Quick Takes

Published: January 2012

Download (Free)

Women in Canadian Government

• *Women were 21.1% of all elected politicians in provincial and territorial legislations and parliaments.¹
• The 2011 Federal Elections had record numbers of women elected to the House of Commons: 76.² This is just 24.6% of all MPs.³
• Just 36 Senators are women, compared to 62 Senators who are men.⁴
• 28.5% (452) of people running for the 2011 campaign were women.⁵
• Elizabeth May (Green Party) is the only woman Federal Leader on Parliament Hill.⁶

Women in U.S. Government

112^th U.S. Congress

• *Women hold 17 (17.0%) of the 100 Senate seats, the same as the 111^th Senate.⁷
• Women hold 73 (16.8%) of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, up from 72 in the 110^th House of Representatives. ⁸
• 24 of the 90 women in Congress are women of color, representing 4.5% of the total members of Congress and 27% of the women members of Congress. ⁹
• In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was the first woman elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives. ¹⁰

U.S. Cabinet

• Six women currently serve in cabinet or cabinet-level posts.¹¹
• Forty women have held a total of 45 cabinet or cabinet-level appointments in the history of the U.S. ¹²

Percentage of Women in House of Representatives and Senate^{13 14}

 

Congress15	Female Members of Congress16

U.S. Governors

• Six of the current governors are women, a decrease of 2 from 2008. ¹⁷
• Two women of color currently serve as governors. ¹⁸

U.S. State Legislatures

• In 2011, 1,745(23.6% of the 7,382) state legislators are women, a decrease from 1,809. ¹⁹
• Women held 428 (21.7%) of the 1,971 state senate seats and 1,317(24.3%) of the 5,411 state house seats. ²⁰
• Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled. ²¹

U.S. Statewide Elective Executive Offices

• *In 2011, 71 women held statewide elective executive offices around the country, or 22.4% of the 317 available positions. ²²

U.S. Mayors

• 203 women (17.4 %) are mayors of U.S. cities with more than 30,000 residents. ²³

Women in Government, Internationally

• The U.S. is ranked at 69^th in the world in terms of women's representation in national legislatures or parliaments (tied with Turkmenistan) out 188 direct election countries (as of October 31, 2011), down from 57th in November 2004. Canada is tied with Australia for 38.²⁴
• Rwanda is currently ranked first, followed by Andorra, Seychelles, Sweden, South Africa, Cuba, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Belgium, tied with the Netherlands. ²⁵

Women Heads of Government

The following countries have democratically elected women to lead their countries:

Head of Government	Title	Country
Michele Calmy-Rey	President	Switzerland26
Laura Chinchilla	President	Costa Rica27
Julia Gillard	Prime Minister	Australia28
Sheikh Hasina	Prime Minster	Bangladesh29
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf	President	Liberia30
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner	President	Argentina31
Jadranka Kosor	Prime Minister	Croatia32
Angela Merkel	Chancellor	Germany33
Kamla Persad-Bissessar	Prime Minister	Trinidad and Tobago34
Iveta Radicova	Prime Minister	Slovakia35
Dilma Rousseff	President	Brazil36
Yingluck Shinawatra	Prime Minister	Thailand37
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir	Prime Minister	Iceland38
Helle Thorning-Schmidt	Prime Minister	Denmark39

Legislation to Increase Women in Government

The following countries have put in place legislation to increase the representation of women in national government:

Africa

Country	Description	Sanctions	Date of Passage
Angola40	Charter of political parties must include rules that promote gender equality, Quota for women must not be less than 30%	Data not available	July 1, 2005
Burkina Faso41	List of candidates must include 30% of each gender	Public funding cut by 50%	April 16, 2009
Mauritania42	Senate must include at least one women, with the woman candidate’s name being first.	If quota regulations are not met, the electoral administration may reject candidate lists. Political parties that elect more women than the quota necessitates earn a financial bonus.	2006
Rwanda43	Women are granted at least 30% of positions in all "decision-making organs."	Data not available	2003
Senegal44	Candidate lists must contain an alternating list of 50% of each gender	Disqualification	2010

Asia and the Middle East

Country	Description	Sanctions	Date of Passage
East Timor45	One out of every four candidates on the electoral list must be a woman	Rejection of list	2006
Iraq46	1/4 of National Assembly must be female.	Data not available	2005
Korea, Republic of47	PR elections: 50% quota for woman for 56 positions Majority election: 30% quota for women for 243 seats is recommended	Data not available	2000
Uzbekistan48	30% quota for women candidates for political party elections	Data not available	2009

Europe

Country	Description	Sanctions	Date of Passage
Albania49	Candidate list must be a quota of at least 30% women and/or one of the first three names on a candidate list much be from each gender.	Fine of up to one tenth of state funds	2008
Armenia50	Candidate lists must be 20% women, and every tenth position on lists.	Parties can not register	2005
Belgium51	On candidate and alternate lists, gender representation must be equal, top two cannot be of the same gender	Rejection of list	2009
Bosnia and Herzegovina52	33% must be of the underrepresented sex	Data not available	2006
France53	On candidate lists difference between genders cannot be more than 2%	Subsidies cut by 75% of the difference	2009
Macedonia54	On candidate lists 1 out of 3 must be a woman	Rejection of list	2008
Poland55	On candidate lists, the total number of candidates of either gender must not be lower than 35%	3 days to comply, list otherwise rejected	January 5, 2011
Portugal56	On candidate lists minimum of 33%of each gender	If more than three names, will be made public, and subject to financial sanctions	N/A
Serbia57	Candidate lists must have 30% of each gender,and reserve every fourth place for the underrepresented gender	Will not be recognized	2004
Slovenia58	25% female during transition period with final goal of 35% gender quota	Rejection of list	2008
Spain59	On candidate lists minimum of 40% and maximum of 60% of each gender	Rejection of list	March 2007

North America and Central America and the Caribbean

Country	Description	Sanctions	Date of Passage
Costa Rica60	Candidates lists must be 40% women; genders must alternate; must be placed in electable seats	Rejection of list	1999
Dominican Republic61	33% of women in electoral seats. No quota for senate seats	Data not available	1997, 2000
Mexico62	Candidates must be 40% women, except for parties that democratically elect their leaders.	48 hours to rectify lists, then publically reprimanded, then list is rejected	2009
Panama63	30% quota for women in party and general elections	Data not available	1997

South America

Country	Description	Sanctions	Date of Passage
Argentina64	On party lists quota of 30% women candidates	Parties will be not approved	1991
Bolivia65	Chamber of Deputies: On candidate lists 1 out of 3 must be a woman (in PR part of the election) Chamber of Senators: one out of four nominated candidates must be women	Must rectify lists if they do not comply	1997,2 005
Brazil66	Candidate lists must be 30% female	Authorities can remove candidates from lists	1997, updated 2000
Ecuador67	Candidate lists must include an equal number of each gender, gender must alternate	Rejection of list	2008
Guyana68	Candidates must be one third women	Lists will not be approved	2006
Honduras69	Candidate lists quota of 30% women	Data not available	2000
Paraguay70	Parties must have at least 20% participation of women. Candidate lists must have a woman in every fifth place	Lists will not approved if they do not comply	1996
Peru71	30% quota for women	Authorities can reject candidates	1997, 2001
Uruguay72	On candidate lists both genders must be represented every three positions either in the first fifteen positions or the entire list. In cases were only two candidates compete, one candidate must be a woman.	Rejection of list	2009

Sources

¹ CBC, "Women in Canadian Politics: How They Fare by Province and in Parliament" (2011).

² Meagan Fitzpatrick, "Record Number of Women Elected," CBC News (May 3, 2011).

³ Equal Voice, "Fundamental Facts: The Facts, Ma’am: Facts About Women in Politics in Canada."

⁴ Parliament of Canada, "Senators" (2011).

⁵ Andrew Heard, "Women and Elections."

⁶ Meagan Fitzpatrick, "Record Number of Women Elected," CBC News (May 3, 2011).

⁷ Center for American Women and Politics, "Facts on Women in Congress 2011." Center for American Women and Politics (2010).

⁸ Center for American Women and Politics, "Facts on Women in Congress 2011." Center for American Women and Politics (2010).

⁹ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women of Color in Elective Office 2011."

¹⁰ "About Representative Pelosi."

¹¹ Center for American Women and Politics, "Facts on Women in Federal Executive Office"

¹² Center for American Women and Politics, "Facts on Women in Federal Executive Office"

¹³ Center for American Women and Politics, "Facts on Women in Congress 2011." Center for American Women and Politics (2010).

¹⁴ Center for American Women and Politics, "Facts on Women in Congress 2011." Center for American Women and Politics (2010).

¹⁵ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women of Color in Elective Office 2011."

¹⁶ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women of Color in Elective Office 2011."

¹⁷ Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers. Center for American Women and Politics (2010)

¹⁸ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women of Color in Elective Office 2011."

¹⁹ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women in State Legislatures 2011", Center for American Women and Politics (2010).

²⁰ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women in State Legislatures 2011", Center for American Women and Politics (2010).

²¹ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women in State Legislatures 2011", Center for American Women and Politics (2010).

²² Center for American Women and Politics, "Statewide Elective Executive Women 2011"

²³ Center for American Women and Politics, "Women Mayors in US Cities 2011"

²⁴ Inter-Parliamentary Union, "Women in National Parliaments" (August 31, 2011).

²⁵ Inter-Parliamentary Union, "Women in National Parliaments" (August 31, 2011).

²⁶ Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, "Micheline Calmy-Rey: President of the Confederation" (2011).

²⁷ Council of Women World Leaders, "Laura Chinchilla, President, Republic of Costa Rica, 2010-Present" (2011).

²⁸ Council of Women World Leaders, "Julia Gillard: Prime Minister of Australia, 2010-Present" (2011).

²⁹ Council of Women World Leaders, "Sheikh Hasina: Prime Minister, Bangladesh, 1996-2001, 2009-Present."

³⁰ Government of the Republic of Liberia, "Biographical Brief of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf" (2011).

³¹ Casa Rosada, Presidencia de la Nacion Argentina, "Biografia."

³² Council of Women World Leaders, "Jadranka Kosor: Prime Minister, Croatia, 2009-Present."

³³ The Federal Chancellor, "Angela Merkel."

³⁴ Council of Women World Leaders, "Kamla Persad-Bissessar: Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago, 2010-Present."

³⁵ Council of Women World Leaders, "Iveta Radicova: Prime Minister, Slovakia, 2010-Present."

³⁶ Brasil.gov.br, "Presidencia da Republica" (2011).

³⁷ Pheu Thai Party Official Website. BBC News, "Profile: Yingluck Shinawatra."

³⁸ Council of Women World Leaders, "Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir: Prime Minister, Iceland, 2009 – Present."

³⁹ Statsministeriet, "Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Throning-Schmidt."

⁴⁰ Quota Project, "Angola," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴¹ Quota Project, "Burkina Faso," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴² Quota Project, "Mauritania," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴³ Quota Project, "Rwanda," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴⁴ Quota Project, "Senegal," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴⁵ Quota Project, "East Timor," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴⁶ ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, Iraq Constitution (2005).

⁴⁷ Quota Project, "Korea, Republic of," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴⁸ Quota Project, "Uzbekistan," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁴⁹ Quota Project, "Albania," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵⁰ Quota Project, "Armenia," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵¹ Quota Project, "Belgium," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵² Quota Project, "Bosnia and Herzegovina," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵³ Quota Project, "France," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵⁴ Quota Project, "Macedonia," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵⁵ Quota Project, "Poland," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵⁶ Quota Project, "Portugal," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵⁷ Quota Project, "Serbia," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵⁸ Quota Project, "Slovenia," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁵⁹ Quota Project, "Spain," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶⁰ Quota Project, "Costa Rica," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶¹ Quota Project, "Dominican Republic," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶² Quota Project, "Mexico," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶³ Quota Project, "Panama," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶⁴ Quota Project, "Argentina," Global Database of Quotas for Women ACE: Electoral Knowledge Network, "Argentina: Codigo Electoral Nacional" (2007).

⁶⁵ Quota Project, "Bolivia," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶⁶ Quota Project, "Brazil," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶⁷ Quota Project, "Ecuador," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶⁸ Quota Project, "Guyana," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁶⁹ Quota Project, "Honduras," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁷⁰ Quota Project, "Paraguay," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁷¹ Quota Project, "Peru," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

⁷² Quota Project, "Uruguay," Global Database of Quotas for Women.

UPDATED January 8, 2012