New York: Europe and the Arabs
Men still outnumber women in executive and legislative positions by more than three times, while progress toward achieving gender equality in political leadership remains limited by the start of 2025, the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. According to the United Nations daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning, Wednesday, the bulletin added, "The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action aims to support women and girls around the world in their pursuit of gender equality and the realization of women's rights.
According to this year's "Women in Politics Map"—published jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women—the proportion of women in parliaments worldwide increased slightly by 0.3 percentage points to 27.2 percent, and decreased in government positions by 0.4 percentage points to 22.9 percent.
The map showed that only nine countries, mostly in Europe, have achieved gender parity in their governments, with women holding 50 percent or more of ministerial positions. Nicaragua topped the list, with women making up 64.3 percent of the government.
UN Women said that the allocation of ministerial portfolios highlights the persistence of gender bias, with women predominantly assigned to ministries related to gender equality, human rights, and social affairs. While the most influential policy areas, such as foreign affairs, finance, domestic affairs, and defense, remain largely dominated by men, the map also reveals that women hold senior positions in only 25 countries, 12 of which are in Europe. Although 2024 marked historic milestones—including the first direct election of women to the presidency of Mexico, Namibia, and North Macedonia—106 countries have never had a woman as head of state.
The map follows the IPU's annual Women in Parliament report, which revealed that despite 2024 being a year of high elections, progress toward greater female representation has been the slowest since 2017.
The data also reveals significant regional disparities, with the Middle East and North Africa region ranking last, with women holding only 16.7 percent of parliamentary seats and no female parliamentary presidents. In this context, Inter-Parliamentary Union President Tullia Axon said the slow pace of progress in women's parliamentary representation a year after the landmark elections is "alarming."
She said: "The global disparity highlights the systematic failure to promote gender equality in politics in some parts of the world. It is time for decisive action to break down these barriers and ensure that women's voices are equally represented in politics worldwide. The health of our democracies depends on it."
For his part, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong emphasized that the lack of progress in achieving gender equality in political leadership "is a sobering call to action." He emphasized that accelerating progress requires the active participation and support of men, explaining: "It is our collective responsibility to break down barriers."
Regression of Gender Equality in Political Leadership
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said that the promise of gender equality in political leadership has not been fulfilled 30 years after the Beijing Declaration—the landmark UN framework that laid out the roadmap for gender equality and women's rights. Research emphasized that progress in this area is not only slow, but regressive. She added: "We cannot accept a world in which half the population is systematically excluded from decision-making. We know the solutions: quotas, electoral reforms, and the political will to dismantle systemic barriers. The time for half-measures is over—it's time for governments to act now to ensure women have an equal seat at every table where power is exercised."
It's worth noting that the "Women in Politics Map" was presented during the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, currently being held at UN Headquarters in New York.