Years ago, when I first started griping about women's unequal representation, the U.S. ranked 62 in the number of seats held by women in Congress/Parliament. Since then, time has only stood still in the U.S. Other countries have kept on making progress. Now the U.S. ranks 72.
But hey, we still beat Saudi Arabia and Russia!
Women hold 47% of the seats in Sweden's Parliament; 45% in Rwanda; 43% in Cuba; 42% in Finland; 40% in Argentina; 34% in Spain; 31% in Germany; 17% in the U.S. Congress; 8% in Russia and 0% in Saudi Arabia. (The numbers reflect totals in combined upper and lower houses, i.e., Senate + House of Reps. Women are 56% of Rwanda's lower house!)
Happy International Women's Day.
Detroit Free Press:
Women hold a record 18.3% of seats in parliaments around the world, led by Rwanda, Sweden and Cuba, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an association of assemblies in 154 nations. The United States ranks 72nd.
"Men still hold the major decision-making positions, so there is no room for complacency," Julie Ballington, gender project manager for the IPU, said in New York. "We are still not seeing progress in many parts of the world."
The IPU report, released in conjunction with International Women's Day (March 8), said that for the first time women hold 30% of the seats in 15% of the world's parliaments. Of those, 40% are in Europe, 33% are in Africa and 23% are in Latin America.
The United States ranks behind North Korea (58th), China (53rd) and Afghanistan (28th) because women don't have as much access as men to the large amount of money needed to run for office, including fund-raising networks, Ballington said.
Rwanda, where 56.3% of the seats in the nation's lower house are filled by women, ranks first in part because the constitution requires a minimum 30% female representation
"One half of the population is seriously underrepresented and, this being the case, the policy agenda will be set by men. There is no lack of female candidates. The reality is men tend to choose men."
Feminist Politics Gender News Women's History Equal Representation Women's History
