Women's Voices in the Chamber

Unfortunately, it will come as little surprise that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide, and achieving gender parity in political life remains an elusive target. As of September 2021, data from the United Nations (UN) shows that just 10 countries have a woman Head of State, and 13 countries have a woman Head of Government (1). Only 21 per cent of government ministers worldwide are women and the tendency has been to allocate them portfolios in areas such as family, social affairs, children, youth, disabled, and women affairs/gender equality. Women comprise 25 per cent of members in national parliaments and, at the current rate of progress, the UN estimates that gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be achieved before 2063. With regards to sub-national government, data from 133 countries shows that women constitute 36 per cent of elected members in local deliberative chambers. In Europe, data from 2019 collated by the EU’s Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), demonstrated that 29 per cent of local councillors were women – Iceland led the way with 47 per cent (2). According to the CEMR report, there are four countries today in Europe that can boast 40 per cent or more women elected at the local level: Iceland, France, Ukraine, and France. In 2008, there were only three: Ukraine, Latvia, and Sweden.