This year was one of the most abundant in terms of the number of parliamentary elections worldwide. As he gives The Economist, is the first such event in history: elections are being held this year in as many as 76 countries, including all eligible to vote. This precedent event is the reason why the discussion of the presence of women in politics has been relaunched in public life. Given that elections will take place in eight of the ten most populous countries in the world, this is a moment that could prove crucial for the presence and visibility of women in politics.
The pursuit of equality in different dimensions is one of the foundations of democratic, Western civilization. The progressive globalization, which has influenced the spread of Western culture throughout the world, has made some of the democratic postulates begin to gain relevance in other regions of the globe. However, inequality, such as the one we can see in the example of the absence of women in government, is still one of the topics that the 2015 UN document puts on its agenda Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It was signed by the leaders of 193 countries, declaring action for 17 goals, such as eradicating poverty, increasing access to education and working for gender equality. The pursuit of gender equality is the pursuit of social equality.
What has changed since 2015? Does the 2030 gender equality plan have any chance of succeeding? Unfortunately, according to UN figures, it will still be many years before society reaches full equality, captured in criteria such as ending child marriages, no pay gap and discrimination in the law, and representation and leadership in the workplace, as well as representation in national parliaments. The last of the areas, presented in our article, requires as much as 47 years for full implementation (taking into account today's pace of change, it will be 2077). This is proof that taking initiatives for women in politics requires even greater awareness and commitment.
Why is equality in politics important?
The participation of women in political and social life is one of the most important postulates of equality. Women make up half of the world's population, so the pursuit of gender equality is simply the pursuit of social equality. Women, representing other women in politics, represent the interests of a large social group and, according to research, care more about equality policies, human rights and sustainable development.
Data
Portalo UN Women, writing about women in leadership positions in politics, gives some interesting data that illustrate the situation. In the world, only 27 countries out of 195 are led by women. 107 countries in the world have never had a female leader.
Currently, 23% of ministers worldwide are women, and only 15 countries in the world have achieved gender equality in their cabinets, which means they have equal women and men serving as ministers.
141 countries have less than ⅓ of ministerial positions held by women. In 7 countries, there is no female representation in ministerial roles.
However, it is not only leadership positions in governments that matter. The local level is also important. Often it is from this level that there is a change in thinking about women's equality in politics. Neglecting a smaller policy level leads to another inequality. The disparity between large urban centers, where women have more power, and smaller centers, where politics is mainly done by men, affects the way small towns and villages function, leading to a division into metropolitan and provincial. This is an important aspect for the functioning of society as a whole.
At the local level, women currently make up 35.5% of elected members of government bodies.
Brief Historical Context: Women in Politics
The participation of women in public and political life has gained momentum and importance over the course of the 18th and 21st centuries. This was influenced by the modernization of societies and the development of the feminist movement, which enabled women to have greater access to education. Thanks to industrialization and the development of industry, the private life of women has also changed. They no longer fulfilled only the role of housekeepers, they began to work professionally, although despite such a big breakthrough (compared to earlier centuries, when they mainly took care of the family), to this day they have not achieved equal pay.
In the 20th century, an additional factor that accelerated the participation of women in public and political life was World War I — women replaced men at the front in workplaces and factories. The 19th and 20th centuries were also groundbreaking in terms of women's suffrage: the first country to introduce them was New Zealand (1893), later Australia (1902), and the podium was closed by Finland (1906). In Poland, women won the right to vote in 1918.
The difficulties in women's path to politics were not only due to traditional moral and legal barriers. To better illustrate the historical situation of women, it is worth paying attention to how economic opportunities and class position influenced their involvement in socio-political affairs. Participation in politics was easier for privileged groups, which included women from the upper classes. Noblemen and magnates, having land and access to goods, could bolder to undertake advisory or volunteer activities. (...) in Greater Poland, “well-born” women were involved in public affairs and tried to mark their participation in the creation of political events in their environment. The instruments were used intensively by the merchant life, thanks to which, focusing attention on themselves, they supported the advancement of the masses and the acquisition of tools by them. They placed their own ambitions in them, because of the possibility of the action of a noblewoman on the public stage, in To a greater extent than in the case of magnates using ancestral connections, the political and political position of the union was decisive.
Despite the many changes that have taken place over the centuries, women still struggle with a lack of political representation at every level of career and political influence. One of the main barriers is the so-called glass ceiling — an invisible barrier that limits the advancement of women (or other minority groups) to the highest positions in organizations. Although there are no formal barriers, hidden discrimination and structural constraints still block women's career opportunities.
Women as political leaders
In 2018 Forbes published a list of the most influential women in politics (Women Who Rule the World: The 22 Most Powerful Female Political and Policy Leaders of 2018). The list included, among others, Angela Merkel (then Chancellor of Germany), Theresa May (Prime Minister of Great Britain), Beata Szydło (Prime Minister of Poland), as well as Ruth Bader Ginsburg (judge of the US Supreme Court) and Queen Elizabeth II. This list shows that the visibility of women in politics has changed significantly over the years, although systemic changes are still needed to achieve full equality.
Data
IPU Parline — a global database of parliaments maintained by the International Parliamentary Union, makes available on its website a monthly ranking of women in national parliaments. In September 2024, the data shows that:
- Countries with the highest number of women in government (more than 50%): Rwanda, Cuba, Nicaragua, Andorra, Mexico, Namibia, United Arab Emirates.
- Countries where parity is almost achieved (40-49.9%): Costa Rica, Iceland, Sweden, Bolivia, Senegal, Finland, Monaco, New Zealand, Denmark, South Africa, Norway, Spain, Mozambique, Ecuador, Argentina, Belgium, Ethiopia, Austria, Moldova, United Kingdom.
- Countries with the lowest number of women in government (5— 8%): Sri Lanka, Antigua and Barbuda, Palau, Lebanon, Tonga, Algeria, Gambia.
Poland ranked 70th (29.6%, 136 women out of 460 seats in the government).
Conclusions
Among the countries with the highest number of women in government, those of Latin America predominate. No country from Europe was included in the list. In turn, among the countries close to parity, European countries predominate. The lowest share of women in government was recorded in countries in Asia, North America and the Caribbean, Oceania and Africa.
Keep in mind that this ranking is based on data from September 2024. To get a more complete picture of the situation, it is worth considering research from recent years, the pace of change and several other key factors.
Barriers and actions
Threats
Violence: According to the IPU, more than 45% of women in politics have experienced physical, psychological or online violence. The aim of these attacks is to push women away from politics, intimidate and discourage them from participating, which weakens their position in political life.
Artificial Intelligence: The development of technology can work to the advantage as well as the disadvantage of women in politics. AI can contribute to misinformation and the creation of deepfake content, but at the same time it can be used to combat online violence, requiring appropriate regulation.
Policy strategies at national level
Strategy: In 2019, some parties in Poland used gender quotas to increase the number of women on the electoral rolls. However, often women were placed in less advantageous positions, which reduced their chances of being chosen. The gap between the number of women on the lists and the number of those actually elected was clear.
Gender Quotas: As he gives WomenLobby.org, gender quotas and policies promoting gender equality are key to increasing women's participation in politics.
Political leaders: The 2019 parliamentary elections showed that party leaders play a key role in promoting women. Their support and decisions on the layout of electoral lists have a direct impact on women's representation.
System Changes: Systemic changes at every level of government are extremely important. Actively supporting women in politics through mentoring programs, political education and the elimination of violence against women are key tasks of contemporary politics. An important change is the introduction of provisions guaranteeing the statutory participation of women in government (at least 30%). Countries such as Rwanda and Mexico have already adopted this type of legislation.
Organisations supporting women in politics
Around the world, including Poland, there are organizations promoting women's participation in politics, supporting them through research, education and activism. They focus on women's rights, equality and the development of women leaders in the socio-political space. They regularly hold debates and conventions on gender equality.
International examples:
- UN Women's Fund for Gender Equality
- European Women's Lobby (EWL)
- The National Democratic Institute (NDI)
In Poland:
- Women's Congress
In the article “The world needs more women in power. published in Political Criticism Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Binaifer Nowrojee point to the need to support women in politics, stressing that civil society groups often struggle with limited financial resources. However, their actions are crucial to ensuring more women in political positions.
There are also civil society groups that fight tirelessly for women's rights and freedoms. However, they compete with each other for increasingly scarce financial resources. Until more funds are available for these purposes, women, especially those in low-income countries, will suffer from a lack of investment in their political status. We must not refrain from supporting initiatives that focus on getting women into more political positions. And so they have many other obstacles to overcome. Let 2024 be the year that will create the next generation of women leaders. Together, we can build a future in which strong women leaders have the power to act in politics.
summary
Although the pace of change towards gender equality is not optimistic, research and numerous scientific articles point to tools and organizations that can accelerate this process and change political culture. The representation of women at key political levels is certainly one of the most important issues that can have a significant impact on the functioning of society.
Sources:
https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking/?date_month=9&date_year=2024
https://repozytorium.uwb.edu.pl/jspui/bitstream/11320/6073/1/Drogi%20kobiet%20do%20polityki.pdf
https://www.womenpoliticalleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Representation-Matters-A5.pdf
https://www.womenlobby.org/Women-in-Politics-507?lang=en
https://www.womenpoliticalleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Representation-Matters-A5.pdf
https://krytykapolityczna.pl/swiat/swiat-potrzebuje-kobiet-u-wladzy/
https://www.gov.pl/web/polskapomoc/cele-zrownowazonego-rozwoju
