The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Women In Parliament 2020 - IPU
More than one quarter of members of parliament in the world are now women - Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
New data showing that an unprecedented 25,5 per cent of parliamentarians in the world are women was announced today by the Geneva-based interparliamentary Union (IPU),ahead of the 8th March commemoration of International Women’s Day.
The figures refer to the year 2020, and are still far from representing “gender parity”.
“It gives me a great pleasure to announce that for the first-time women now account for more than a quarter of parliamentarians worldwide”, said IPU’s Secretary-General Martin Chungong today at the launch of the “Women in Parliament” report at the United Nations in Geneva. “The global average of women in parliament has now reached 25,5 per cent.”
The IPU, the global organization of national parliaments, has tracked women’s participation in parliament for decades, allowing it to measure progress and setbacks.
“While we celebrate and welcome this all-time high, we feel that progress is painstakingly, or even excruciatingly, slow”, Mr. Chungong said. “At the current rate, it will take another 50 years before we can achieve gender parity in parliament. And of course, we all agree that this is not tenable, it’s not acceptable”.
Following elections in 2020, the global proportion of women in parliament represents an increase of 0.6 points compared with 2019.
The ITU chief singled out three countries for having achieved gender parity in the parliamentary representation. “In only three parliaments do women account for 50 percent or more parliamentary seats. That is: Rwanda, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates”, said Mr. Chungong.
Referring to Rwanda as a role model for women’s participation in the government, ITU’s chief said that “we have seen evidence that where countries have come out of conflict and have had the opportunity to re-found the foundations of society, the legal framework of society, there is a greater chance of promoting gender equality, because this is something that has been articulated at the international level and it’s an opportunity for the society as a whole to sit down and say ‘this is what we want in the constitution’ ”.
ITU advocates for well-designed quotas as the key to progress as elections have shown in 2020. Electoral gender quotas were applied in 25 of the 57 countries that had parliamentary renewals in 2020. On average, parliaments with quotas elected 11,8 per cent more women to single and lower chambers and 7,4 per cent more women to upper chambers.
“Where women are involved in lawmaking on specific issues, the outcomes are better in terms of health care, in terms of the way even parliaments are functioning, making parliaments more gender sensitive”, said the ITU Secretary-General.
Though progress has been made in all regions of the world in 2020, once again the Americas were the top performers and outpaced their regions with women making up 32,4 per cent of Members of Parliament. In Chile, Colombia and Ecuador, the percentage is higher than average.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mali and Niger made significant gains in women’s representation, despite security challenges. They are testament to the fact that women’s role in transition processes is key to their political empowerment, according to the ITU.
The proportion of women in parliament is lowest in the Middle East and North Africa regions, with 17,8 per cent on average.
With the exception of New Zealand, the number of women MPs in the Pacific remained consistently low or entirely absent in 2020.
The IPU “Women in Parliament” report shows that the COVID-19 pandemic also influenced elections and campaigning in 2020.
“The COVID pandemic has had a negative impact on elections, in some countries those elections were postponed”, Mr. Chungong said. “In others, in some 50 countries where elections took place, we saw that women faced all manners of impediments as a result of the pandemic that exacerbated existing gender imbalances in politics”.
According to IPU, online violence against women has become even more widespread, and has posed a threat to women’s participation in public life.
However, the shift to remote, technology-driven parliamentary practices may have a potentially positive long-term impact for women in parliament, he said.
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Wide shot, press briefing room, UN Palais
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): “It gives me a great pleasure to announce that for the first-time women now account for more than a quarter of parliamentarians worldwide. The global average of women in parliament has now reached 25,5 %”.
- Medium shot, spokesperson and journalist in press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): “While we celebrate and welcome this all-time high, we feel that progress is painstakingly, or even excruciatingly, slow. At the current rate, it will take another 50 years before we can achieve gender parity in parliament. And of course, we all agree that this is not tenable, it’s not acceptable”.
- Medium shot, journalist in press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): “In only three parliaments do women account for 50% or more parliamentary seats. That’s Rwanda, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates”.
- Medium shot, journalist in press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): “Where women are involved in lawmaking on specific issues, the outcomes are better in terms of health care, in terms of the way even parliaments are functioning, making parliaments more gender sensitive”.
- Medium shot, journalist in press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): “We have seen evidence that where countries have come out of conflict and have had the opportunity to re-found the foundations of society, the legal framework of society, there is a greater chance of promoting gender equality, because this is something that has been articulated at the international level and it’s an opportunity for the society as a whole to sit down and say ‘this is what we want in the constitution’ ”.
- Medium shot, spokesperson in press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): “The Covid pandemic has had a negative impact on elections, in some countries those elections were postponed. In others, in some 50 countries where elections took place, we saw that women faced all manners of impediments as a result of the pandemic that exacerbated existing gender imbalances in politics”.
- Medium shot, journalist in press briefing room with monitor of spokesperson and IPU’s SG
- Wide shot, spokesperson in press briefing room
- Wide shot, spokespeople at podium with journalists
Similar Stories
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , IFRC
Lebanon faces escalating violence, with new mothers uncertain of safety amid ongoing crises.
1
1
1
Edited News | FAO , UNHCR , WHO
Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year
As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of a brutal civil war, millions remain displaced and hungry while the health system lies in ruins, with no end to the violence in sight, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR , WFP
Lebanon: People ‘still under the rubble’ after massive strikes as ambulances, hospitals come under threat – UN humanitarians
With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO
Lebanon: disease risks on the rise as displacement surges
With displacement in Lebanon past the one million mark, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday about the spread of infectious diseases in shelters and surging mental health needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.