Facts and figures

Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation

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Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. However, data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off.

Women in executive government positions

  • As of 1 January 2026, there are 28 countries where 30 women serve as Heads of State and/or Government [1]. At the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years [2].
  • Just 16 countries have a woman Head of State, and 21 countries have a woman Head of Government [3].
  • Data compiled data by UN Women show that women represent 22.4 per cent of Cabinet members heading Ministries, leading a policy area as of 1 January 2026 [4]. There are only 14 countries in which women hold 50 per cent or more of the positions of Cabinet Ministers leading policy areas [5].
  • The most commonly held portfolios by women Cabinet Ministers are Women and gender equality, followed by Family and children affairs, and Social inclusion and development [6].

Women in national parliaments

  • Only 27.5 per cent of parliamentarians are women, up from 11 per cent in 1995 [7].
  • Only seven countries have 50 per cent or more women in parliament in single or lower houses: Rwanda (64 per cent), Cuba (57 per cent), Nicaragua (55 per cent), Bolivia (51 per cent), Andorra,  Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates (all at 50 per cent) [8].
  • A further 23 countries have reached or surpassed 40 per cent, including ten countries in Europe, six in Africa, five in Latin America and the Caribbean, and two in Asia-Pacific [9].
  • Globally, there are 21 States in which women account for less than 10 per cent of parliamentarians in single or lower houses, including three lower chambers with no women at all [10].
  • At the current rate of progress, gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be achieved before 2063 [11].
  • Women hold 37 per cent of parliamentary seats in Latin America and the Caribbean and make up 33 per cent of parliamentarians in Europe and Northern America. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are 27 per cent of women legislators, followed by Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 24 per cent, Oceania with 21 per cent, Northern Africa and Western Asia with 18.5 per cent, and Central and Southern Asia with 17 per cent of women Members of Parliament [12].

Women in local government

  • Data from 147 countries show that women constitute more than 3 million (36 per cent) of elected members in local deliberative bodies. Only two countries have reached 50 per cent, and an additional 29 countries have more than 40 per cent women in local government [13].
  • Regional variations are also noted for women’s representation in local deliberative bodies, as of January 2025: Central and Southern Asia, 41 per cent; Europe and Northern America, 37 per cent; Oceania, 35 per cent; Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, 31 per cent; Latin America and the Caribbean, 31 per cent; sub-Saharan Africa, 26 per cent; Western Asia and Northern Africa, 19 per cent [14].

Expanding participation

  • Balanced political participation and power-sharing between women and men in decision-making is the internationally agreed target set in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action [15].
  • While most countries in the world have not achieved gender parity, gender quotas have substantially contributed to progress over the years. In countries with legislated candidate quotas, women’s representation is five percentage points and seven percentage points higher in parliaments and local government, respectively, compared to countries without such legislation [16].
  • There is established and growing evidence that women’s leadership in political decision-making processes improves them. For example, research on panchayats (local councils) in India discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62 per cent higher than in those with men-led councils. In Norway, a direct causal relationship between the presence of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage was found [17].
  • Women demonstrate political leadership by working across party lines through parliamentary women’s caucuses—even in the most politically combative environments—and by championing issues of gender equality, such as the elimination of gender-based violence, parental leave and childcare, pensions, gender-equality laws, and electoral reform [18].

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