

candidates in the 2023 elections were women.

43 www.forumsec.org/2023/03/30/release-forum-election-observers-

complete-first-mission-to-federated-states-of-micronesia/

44 www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/21/a-new-generation-of-women-

set-to-shake-up-politics-in-thailand

45 www.nationthailand.com/gallery/infographic/40027421

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Infographic

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Women in parliament

As at 1 January 2024

Proportion of women in parliament

Progress from 1 January 2023 to 1 January 2024

Progress in 2023

Globally, 26.9% of members of parliament are

women (as at 1 January 2024)

26.9%

+0.4

points

Progress in recent years

(in percentage points, as at 1 January of each

year)

0.6

2021

Women leaders of parliament

0.6

2022

0.4

2023

0.4

2024

As at 1 January 2024, 64 parliamentary chambers

are led by women

Share of women Chairs of permanent

parliamentary committees (%)

Human

rights

30.6%

of presiding ofﬁcers

of parliamentary

chambers are

women

23.8%

compared to

1 January 2023

+1.1

points

+2.9

points

compared to

1 January 2021

Foreign

affairs

20.1%

Gender equality

68.5%

Fi-

nance

13.4%

De-

fence

13.2%

Elections in 2023

66 chambers of parliament in 52 countries were renewed/had elections in 2023

/66

32 chambers have

women members than

before 2023

elections/renewals

/66

15 chambers have the

same

proportion of women as

before 2023

elections/renewals

/66

19 chambers have

fewer

women members than

before 2023

elections/renewals

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Champions in 2023

Regionally:

The Americas have the highest

proportion of women elected to

parliament in 2023: 42.5%

(elections were held in 9

chambers in 6 countries)

Nationally:

African countries have made the most progress after elections held

in 2023 in lower/single chambers:

Americas

42.5%

Quotas work

#2 Sierra

Leone

+15.9 percentage

points

#1 Benin

+18.5 percentage

points

#3 Eswatini

+14.4 percentage

points

In chambers where

no quota

was applied in

renewals held in 2023:

In chambers where

some form of quota

was

applied in renewals held in 2023:

23.2%

of those elected or

appointed to parliament

were women

Women elected in 2023

28.8%

of those elected or

appointed to parliament

were women

Impact of electoral system on women’s

election in 2023

11.6%

27.6%

72.4%

28.7%

28.7% of those elected in

proportional

representation or mixed electoral

systems

were women

11.6% of those elected in

majoritarian or

plurality electoral systems

were women

Proportion of seats following

parliamentary renewals in 2023

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Infographic

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Setbacks in Cambodia and Kazakhstan

Cambodia,

women’s representation – already low

before 2023 – slipped further by 4.8 percentage points.

In all, only 13 women were elected to the 125-member

National Assembly (the lower house), down from 19

previously. Just 12.8% of candidates standing for the

incumbent Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) – the dominant

force in the country’s politics – were women. Although

some other parties fielded a higher share of women

candidates,

the CPP won 120 of the 125 seats in an

election where the main opposition party

was banned

from standing.

Women’s representation increased slightly in the Senate

(upper chamber) of

Kazakhstan,

from 18.8% previously

to 22% in 2023. But there was a significant decline in

the House of Representatives (the lower chamber): while

29 women were elected to the chamber in 2021 (27.1%

of seats), only 18 women were elected in 2023 (18.4%

of seats).

In the 2021 election, women comprised 28.9% of

candidates. In 2023, this share fell to 23% (29% of

candidates on party lists for seats elected through

proportional representation (PR), and 20% of candidates

vying for seats elected through a majority vote).

2020, Kazakhstan introduced a 30% quota for women and

youth at the candidate level for elections to the House of

Representatives.

Critics had cautioned against combining

quotas for the two demographics.

Additionally, the law

did not have any mandates regarding the positions of

candidates on electoral lists. Consequently, in the first

poll held under the new law (2021), more women stood

for election but there was no increase in the share of

female MPs.

Following mass protests in January 2022, Kazakhstan

undertook constitutional reforms that brought in a number

of changes to the political system,

including reducing

the total number of seats in the lower chamber from 107

to 98.

The existing quota for women and youth was

retained, and people with disabilities were included in the

30% requirement.

Women’s underrepresentation was noted by international

observers monitoring the 2023 election,

who found that

political parties had made limited attempts to promote

women candidates. Many women therefore stood as self-

nominated candidates, and were likely to face difficulties in

accessing campaign premises.

Middle East and North Africa: Setbacks and

disappointment

Overview

In 2023, elections were held for six chambers in five

countries in the MENA region. Only 17.3% of MPs

elected or appointed in these countries were women,

down from 18.7% in the previous renewals for the

same chambers. The United Arab Emirates once again

elected a gender-equal parliament, placing it highest for

women’s representation among all the countries that held

parliamentary renewals in the region. On the other hand, in

Oman, no female MPs were elected to the lower chamber.

Women’s representation increased in Mauritania and in

the upper chamber of Oman, but declined in the lower

chamber of Oman, as well as in Kuwait and Tunisia. There

was no change in the share of women MPs in the United

Arab Emirates, which remained number one in the region

for women’s representation in parliament.

As of 1 January 2024, the overall share of women MPs

across the MENA region was 16.5% – the lowest of all

regions globally and only 0.2 percentage points higher than

the share 12 months previously.

Notable progress in Mauritania

Mauritania,

the share of women MPs increased by

3 percentage points following the 2023 election. A total of

41 women were elected, making up 23.3% of MPs – the

highest share of female parliamentarians in the country

since a record 25.2% women were elected in 2013.

Mauritania uses a mixed electoral system, with some seats

following PR and the remainder elected via a majority-vote

system. Since 2006, the law has reserved 20 seats for

women in the National Assembly. Parties are also required

to alternate between male and female candidates on their

lists. Candidate lists that do not comply with the gender

quota are rejected, and there are financial incentives for

parties that have a higher share of elected women than

mandated by the quota. In 2022, the country increased the

statutory number of parliamentary seats from 157 to 176

and reserved 11 seats for youth. Lists for these seats must

also alternate between men and women – a requirement

that enabled increased women’s representation in 2023.

46 kamnotra.io/en/succession/cambodia-election-2023/parties-candidates/

47 www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/19/cambodia-harassment-arrests-

opposition-activists

48 apnews.com/article/cambodia-opposition-party-election-hun-sen-

63659ff8f2de992d84d2be748afbab8b

49 www.osce.org/files/f/documents/e/2/539273.pdf

50 astanatimes.com/2020/05/kazakh-government-commits-to-gender-

quotas-mandatory-30-percent-women-in-politics/

51 cabar.asia/en/how-parliament-of-kazakhstan-has-changed-from-

majority-system-to-party-lists

52 www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/16/kazakhistan-president-proposes-

reforms-to-limit-his-powers

53 www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2022-07-20/kazakhstan-newly-

adopted-constitutional-amendments-introduce-new-governance-

model-and-strengthen-role-of-parliament/

54 www.osce.org/files/f/documents/e/2/539273.pdf

55 As of 1 January 2023, the regional average for the MENA region did

not include Tunisia, which concluded elections on 27 January 2023.

56 epc.ae/en/details/brief/mauritania-s-political-landscape-following-

legislative-and-local-elections and alakhbar.info/?q=node/43045

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

The United Arab Emirates once again elected a gender-equal parliament in 2023, placing it highest for women’s representation among all

countries in the MENA region. © Waleed Zein/Anadolu Agency/Anadolu via AFP

A major setback in Oman

Oman,

women’s representation and political

participation received a major setback in 2023, when no

women were elected to the Shura Council (the lower

chamber of the Majles). This made Oman one of only

two countries in the world with no female members in

its lower chamber, down from two women following the

previous poll held in 2019. A total of 32 women stood for

election in 2023, comprising just 3.8% of all candidates.

In comparison, the share of women candidates standing in

2019 was 6.3%. The situation was more encouraging in the

State Council (the upper chamber), where 18 women were

appointed as members, up from 15 previously.

Tunisia steps back from its promise of gender equality

In the wake of the Arab Spring,

Tunisia

enacted a new

constitution in 2014 that enshrined the principle of gender

equality.

The electoral law introduced in the same year

required political parties to alternate between male and

female candidates on their electoral lists.

This led to an

increase in the share of female MPs, with 31% women

elected in 2014, placing the country 30th in the world

at the end of that year in the IPU’s rankings of women’s

representation in parliament. However, this share

decreased to 22.6% of MPs following the subsequent

election held in 2019.

In 2023, women’s representation faced serious setbacks:

only 16.2% of MPs elected were women. This decline

was a consequence of a new electoral law enacted in

2022, which introduced several changes to the Tunisian

political system,

all of which have been shown to have

a detrimental impact on the chances of women getting

elected. The new law removed the requirement for

candidate lists to be gender-equal, as well as replacing the

existing PR voting system with a single-member majority

system.

The previous system of publicly funded electoral

campaigning was also replaced by a private-funding

arrangement, with candidates having to be endorsed by

a unique set of 400 voters and to submit their campaign

plan in advance.

In addition to these constraints, women

candidates faced resistance from their own families, as

well as intimidation and threats from their male peers, all of

which jeopardized their ability to participate in the elections

on an equal footing.

57 www.unfpa.org/news/gender-equality-guaranteed-tunisias-new-

constitution

58 www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/02/tunisia-tramples-gender-parity-ahead-

parliamentary-elections

59 Ibid.

60 www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/17/why-tunisia-elections-

controversial-explainer

61 carnegieendowment.org/2022/10/11/tunisia-s-new-electoral-law-is-

another-blow-to-its-democratic-progress-pub-88127

62 raseef22.net/english/article/1091355-haunted-by-threats-and-

intimidation-womeon-women-candidates-are-first-victims-of

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Quotas and electoral

systems

Electoral quotas have been shown to play a critical role in

improving women’s representation year after year.

Across chambers which had neither legislated nor

voluntary quotas, women made up 23.2% of all MPs

elected or appointed in 2023, down from 24% following

the previous elections held for these same chambers.

Conversely, in chambers with some form of quota, the

corresponding share was 28.8%.

Quotas may be legislated or adopted voluntarily by some or

all political parties. Sometimes, parties may adopt voluntary

quotas above and beyond a legislated quota. In chambers

where both legislated and voluntary quotas existed,

women made up one third (33.5%) of all MPs elected in

2023 – up from 31.3% following the previous polls and

the highest level of women’s representation regardless

of quota type. In chambers with only legislated quotas,

the share of women was 27.2%, while in those with only

voluntary quotas, it was 26.3%.

Quotas work best when they are designed and

implemented in full spirit. As the examples of France

and Mauritania show, quotas for candidate lists may not

translate into high levels of women’s representation if they

do not mandate placement rules – especially at the top

of party lists, where the chances of getting elected are

the highest. Attempts in Ecuador to progressively include

mandates for parity at the top of lists are noteworthy

in this regard, showing early signs of success in 2023.

Meanwhile, as the example of Kazakhstan demonstrates,

combining quotas for different demographic groups is not

an ideal approach.

Quota systems gained further ground in 2023, with

many more countries applying either newly introduced

or expanded quota provisions. Benin and Sierra Leone

held their first elections since the introduction of new

quota laws, recording significant jumps in women’s

representation in parliament, while Ecuador expanded its

quota requirement for women at the top of candidate lists.

Figure 3:

Share of women in parliaments (%), all chambers combined, by type of quota

33.5

31.3

27.2

24.0

23.2

25.1

26.3

24.9

28.8

26.8

No quota

Legislated & voluntary

Legislated

Voluntary

Any quota

Share of women (previous)

Share of women 2023

Figure 4:

Share of women in parliaments (%), by chamber and use of quotas

Lower chamber

No quota

Yes quota

Upper chamber

No quota

Yes quota

Share of women 2023

-1

+1.1

+3.4

Share of women (previous)

+1.7

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

In 2023, Khuon Sudary was appointed as President of the National Assembly of Cambodia, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Other countries introduced important reforms in 2023,

which will be implemented in future elections. Mongolia,

for instance, rolled out constitutional and legal reforms that

are set to progressively increase the electoral quota for

women among candidates from 20% at present to 30%

in 2024, and to 40% in 2028.

India, meanwhile, passed a

law reserving one third of all seats in the lower chamber of

parliament and in state legislatures for women.

While this

law does not mention a clear timeline for implementation, it

is likely to boost women’s representation significantly once

it comes into effect.

There have, however, been some recent disappointments

and setbacks on this front – most notably in Tunisia,

where electoral quotas were removed and other changes

were made to the political system, all of which adversely

impacted women’s representation. In Indonesia, the

General Elections Commission tweaked a detail in its

electoral quota rules that could have adversely impacted

women’s representation at the 2024 elections. However,

this change was rolled back following demands from

rights groups.

Electoral systems also play a role in enabling or inhibiting

women’s representation, with PR and mixed systems

tending to make it easier for women to get elected.

In 2023, women comprised 28.7% of MPs elected to

chambers with these electoral systems, up from 27.1%

following the previous polls held for these same chambers.

In contrast, in chambers with majority or plurality systems,

women comprised only 11.6% of members elected in

2023, down from 12.4% at the previous polls.

Aside from the design of the system itself, PR/mixed systems

are more likely to have quotas for women’s representation,

whereas plurality/majority systems are less likely to do so.

In 2023, of the 66 chambers that held elections, 35 used a

PR/mixed system, with 30 of these (85.7%) having some

form of quota for women. In contrast, among the 13 that used

a majority/plurality system, only 4 had a quota.

Women in top leadership

of parliament

As of 1 January 2024, there were 64 parliamentary

chambers led by women across the world. These female

leaders comprised 23.8% of all Speakers, 1.1 percentage

points higher than the share 12 months previously.

Upper chambers were more likely to be led by women

66 www.electoral-reform.org.uk/proportional-representation-helped-

women-get-elected-in-2022/

63 www.undp.org/mongolia/stories/momentum-here-mongolias-journey-

towards-gender-equality-decision-making

64 carnegieendowment.org/2023/09/26/india-s-new-gender-quota-law-is-

win-for-women-mostly-pub-90644

65 asianews.network/indonesias-election-commission-yields-to-

demands-to-restore-womens-representation-rule/

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

(32.1%) than lower/single chambers (20.2%). Additionally,

one quarter (25.9%) of all secretaries general/clerks

of parliaments were women, down from 27.8% in

January 2022.

Figure 5:

Share of women Speakers of parliament (%), all

chambers combined, 1995–2024

20.5%

15.8%

10.5%

8.3%

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2023

2024

12.4%

13%

22.7%

23.8%

Figure 6:

Share of women Speakers of parliament (%) by region,

1 January 2024

34.0%

28.4%

27.1%

23.8%

15.4%

12.5%

Again, as of 1 January 2024, women comprised 20%

of Speakers of unicameral parliaments worldwide. In

bicameral parliaments, the share of women Speakers was

26.4%, and there were five bicameral parliaments (the

Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Germany and Mexico) where

both chambers were presided over by women. In contrast,

of the world’s 77 bicameral parliaments, 42 had male

Speakers heading both chambers.

In the Americas, over one third (34%) of all Speakers

were women as of 1 January 2024 – the highest among

all regions. The second-highest ranking region in terms of

women’s representation among Speakers was sub-Saharan

Africa (28.4%) – and women held 47.4% of Speaker

positions in the southern Africa subregion. Sub-Saharan

Africa was followed by Europe (27.1%), Asia (15.4%) and

the Pacific (12.5%). There were no women Speakers in the

MENA region as of 1 January 2024.

In total, 71 new Speakers were appointed in parliaments

around the world in 2023. Of these, 16 were women

(22.5%). In Cambodia, Khuon Sudary was appointed as

President of the National Assembly, becoming the first

woman to hold the position. A similar milestone was

achieved in Côte d’Ivoire when Kandia Kamissoko Camara

was elected as President of the Senate in another first

for women in the country. In Turkmenistan, meanwhile,

Dunyagozel Akmuhammedovna Gulmanova was elected

as Chairwoman of the Assembly, becoming the youngest

Speaker of a parliament across the world, as well as the

youngest woman to lead a parliamentary chamber, at the

age of 34.

As of 1 January 2024, women occupied 268 out of 984

chair positions across the five types of parliamentary

committees included in the IPU’s Parline database

(defence, finance, foreign affairs, gender equality and

67 www.newscentralasia.net/2023/04/08/dunyagozel-gulmanova-is-

youngest-head-of-parliament-in-the-world-her-election-shows-some-

vital-changes-in-political-landscape-of-turkmenistan/

0.0%

Americas Sub-

Europe

Saharan Africa

Asia

Paciﬁc

MENA

World

average

Figure 7:

Share of women chairs of permanent parliamentary

committees (%), 1 January 2024

13.2%

13.4%

20.1%

30.6%

68.5%

Defence

Finance

Foreign

affairs

Human

rights

Gender

equality

human rights). Women therefore made up 27.2% of

committee chairs – an increase from 25.7% in 2022,

but below the 2021 figure of 27.7%. The proportion of

women chairs was lower (18.9%) when gender equality

committees are excluded – marginally higher than in 2022

(17.4%) and in 2021 (18.5%). Globally, on average, women

chaired between 13.2% and 20.1% of defence, finance

and foreign affairs committees, 30.6% of human rights

committees (up from 23.3% on 1 January 2023), and

68.5% of gender equality committees (up from 65.9%).

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

Figure 8:

Share of women committee chairs across themes (%), including and excluding gender

equality)

Americas

33.9%

21.4%

22.1%

15.0%

34.3%

25.0%

17.9%

6.9%

11.1%

11.4%

23.8%

18.6%

27.2%

8.9%

All themes

Asia

Europe

Middle East and

North Africa

Paciﬁc

Sub-Saharan Africa

Global average

All themes except gender equality

Figure 9:

Share of women chairs of select parliamentary committees (%)

85.3%

100.0%

68.5%

80.0%

41.9%

39.2%

28.6%

20.6%

14.5%

.0%

40.0%

20.1%

13.2%

13.4%

30.6%

16.7%

18.8%

12.2%

.9%

.1%

14.3%

.6%

0.0%

10.5%

12.5%

23.1%

20.0%

.4%

5.4%

0.0%

Global Average

Foreign affairs

Americas

Defence

Asia

Finance

Europe

Human rights

Middle East and

North Africa

Gender equality

0.0%

6.3%

Paciﬁc

Sub-Saharan

Africa

Wide disparities existed across regions. As of 1 January

2024, Europe had the highest proportion of women

chairing the five types of committees combined (34.3%),

while this share was lowest in the Pacific region (11.1%).

Sub-Saharan Africa was the only region with parity among

chairs of gender equality committees, while MENA

was the only region without a female chair of a finance

committee. In the Pacific, no committee on human rights

or gender equality was chaired by a woman.

Violence against women

in politics

As the IPU’s research on this theme has revealed

over the years, violence against women in politics

remains alarmingly common across the world. Women

parliamentarians and electoral candidates face hostility

and violence both within parliament and in other political

spaces. In an address at the annual meeting of the United

Nations Human Rights Council in June 2023, the UN High

Commissioner for Human Rights noted that such acts

11.5%

.7%

33.3%

50.0%

60.0%

55.6%

76.5%

83.3%

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

are meant “to perpetuate subordination and to crush the

political activism and aspirations of women and girls”.

This violence can take many forms, from misogynistic

comments to sexual assault and abuse, and even attacks

on women’s lives. While political violence is not new,

the digital world has emerged as an additional sphere to

attack women in politics. Several women were once again

targeted in different parts of the world in 2023. While the

occurrence of such incidents remains a worrying concern,

there were some encouraging attempts by parties and

parliaments to address the issue.

Female candidates targeted with violence and

disinformation

In Poland, where women’s rights were central to the

election, female candidates were often targeted with

sexual and physical violence.

A female MP who was

contesting the 2023 parliamentary election was physically

attacked by an unknown man,

another received death

and sexual-violence threats against her and her family,

and fake photos showing another female candidate

apparently kissing a man were circulated ahead of the

polls. In Thailand, a male candidate photoshopped a female

candidate’s face onto a nude model with the intention of

damaging her popularity and discrediting her reputation.

In Liberia, meanwhile, a photograph showing a woman

candidate smoking a cigar was circulated online with the

intent of questioning her credibility, with her opponent

asking if this was the person voters would want their

children to follow. The picture was accompanied by several

sexist comments. Other women who were contesting the

parliamentary election also faced similar experiences.

New Zealand, young candidate Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke

had her home broken into twice and received threatening

letters. Other female candidates standing in the country’s

2023 election also faced threats and violence, including

public and racially motivated attacks.

68 news.un.org/en/story/2023/06/1138267

69 www.oscepa.org/en/news-a-media/press-releases/press-2023/

poland-s-parliamentary-elections-were-competitive-but-marked-

by-misuse-of-public-resources-and-public-media-bias-international-

observers-say

70 lublin.wyborcza.pl/lublin/7

,48724,30227799,poslanka-marta-wcislo-

zaatakowana-na-targowisku-przez-mezczyzne.html

71 warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7

,54420,30219291,poslanka-

gajewska-dostaje-grozby-smierci-wobec-siebie-i-swojej.html

72 www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/21/a-new-generation-of-women-

set-to-shake-up-politics-in-thailand

73 www.liberianobserver.com/liberia-women-struggle-elective-offices-

amidst-sexism

74 www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/03/racism-threats-and-home-

invasions-candidates-face-abuse-on-new-zealands-campaign-trail and

theconversation.com/campaign-trail-threats-and-abuse-reinforce-

the-need-to-protect-nzs-women-politicians-before-they-quit-for-

good-214828

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

More women speak up

Several female parliamentarians came forward to report

cases of sexual harassment. While some of these incidents

occurred in 2023, others were examples of women sharing

experiences of harassment that had occurred in the past.

In France, an investigation was opened against Joël

Guerriau, a member of the Senate, for allegedly spiking the

drink of fellow MP Sandrine Josso in an apparent attempt

to sexually assault her.

Mr. Guerriau was subsequently

suspended from the Horizons party, an ally of the ruling

party. In the United Kingdom, a female MP from the

opposition Labour Party filed a complaint with the police in

2023 against a colleague for sexually harassing her after a

party in 2021.

In Australia, Lidia Thorpe, an independent

senator, accused David Van, a male colleague, of sexual

harassment and assault during a parliamentary session

in 2021.

A day later, Amanda Stoker, another senator,

accused the same male MP of sexual harassment in 2020.

Mr. Van was suspended from the Liberal Party in light

of the allegations. In a media interview, Karen Andrews,

a former Cabinet minister from Australia, shared her

experiences of being harassed while she was an MP.

She

also revealed that, when she had tried to raise the issue in

the past, instead of receiving support, she had been told

she was unable to take a joke.

While the high numbers of incidents continued to be a cause

of serious concern, the fact that women were finally able to

speak up and share their experiences of incidents that often

happened many years ago reflected a welcome shift.

Parliaments are stepping up

This shift is being driven by a combination of various

factors including the opening up of the conversation on

sexual violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement and,

subsequently, shrinking tolerance for such conduct. Several

parliaments are also beginning to acknowledge the gravity

of the issue and are continuing to introduce noteworthy

measures in response.

Australia, for example, has taken several steps since 2021

when a number of serious incidents of sexual assault

against female MPs and parliamentary staff came to light

after Brittany Higgins, a parliamentary staffer, revealed

that she had been sexually assaulted in parliament by a

male colleague in 2019. In 2021, in response to these

developments, an independent review

of parliamentary

workplaces was commissioned, with the Australian Human

75 www.france24.com/en/europe/20231118-what-we-know-about-

french-senator-accused-of-drugging-an-mp-in-attempted-sex-assault

76 www.tortoisemedia.com/2023/05/11/labour-mp-claims-shadow-

minister-sexually-assaulted-her/

77 www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/14/australian-senator-accuses-male-

colleague-of-sexual-assault

78 www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/former-liberal-senator-amanda-stoker-

accuses-david-van-of-sexual-harassment-20230615-p5dgz6.html

79 www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-12/karen-andrews-harassed-in-house-

of-representatives/102839724

80 humanrights.gov.au/set-standard-2021

Rights Commission and the Joint Select Committee on

Parliamentary Standards

tasked with inquiring into and

reporting on matters relating to the development of codes

of conduct for Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces

in 2022. In its report, the joint select committee proposed

a number of recommendations and a code of conduct for

parliamentarians.

The Parliament of Australia has also

released regular updates on the status of implementation

of each of the recommendations.

In 2023, the Althingi of Iceland adopted a strategy and

action plan against bullying and sexual and gender-

based harassment. The documents complement and

supplement the amendment to the

Code of Conduct for

Members of the Althingi

adopted in 2019, which requires

that MPs “shall not subject other members, employees

of the Althingi or guests to any sexual or gender-related

harassment or bullying or conduct themselves toward them

in any other demeaning manner”.

The strategy and action

plan – which were the result of extensive consultations

with all the political groups in parliament, including

their staff – set out preventive measures and provide

guidance on how to process reports and handle cases.

The key measures include regular training for MPs on

bullying, sexual and gender-based harassment, and other

demeaning conduct. The chairs of parliamentary groups,

the secretary general of the Althingi and managers of the

institution will be specifically trained on how to receive

incident reports. Cases will be handled with expert advice

to assess the situation and undertake possible mediation,

while ensuring that the complainant has access to advice

and support throughout the procedure. In the absence of

agreement on the resolution of a case, the Speaker of the

Althingi, after obtaining the opinion of the complainant, will

refer the case to a code of conduct procedure.

In Benin, the National Assembly has been using an IPU

and African Parliamentary Union study from 2021 on

violence against women in parliaments in Africa

to raise

awareness of the issue in parliament, in the media and

among the general public. It has also appointed focal points

to raise awareness on sexism and gender-based violence in

parliament and to provide support to victims. A mechanism

for handling complaints and applying sanctions has also

been put in place in parliament, in partnership with the

National Institute of Women.

In Ireland, a survey of 2,141 candidates who had stood in

either the 2020 national or 2019 local elections found that

women candidates were more likely to experience political

violence than their male peers.

They were also more likely

to experience political violence with sexual connotations. In

response to the survey and media reporting on the issue,

81 www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/

Parliamentary_Standards/ParliamentaryStandards

82 parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024961/

toc_pdf/Finalreport.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf

83 www.althingi.is/english/about-the-parliament/code-of-conduct-for-

members-of-the-althingi/

84 www.ipu.org/resources/publications/issue-briefs/2021-11/sexism-

harassment-and-violence-against-women-in-parliaments-in-africa

85 www.cmi.no/publications/8986-the-cost-of-doing-politics-in-ireland

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

the Parliament of Ireland set up the Task Force on Safe

Participation in Political Life,

with the aim of identifying

measures to safeguard and support participation and

promote civil discourse in political life.

A case for institutional reform in Thailand

In Thailand, two male MPs from the Move Forward Party

(MFP) – Wuttiphong Thonglour and Chaiyamparwaan

Manpianjit – were accused of sexual assault and violence

by multiple female staff members. This development came

a year after the country saw a serious conversation on

sexual violence when Prinn Panitchpakdi, the deputy leader

of the Democrat Party, was accused of sexual assault by

multiple women.

Mr. Prinn was found guilty and received

a custodial sentence.

Given that gender equality and addressing gender-based

violence are part of the MFP’s agenda,

the recent

allegations led to scrutiny of the party’s commitment to its

stated principles. The party investigated the charges and

both Mr. Wuttiphong and Mr. Chaiyamparwaan were found

guilty.

One was expelled by the party, while the other

was initially put on probation but later expelled.

Both men

later joined different parties,

allowing them to retain their

position as MPs. The MFP’s investigation and disciplinary

86 www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/office-holders/ceann-comhairle/task-

force-on-safe-participation-in-political-life/

87 www.vice.com/en/article/xgd9e4/me-to-thailand-prinn-panitchpakdi

88 election66.moveforwardparty.org/policy/collection/PolicyCategory/1

89 www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2676714/move-forward-

finds-2-mps-in-wrong-for-sexual-harassment

90 www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2680008

91 www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2694654/two-expelled-mfp-

mps-join-new-parties

measures show the importance of putting in place internal

policies and mechanisms to enable women to come forward

with their complaints. However, the fact that the MPs who

were expelled on charges of sexual violence were easily able

to join a different party and retain their seats underscores

the need for a more comprehensive response above and

beyond the internal policies of individual parties.

Gender issues in the

elections

In recent years, women’s rights have gained prominence

in electoral campaigns around the world. The opening up

of the conversation on sexual violence, especially after the

#MeToo movement, has drawn attention to sexism within

political spaces and institutions, sometimes emerging

as an important conversation during elections (such as

in Australia in 2022). Similarly, as more countries have

moved – and are moving – to gradually liberalize access

to abortions,

women’s reproductive rights have often

become key electoral issues, particularly in countries

where abortion remains a contentious issue.

In Poland, the 2023 parliamentary elections were the

first to be held after a 2020 court ruling that severely

restricted access to abortions. The court ruling came

after the abortion laws were challenged by an MP from

the ruling party, the PiS.

The decision was followed

by massive protests across the country, led by women

92 www.cfr.org/article/abortion-law-global-comparisons?trk=article-ssr-

frontend-pulse_little-text-block

93 www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54669257

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

and young people.

The new laws have had profound

consequences,

including the death of women who were

denied abortions.

The issue was central in the 2023 election in the country.

In fact, KO – the largest opposition party – argued that

women’s rights were the “number one issue” in the

election and promised to reverse the ban if they were

voted to power.

Although the ruling party, PiS, received

the highest share of votes, it did not gain a majority

and was voted out of power. Analysis and reports

suggest that women and young people were key to this

electoral outcome.

Argentina has also seen major reforms to its abortion law

since 2020, when the National Congress voted in favour

of a law that enabled legal access to safe abortion in the

country. It was a landmark verdict that came after years

of restrictive rules that had put the lives of many women

at risk. Many women MPs who had voted in favour of

the new law took to social media to celebrate the historic

development. In 2023, less than three years after the

new law was introduced, abortion was once again in

the spotlight when Javier Milei, a leading presidential

candidate, promised a referendum to determine whether

to repeal the law.

100

Mr. Milei, who was ultimately elected

as president, also vowed to shut down the ministry of

women, gender and diversity.

101

Many reports indicated

that he received more support from male voters, especially

young men, than female voters.

102

In Spain, gender rights remained in the spotlight with Vox,

a conservative party, emerging as a critical player ahead

of the polls.

103

The party proposed changes to abortion

rules months ahead of the national election, as well as

promising that it would work for the “elimination of all

gender legislation” and that it would replace the ministry

of equality with a family ministry.

104

Vox also claimed

105

that

“gender-based violence against women doesn’t exist”

106

following a development in 2022, when Spain brought in

a law to punish sexual violence more strictly.

107

This claim

prompted incumbent prime minister Pedro Sánchez to

state that such a denial was a step backwards and that this

was what was at stake during the election.

108

According

to opinion polls, women voters were more likely to prefer

Mr. Sánchez as a result of these statements.

109

Women quitting politics:

A worrying trend in 2023

Women’s political leadership was a stand-out theme

during the pandemic years. But 2023 stood out for a very

different and concerning reason: the decision by several

women leaders to step down from their roles and to quit

politics altogether. Two common strands emerged in these

announcements. The first was that the leaders who quit

often cited burnout and fatigue.

110

The past few years

have been particularly challenging, with multiple crises

impacting several regions, often simultaneously – from the

COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, to inflationary

pressures in several economies. The second was that

female leaders frequently face the additional challenge

of violence and personal attacks, which are becoming

increasingly widespread and virulent with the advancement

of digital tools.

111

In January 2023, Jacinda Ardern, then prime minister of

New Zealand, announced her decision to step down from

her position, citing burnout.

112

In April, she also stepped

down from her parliamentary seat and did not recontest

the parliamentary election in 2023.

113

A few months later,

Sanna Marin, the former prime minister of Finland who

was voted out of power in the April election, also resigned

as an MP

114

and announced her decision to quit politics.

115

In the Netherlands, deputy prime minister Sigrid Kaag

announced that she was quitting politics, citing as her

reason the death threats she had received, which had

started to take a toll, especially on her family.

116

Following

Ms. Kaag’s announcement, two more prominent Dutch

women leaders announced their decision to quit politics.

The first was Liane den Haan, an independent MP, who

said she wanted to quit politics over the ugly atmosphere.

117

107 www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/16/spanish-pm-apologises-

loophole-sexual-consent-law

108 www.spainenglish.com/2023/06/25/gender-violence-key-issue-pp-vox-

pacts-23-july-election/

109 www-mediterraneodigital-com.translate.goog/espana/politica/psoe-

sanchez-mujeres?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_

pto=wapp

110 theconversation.com/nicola-sturgeon-and-jacinda-ardern-what-two-

shock-resignations-tell-us-about-good-leadership-200012

111 www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/03/online-vitriol-could-undo-

decades-political-progress-dutch-deputy-pm

112 www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/130990117/jacinda-ardern-

announces-she-will-resign-as-prime-minister-by-february-7

113 www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/world/asia/jacinda-ardern-new-

zealand-resignation.html

114 yle.fi/a/74-20049817

115 www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/07/sanna-marin-finland-prime-

minister-tony-blair-institute

116 english.elpais.com/international/2023-07-14/dutch-deputy-prime-

minister-quits-politics-due-to-death-threats.html

117 nltimes.nl/2023/07/13/another-prominent-woman-quits-national-

politics-ugly-atmosphere-concerns-raised

94 www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/theyre-

uncompromising-how-the-young-transformed-polands-abortion-protests/

95 www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/19/poland-year-abortion-ruling-harms-

women

96 www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/27/protests-

flare-across-poland-after-death-of-young-mother-denied-an-abortion

97 notesfrompoland.com/2023/03/22/womens-rights-is-number-one-

issue-in-poland-says-opposition-leader-tusk/

98 theconversation.com/young-female-voters-were-the-key-to-defeating-

populists-in-polands-election-providing-a-blueprint-to-reverse-

democracys-decline-216397

99 www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67156864

100 www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/20/with-milei-leading-argentinas-

presidential-race-abortion-is-on-the-line

101 www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/argentina-milei-abortion-

womens-rights

102 www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231025-argentina-s-milei-repels-

women-voters-fires-up-disgruntled-men

103 www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/5/could-spains-far-right-vox-party-

win-july-23-snap-elections

104 edition.cnn.com/2023/07/21/europe/spain-vox-womens-rights-intl/

index.html

105 elpais.com/espana/2023-06-16/el-diputado-valenciano-de-vox-jose-

maria-llanos-la-violencia-machista-no-existe.html

106 time.com/6296840/spain-election-gender-violence/

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

borders, in order to enable them to share their experiences,

own their own stories and better support each other. Other

recommendations included ensuring better representation

of women and adopting codes of conduct.

Conclusion

Politics and parliaments have historically been gendered

spaces. Women remain underrepresented in most parts of

the world, especially in top leadership positions. However,

the push for gender equality has gained traction in recent

decades, often led by grassroots feminist movements,

enabled by civil-society action, and strengthened by global

commitments such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform

for Action (1995), UN Security Council resolution 1325

(2000) and, more recently, the Sustainable Development

Goals. As a result, the political arena is slowly but

steadily changing.

Despite this shift, progress has not always been linear,

with sharp contrasts between and within regions. An

increasing number of countries have taken decisive steps

to improve women’s representation in politics, with many

reaching historic milestones on this front. Yet at the

same time, other countries have rolled back progressive

policies and stepped back from the vision of equality.

But resistance to women’s leadership in politics exists

everywhere. Worldwide, prominent female leaders are

quitting politics altogether. In response to this, more

and more parliaments are acknowledging the problem of

violence against women in politics and taking steps to

address this issue. In an overall context of backlash against

women’s rights, gender issues are becoming increasingly

prominent in elections.

Developments in 2023 once again illustrated these

disparate trends, serving as a reminder that gains in

political equality are still fragile, and that care and vigilance

are required. Institutional reforms, whether quotas or codes

of conduct, can only be effective if they are meticulously

designed, and if their implementation and impacts are

closely and consistently monitored. Parliaments and

political parties alike will need to be proactive in rising to

the challenge.

In 2023, the IPU organized a panel discussion entitled “Women in

politics: To stay or not to stay?”. The event brought together MPs

from across the globe to discuss the challenges faced by women in

Later, Carola Schouten, also a deputy prime minister

and the interim minister for poverty policy, announced

her decision to step down.

118

Zuzana

Čaputová,

the

president of Slovakia, also announced that she would not

seek re-election after her current term ended in 2024.

119

Ms.

Čaputová,

who became the country’s first female

president in 2019, attributed her decision to not having the

strength to continue for another five years.

Worried by these developments, the IPU’s Forum of

Women Parliamentarians organized a panel discussion

among women MPs from all parts of the world on the

topic. Entitled “Women in politics: To stay or not to stay?”,

it took place at the 147th IPU Assembly in October 2023.

The participants examined the challenges faced by women

when taking up a political decision-making position, and

when pursuing a long and fulfilling political career. There

was a consensus that women politicians faced additional

pressures, harassment and intimidation, making it much

more strenuous for them to sustain a career in politics.

A key item that emerged from the discussion was the

importance of peer-to-peer support for building resilience

among politicians. The delegates emphasized the need to

build more solidarity among women across party lines and

118 nltimes.nl/2023/07/14/minister-carola-schouten-latest-prominent-

woman-quit-national-politics

119 apnews.com/article/slovakia-president-caputova-presidential-election-

a0e4b6b941843d72d3b057faf5542b75

IPU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 11: Women in Parliament 2023

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It works to safeguard peace and drives positive

democratic change through political dialogue and concrete action.

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The IPU gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Akshi Chawla, who drafted the text of this report. Our

thanks also go to Global Affairs Canada, Irish Aid and the Swedish International Development Cooperation

Agency for their financial support for the IPU’s work on gender equality, including this publication.

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