The Political Representation of Women Today
By Isabella Minahan
United States’ Vice President Kamala Harris is currently the presidential nominee for the Democratic party in the wake of Joe Biden’s announcement that he would be ending his bid for re-election. Her candidacy is historic in the context of U.S. politics as Harris could be the first Black woman and first Asian American to potentially become the first woman president the nation has ever seen.
This unprecedented event provides an opportunity to take stock of the state of women’s involvement in politics globally, examine the persisting barriers to women’s involvement in politics and civic life, and how women’s representation in politics has benefited law and policy when it comes to gender-based violence.
Although women have made strides in their political representation over time, there is still much to be done to achieve equality in every region of the globe. With some exceptions, women’s participation rates typically hover around 28-31%.[1] At the highest level of government, there are 28 women serving as Heads of State and/or Government and women represent 23.3% of Cabinet Ministers.[2] At the current rates, worldwide parity in the highest elected offices will not be reached for another 130 years, and gender equality in national legislatures will not be attained before 2063.[3]
Many barriers deny women access to political representation, some of the most pressing issues being access to education, structural barriers to women’s candidacy and ability to vote, childcare issues, online gendered harassment, ability to secure funding, and persisting views of women as being unfit for politics.
The importance of knocking down such barriers to access for women is illustrated by the myriad benefits that women in power have already contributed to societies worldwide. On the most basic level, women’s involvement in government fosters freedom and democracy as they diversify the decision-making pool in the highest spaces of power, and ensure that the lived experiences of women are taken into account when drafting laws and policies.
Given that the lived experiences of women often include sexism and gender-based violence–globally one in three women are subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime[4]–it is no wonder that the presence of women legislators around the world has shown to positively impact different nation’s responses to these issues.
By examining data from 159 developing countries across the world, researchers discovered that “developing countries that have a higher share of women parliamentarians are more likely to pass comprehensive laws on sexual harassment, rape, divorce and domestic violence.”[5] A clear example of the positive impact of having women in parliament is that of Rwanda. In 2003, 48.8% of the Parliament of Rwanda was composed of women[6], a figure that has now grown to 61%.[7]
In that same year the Rwanda Women Parliamentarians Forum was established. This caucus includes women from across the political spectrum and has put a spotlight on issues impacting women in the country, with a direct output of the Forum being the introduction of a landmark 2006 piece of legislation aimed at ending gender-based violence which defined rape under Rwandan law for the first time.
Outside of women’s presence being a key factor in the drafting and implementation of laws against gender-based violence, women politicians also help to ensure that such legislation will be enforced through monitoring. In 2008 in Spain where women made up more than 30% of parliament, a figure that has risen to 44.3% in 2024,[8] the Spanish Congress of Deputies created a committee to oversee the enforcement of the Organic Act on Integrated Protection Measures against Gender Violence, Spain’s flagship law to combat violence against women.[9]
Through all of these examples it is clear that women’s inclusion in politics results in gains for women in society, which in turn results in a more just society for all.
Recognizing the barriers that women face in entering politics, it is imperative to examine what can be done to help women overcome these challenges. According to UN Women,[10] these include:
- Introducing permanent or temporary gender quotas in legislative bodies.
- Ensuring laws protect women candidates from hate speech and misogynistic violence.
- Supporting campaign finance regulations where women have financial parity with men candidates.
- Providing women candidates with mentoring, networking and other capacity-building opportunities.
Electoral management bodies are also encouraged to make sure their policies ensure transparency and non-discrimination to promote fair and free elections with respect to women voters in their jurisdiction.
The topic of women’s representation in politics and civic life involves a complex web of issues that restrict women’s ability to fully participate in decision-making processes that impact us all. Although there is still a long way to go to reach both gender parity in government and to end the gender-based problems that imperil women’s safety and freedom, it is clear that gender representation in politics matters.
Announcements like that of Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign represent gains that could mark a historic milestone in one of the world’s largest democracies and potential change in the lives of millions of women. Global Rights for Women supports the right of women everywhere to engage politically and to be represented in government and is committed to knocking down the barriers that impede these rights through systematic change and legal reform.
Isabella Minahan is an Arvonne Fraser Fellow and a rising senior with the University of Minnesota’s Human Rights Program.
[1] Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). (2024). “Current Numbers.” New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/current-numbers (Accessed August 1, 2024)
[2] UN Women. (2024, June 12). Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation. UN Women. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures#_edn9
[3] Ibid.
[4] World Health Organization (WHO). (2021, March 9). Devastatingly pervasive: 1 in 3 women globally experience violence. World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.who.int/news/item/09-03-2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence
[5] Asiedu, E., Branstette, C., Gaekwad-Babulal, N., & Malokele, N. (2018, January). The effect of women’s representation in parliament and the passing of gender sensitive policies. In ASSA Annual Meeting (Philadelphia, 5-7 January). https://www. aeaweb. org/conference.
[6] Gurirab, T.-B. (n.d.). Women in Politics – The Fight to End Violence Against Women | United Nations. the United Nations. Retrieved August 6, 2024, from https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/women-politics-fight-end-violence-against-women
[7] UN Women. (2024, June 12). Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation. UN Women. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures#_edn9
[8] Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). (2024, January 1). Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments | IPU Parline: global data on national parliaments. IPU Parline. Retrieved August 6, 2024, from https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking/?date_month=1&date_year=2024
[9] Gurirab, T.-B. (n.d.). Women in Politics – The Fight to End Violence Against Women | United Nations. the United Nations. Retrieved August 6, 2024, from https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/women-politics-fight-end-violence-against-women
[10] UN Women. (2024, June 10). Key Messages On Women’s Rights, Empowerment and Equality: Electoral And Political Participation 2024. UN Women. Retrieved August 6, 2024, from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/in-brief-key-messages-on-womens-rights-empowerment-and-equality-electoral-and-political-participation-en.pdf