Women in Power: Progress Seen But Long Road to Gender Parity Remains

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Women in Power: Progress Seen But Long Road to Gender Parity Remains


The latest data on women's representation in political leadership shows some encouraging signs of progress, but also highlights the wide regional gaps and entrenched barriers that persist in achieving gender equality in decision-making roles worldwide. 


The newly released IPU-UN Women Map of Women in Politics presents the global rankings for women in executive government and parliamentary positions as of January 1, 2023. While the numbers indicate more women than ever are holding these influential posts, the figures also make clear that the goal of gender parity remains an elusive target.


Some of the key findings:

Executive Government

- 11.3% of countries now have a woman Head of State, up from 5.3% a decade ago

- 9.8% have a woman Head of Government, a rise from 7.3% ten years prior  

- Women comprise 22.8% of Cabinet Ministers globally

- Europe and the Americas lead with the highest percentages of women Cabinet members at around 30%

- Only 13 countries have gender-balanced cabinets with 50% or more women ministers


The data reveals women tend to lead ministries focused on social issues like gender equality, family, and minority affairs. However, they remain vastly underrepresented in strategic portfolios such as defense (12%), energy/natural resources (11%), transport (8%) and economic affairs.


Parliamentary Leadership 

- 22.7% of parliamentary Speakers are women, compared to 20.9% in 2021

- Overall, 26.5% of parliamentarians worldwide are women, inching up from 25.5% in 2021


While Europe's Nordic nations top the regional rankings at 45.7% women MPs, the Middle East and North Africa region lags far behind at just 17.7%.


The mixed results underscore that although steady gains are being made, achieving full gender balance in political power structures remains an uphill battle. Barriers like violence, online threats, and persistent inequality pose significant hurdles.


As UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous stated, "Full democracy needs the equal participation of women in all its processes. The world cannot afford to continue this injustice. We need a paradigm shift that brings true equality."


IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong echoed this call, emphasizing that amid global crises, the world needs to better harness the talents of women as political leaders with a sense of urgency.


The new data was unveiled during the 67th UN Commission on the Status of Women, the largest annual UN meeting on gender equality issues. Measuring progress remains crucial as countries strive to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership by 2030.


While positive momentum is building, this latest snapshot shows the systemic change still needed to fully open the doors of political power and give women an equal voice in shaping the policies that affect all of society.

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