Canada
Women in Canadian Government: Not Yet at Parity
Just over one-quarter (26.4%) of all members of House of Commons are women (88).1
Close to half (43%) of all Senators are women (43).2
For the first time in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet is gender-balanced, with 15 men and 15 women.3
United States
115th United States Congress: Women Are Still a Minority
- In the House of Representatives, women hold just 83 (19.1%) of the 435 seats.4
- In the Senate, women hold just 21 (21%) of the 100 seats.5
In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was the first woman elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives.6
In 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the first woman nominated by a major party for the Presidency of the United States.7
Women of Color Are Even Further Behind
- Just 7.1% of the total members of Congress are women of color.8
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Of the 104 women members of Congress, 36.5% (38) are women of color.9
US Governors: Women Remain the Minority
There are only four current US governors that are women.10
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Only one woman of color currently serves as governor.11
Women's Share of US State Positions Is Growing, but Men Still Occupy the Majority
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24.8% of US state legislators are women.12
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Women hold 442 (22.4%) of state senate seats and 1,390 (25.7%) of state house seats.13
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The number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled since 1971.14
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Women hold just 23.7% of statewide elective executive offices around the country.15
Women Are Winning Mayoral Elections More Often
As of July 2016, 18.9% of all US cities with more than 30,000 residents have a woman as a mayor.16
Global
Select countries ranked by women's representation in national legislatures or parliaments:17
- Rwanda = 1
- Bolivia = 2
- Australia = 50
- Canada = 63
- United States = 100
- The rest of the top ten include Cuba, Iceland, Nicaragua, Sweden, Senegal, Mexico, South Africa, and Ecuador.18
(Note that while women represent more than 50% of the lower house in both Rwanda and Bolivia, women represent less than 50% in the upper house of each country).19
Women Heads of Government
The following countries have democratically elected women to lead their countries:
| Head of Government | Title | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Michelle Bachelet20 | President | Chile |
| Bidhya Devi Bhandari21 | President | Nepal |
| Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca22 | President | Malta |
| Ameenah Gurib23 | President | Mauritius |
| Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic24 | President | Croatia |
| Dalia Grybauskaite25 | President | Lithuania |
| Sheikh Hasina Wazed26 | Prime Minister | Bangladesh |
| Hilda Heine27 | President | Marshall Islands |
| Tsai Ing-wen28 | President | Taiwan |
| Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf29 | President | Liberia |
| Theresa May30 | Prime Minister | United Kingdom |
| Angela Merkel31 | Chancellor | Germany |
| Erna Solberg32 | Prime Minister | Norway |
| Beata Szydło33 | Prime Minister | Poland |
Additional Resources
Catalyst, "Government Affairs."
International IDEA, Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Stockholm University, The Quota Project (2015).
Pew Research Center, Women in Leadership: Public Says Women Are Equally Qualified, but Barriers Persist (2015).
University of Albany, Rockefeller College, Center for Women in Government in Civil Society, “CWGCS Research” (2016).
How to cite this product: Catalyst. Quick Take: Women in Government. New York: Catalyst, February 15, 2017.
- 1. Parliament of Canada, "Members of the House of Commons."
- 2. Parliament of Canada, "Senators."
- 3. Jessica Murphy, “Trudeau Gives Canada First Cabinet with Equal Number of Men and Women,” The Guardian (November 4, 2015); Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, “Cabinet.”
- 4. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in the U.S. Congress 2017 (2017).
- 5. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in the U.S. Congress 2017 (2017).
- 6. Nancy Pelosi, "Full Biography."
- 7. Emma Green, “’We Are Preparing to Shatter the Highest Glass Ceiling in Our Country,’” The Atlantic, July 26, 2016.
- 8. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women of Color in Elected Office 2017 (2017).
- 9. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women of Color in Elected Office 2017 (2017).
- 10. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in Statewide Elective Executive Office 2017 (2017).
- 11. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in Statewide Elective Executive Office 2017 (2017).
- 12. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in State Legislatures 2017 (2017).
- 13. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in State Legislatures 2017 (2017).
- 14. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in State Legislatures 2017 (2017).
- 15. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women in Statewide Elective Executive Office 2017 (2017).
- 16. Rutgers, Center for American Women and Politics, Fact Sheet: Women Mayors in US Cities 2016 (2016).
- 17. Inter-Parliamentary Union, "World Classification,” Women in National Parliaments (December 1, 2016).
- 18. Inter-Parliamentary Union, "World Classification,” Women in National Parliaments (December 1, 2016).
- 19. Inter-Parliamentary Union, "World Classification,” Women in National Parliaments (December 1, 2016).
- 20. CIA, “Chile,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 21. CIA, “Nepal,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 22. Government of Malta, “The President’s Biography” (2017).
- 23. CIA, “Mauritius,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2017).
- 24. CIA, “Croatia,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 25. CIA, “Lithuania,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 26. CIA, “Bangladesh,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2015).
- 27. CIA, “Marshall Islands,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 28. CIA, “Taiwan,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 29. CIA, “Liberia,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2015).
- 30. CIA, “United Kingdom,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 31. CIA, “Germany,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2017).
- 32. CIA, “Norway,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2016).
- 33. CIA, “Poland,” Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (2015).
7 Reader Comments
you should add more roles in the us government for women.
Thank you for your suggestion. Perhaps when we update the QT next year. Curious what you think we need to include?
who is bangladesh first rime minister?BTW i am from bangladesh
Taiwan recently elected its first female president. Tsai Ing Wen
Thanks Jonathan for sharing that. We will include that when we next update the QT.
THank u jonathan this helped me alot for my project in school
Wow these statistics of women in offices is very interesting. It shows that women are still a minority in the governmental workforce. I know that the statistic of women in government is growing but since men own the majority, I hope that we'll soon see a change where it's more equal.
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