International Women’s Day Issue

OVERVIEW

At the beginning of 2024 — the ‘super election year — only 27 countries were led by women, showing a modest increase from 18 countries a decade ago.¹ Despite this progress, women’s representation in political leadership remained critically low. Of the 31 direct presidential elections held globally in 2024, only five women were elected as Heads of State, representing Iceland, Mexico, Namibia, North Macedonia, and the Republic of Moldova.² For Mexico, Namibia, and North Macedonia, these elections were historic, marking the election of their first-ever women presidents. Additionally, Mexico and the United Kingdom set an important precedent for inclusive governance by establishing gender-equal cabinets following their respective elections. At the end of 2024, the number of countries with female leaders had risen to 29.³

Despite these milestones, women continued to be significantly underrepresented in leadership roles. This persistent gap is driven by deep-rooted gender stereotypes, structural barriers and unequal access to opportunities within political institutions. In 2024, women accounted for just 23.3% of cabinet ministers globally—a meager increase of less than 0.5 percentage points from 2023.⁴ Even within this limited representation, women were predominantly assigned portfolios related to gender equality, social affairs, family, and children’s affairs, while strategic domains such as economic affairs, defense, justice, and home affairs remained male-dominated.

Legislated gender quotas emerged as a critical mechanism driving progress in women’s political representation.⁵ For instance, the Dominican Republic achieved an eight-point increase in women’s representation through stricter enforcement of quotas.⁶ In stark contrast, 12 out of 16 countries without such measures saw declines, highlighting the pivotal role quotas play in advancing gender equality in political leadership. Some critics argue that when gender attitudes intersect with ethnicity, implementing gender quotas to promote female politicians could inadvertently reduce the descriptive representation of traditionally disadvantaged ethnic groups.⁷ There are concerns that gender quotas may primarily benefit women from dominant classes, potentially pushing other minority groups out of politics.⁸ This has led to fears that introducing gender quotas could trigger demands for similar quotas from other marginalized communities seeking better representation in government.⁹ However, despite legislative gender quotas in many countries, the overall pace of progress was concerning. Notably, 2024 recorded the slowest growth in female parliamentary representation in two decades, with only a 0.03% increase.

As the global community aims to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, accelerating women’s participation in decision-making processes is not only a matter of fairness but also a strategic imperative for building resilient and inclusive governance systems.¹⁰

What changed in 2024 — The Super Election Year

In 2024, women’s representation in political leadership remained low, with only five women elected as Heads of State out of 31 presidential elections worldwide (through direct presidential elections).¹⁵ Iceland, Mexico, Namibia, North Macedonia, and the Republic of Moldova elected female leaders. Notably, Mexico, Namibia, and North Macedonia elected their first-ever women presidents, while Mexico and the UK set an example for gender equality by forming gender-equal cabinets. 

Meanwhile, women’s representation in parliament remained stagnant at 27%.¹⁶ Among the 39 countries with available data, only 15 recorded an increase in the number of women elected, while 24 saw a decline. These trends highlight the persistent challenges to achieving gender parity in political leadership and legislative representation.

What changed in 2024 — The Super Election Year

In 2024, major elections took place in countries representing 3.6 billion people, yet the year marked the slowest growth (0.03%) in female representation in 20 years.¹⁸ Notably, 27 newly elected parliaments now have fewer women than before, including in countries like the United States, Portugal, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and South Africa.¹⁹ Additionally, for the first time in its history, the European Parliament also saw a decline in the number of women elected.²⁰

Towards Parity: Enhancing Representation with Quotas

Although most countries have yet to achieve gender parity, gender quotas have played a significant role in advancing women’s representation over the years. In countries with legislated candidate quotas, women’s representation is notably higher—by five percentage points in parliaments and seven percentage points in local governments—compared to countries without such policies.

A growing number of countries are adopting gender quotas for public elections, with nearly half of the world’s nations now implementing some form of electoral quota in their parliaments.²¹ With the slow pace of growth in women’s political representation, there is a growing demand for more effective strategies to achieve gender balance in political institutions.²²

There is strong and increasing evidence that women’s leadership enhances political decision-making processes. For instance, research on panchayats (local councils) in India found that areas with women-led councils had 62% more drinking water projects than those led by men.²³ Similarly, in Norway, studies revealed a direct causal link between the presence of women in municipal councils and improved childcare coverage.²⁴

Quotas are one such mechanism, offering a concrete policy approach with clear objectives and methods. Due to their relative effectiveness, quotas hold the promise of significantly boosting women’s representation in politics. However, despite their potential, quota systems also raise important questions and, in some cases, face strong resistance.

CONCLUSION

Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.²⁵ However, global data reveal that women remain underrepresented at all levels of decision-making, and true gender parity in political leadership is still a distant goal.²⁶

Violence against women in public life

Violence against women in public life poses a significant threat to their participation and is a clear violation of human rights. As more women gain access to power, incidents of violence and harassment against them have seemingly increased.²⁷ Women voters, candidates, and election administrators often face targeted, gender-based violence during elections.²⁸ Gender-based abuse, cyberbullying, and sexual harassment targeting women in public life are becoming increasingly common online.²⁹ Despite these alarming levels of violence, fewer than one-quarter of parliaments have a sexual harassment policy for parliamentarians, and fewer than half have such a policy for parliamentary staff.³⁰ 

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of States to prevent, investigate, and punish acts of violence against women in public life, ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all.³¹ This obligation is reinforced by international legal frameworks and agreements such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is an urgent need to intensify prevention and response efforts to address violence against women in public life. Key actions include reforming legislation, enhancing access to justice, and improving coordination among stakeholders. Critical steps involve criminalizing violence against women in politics, strengthening victim protection, building the capacity of state institutions and law enforcement to enforce laws and respond effectively to incidents, and bolstering judicial and complaint mechanisms.³² Additionally, it is essential to collect and monitor data on the incidence and prevalence of such violence and to establish clear standards for what constitutes online violence against women in public life. These standards would enable media outlets and social media platforms to be held accountable for harmful content.

Expanding Women’s Representation in Politics

Discriminatory social norms surrounding gender roles continue to hinder equal access to political participation.³³ While attitudes toward women in public life have evolved slightly over the past 25 years, progress has been modest, even as more women take on leadership roles.³⁴ In many countries, deep-rooted social norms and cultural values still perpetuate the belief that men are better suited for leadership than women.³⁵

Achieving balanced political participation and equal power-sharing between women and men in decision-making is a key target established in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.³⁶

The implementation and enforcement of gender quota legislation have been the primary policy measures driving increased women’s participation in national and local decision-making.³⁷ Although most countries have yet to achieve gender parity, gender quotas have significantly contributed to progress over the years.³⁸ In countries with legislated candidate quotas, women’s representation is notably higher—by five percentage points in parliaments and seven percentage points in local governments—compared to countries without such measures.³⁹

[1] UN Women: Political Leaders 2024; Available at https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/Poster-Women-political-leaders-2024-en.pdf
[2] UN Women (19th December 2024). ‘Only five women elected in direct presidential elections in 2024’. Available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/12/only-five-women-elected-in-direct-presidential-elections-in-2024
[3] Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Dominica, DR Congo, Georgia, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Moldova, Namibia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Peru, Samoa, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago and Uganda; Available at https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-female-leaders
[4] UN Women: Political Leaders 2024; Available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/06/poster-women-political-leaders-2024
[5] UN Women (19th December 2024). ‘Only five women elected in direct presidential elections in 2024’. Available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/12/only-five-women-elected-in-direct-presidential-elections-in-2024
[6] Id.
[7] Lee, A. & Ramachandra V.K. (17th August 2029). Do gender quotas hurt less privileged groups? Evidence from India. American Journal of Political Science. Available at: https://www.rochester.edu/college/faculty/alexander_lee/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ajps_ca.pdf?ref=hir.harvard.edu
[8] Nayar, J. (29th November 2021). Equal Representation? The Debate Over Gender Quotas (Part 1). Harward International Review. Available at: https://hir.harvard.edu/equal-representation-the-debate-over-gender-quotas-part-1/
[9] Dahlerup, D. & Freidenvall, L. (2010). From Discursive Predictions to Evaluation: The Actual Impact of Electoral Gender Quotas. The Policy Press. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255592492_From_Discursive_Predictions_to_Evaluation_The_Actual_Impact_of_Electoral_Gender_Quotas
[10] UN Women (15th July 2024). Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures-womens-leadership-and-political-participation#_edn7
[11] UN Women: Political Leaders 2024; Available at https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/Poster-Women-political-leaders-2024-en.pdf
[12] Id.
[13] Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Dominica, DR Congo, Georgia, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Moldova, Namibia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Peru, Samoa, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago and Uganda; Available at https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-female-leaders
[14] UN Women (24th June, 2024). ‘In the biggest electoral year in history, 113 countries have never had a woman Head of State, new UN Women data shows’. Available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/06/in-the-biggest-electoral-year-in-history-113-countries-have-never-had-a-woman-head-of-state-new-un-women-data-shows
[15] UN Women (19th December 2024). ‘Only five women elected in direct presidential elections in 2024’. Available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/12/only-five-women-elected-in-direct-presidential-elections-in-2024
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] BBC (29th December 2024). ‘Growth of women in power grinds to near-halt in a mega-election year’. Available at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy895l25gwxo
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] International IDEA. Gender Quotas Database. Available at: https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-database/quotas
[22] Id.
[23] R. Chattopadhyay and E. Duflo (2004). “Women as policy makers: Evidence from a randomized policy experiment in India,” Econometrica 72(5), pp. 1409–1443; K. A. Bratton and L. P. Ray. 2002. “Descriptive representation: Policy outcomes and municipal day-care coverage in Norway,” American Journal of Political Science, 46(2), pp. 428–437.
[24] Id.
[25] UN Women (15th July 2024). Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures-womens-leadership-and-political-participation#_edn7
[26] Id.
[27] Ballington, J. (December 2018). ‘Turning the tide on violence against women in politics: how are we measuring up?’. Politics and Gender, vol. 14, No. 4.
[28] UN Economic and Social Council (21st December 2020). Available at https://docs.un.org/en/E/CN.6/2021/3
[29] Id.
[30] IPU (October 2018). ‘Sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments in Europe’. Issues Brief (Geneva).
[31] UN Economic and Social Council (21st December 2020). Available at https://docs.un.org/en/E/CN.6/2021/3
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] Id.
[36] UN Women. Beijing Declaration. Available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2015/01/beijing-declaration
[37] Id.
[38] UN Women (15th July 2024). Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures-womens-leadership-and-political-participation#_edn7
[39] Id.