0-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
percent
women
in national
legislaturelegislation addressing domestic violencean employment law mandating
nondiscrimination based on sex
a law mandating equal remuneration
for work of equal value
paid or unpaid maternity leaveA country has or does not have:mandated gender quotasNo dataVanuatuP.N.G.
MicronesiaSolomon Is.YemenOmanMaldivesLebanonKuwaitNigeriaHaitiTuvaluTongaSamoaMarshall Is.KiribatiSri LankaQatarIranBruneiMaliEswatiniD.R. CongoComorosC.A.R.
BotswanaBelize BeninPalauNauruSyriaMyanmarMalaysiaJapanIndiaGeorgiaBhutanBahrainUkraineMaltaLiechtensteinHungaryThe GambiaSierra LeoneS. Tome & Pr.MauritiusLiberiaGuinea-BissauGhanaEgyptCôte d'IvoireCongoChadBurkina FasoParaguayThe BahamasSt.Vincent & G.St. Kitts & N.Antigua & Barb.FijiUzbekistanTurkeyThailandTajikistanSouth KoreaSaudi ArabiaNorth Korea
JordanCambodiaAzerbaijanSlovakiaRussiaGreeceCyprusZambiaTogoNigerMadagascarLibyaGabonColombiaBrazilSt. LuciaJamaicaBarbados GuatemalaU.A.E.
TurkmenistanSingaporePakistanIsraelChinaBangladeshArmeniaSloveniaSan MarinoRomaniaMontenegroLuxembourgLithuaniaIrelandCzechiaCroatiaBos. & Her.SomaliaSeychellesMoroccoMauritaniaMalawiLesothoKenyaGuineaEritreaEq. GuineaCabo VerdeVenezuelaUruguayChileUnited StatesPanamaHondurasDominicaVietnamPhilippinesLaosKazakhstanIraqAfghanistanPolandMoldovaLatviaEstoniaBulgariaAlbaniaSouth SudanDjiboutiAngolaAlgeriaSurinamePeruDominican Rep.CanadaAustraliaNepalU.K.
SwitzerlandNetherlandsMonacoGermanyBelarusZimbabweUgandaCameroonGuyana
Trin. & TobagoEl SalvadorTimor-LesteSerbiaPortugalN. MacedoniaItalyIcelandFranceDenmarkAustriaTunisiaTanzaniaMozambiqueEthiopiaBurundiEcuadorArgentinaNew ZealandNorwayBelgiumSenegalSwedenSpainFinlandAndorraSouth AfricaNamibiaMexicoCosta Rica GrenadaBoliviaCubaRwandaNicaraguaMongoliaKyrgyzstanWomen hold more than 50 percent of seatsNo women in national legislatureNorth AmericaSouth
AmericaAsia
RwandaEuropeAfricaAustralia
& OceaniaNOTE: IN BICAMERAL GOVERNMENTS, ONLY LOWER HOUSE DATA ARE MEASURED. NATIONAL
LEGISLATURE DATA AS OF JULY 2019. LEGISLATION DATA AS OF MARCH 2019.
KENNEDY ELLIOTT, NGM STAFF. SOURCES: ZEINA HILAL, INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION; WORLD BANKWomen account for roughly half the world’s
population but occupy less than a quarter
of political seats. Rwanda is an outlier,
with more women in power, proportionally,
than any other country (followed by two
other authoritarian-leaning nations, Cuba
and Bolivia). But political parity—whether
through appointments or elections—
remains an elusive goal in many countries.POWER IN NUMBERS
Quotas aren’t enough
Countries with sanctions for failing to
meet quotas, such as Costa Rica where
candidate lists below the quota are
rejected, tend to have more women
leaders. The Democratic Republic of
the Congo, which has no sanctions, has
a 50 percent quota, yet women hold
only 10 percent of seats.Elections amplify gains
Rwanda’s post-conflict, 2003
Constitution calls for 30 percent
of legislative seats to be reserved
for women. Last year women won
double the seats required by
quota and now represent
61 percent of the legislature.Progress takes time
Sweden’s parliament has
almost reached gender
parity with voluntary quotas
introduced in the 1970s. Since
then the number of women
holding seats has risen from
14 to 47 percent.89