Women in National Governments Around the
Globe: Fact Sheet
Updated February 8, 2021
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
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Introduction
Women and girls make up half of the world’s population; however, in most countries, women are
underrepresented in the political process at the national level. As this report shows, women
currently hold 25.4% of legislative seats around the world, an increase from 12.7% of legislative
seats in 1998 (see Figure 1). As of December 1, 2020, women held 50% or more of the
legislative seats in three countries: Rwanda, Cuba, and the United Arab Emirates (see Table 3).
At the executive level, at least 29 countries currently have an elected female head of state or
government (see Table 5). Since 1960, about 110 women have been elected or appointed as head
of the national government in approximately 70 countries.1
The participation and representation of women in elected government is generally considered
healthy for their communities. As Ambassador Kelley E. Currie, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for
Global Women’s Issues, stated in June 2020, “We know for a fact that when women are involved
… whether it’s the local issues in their own communities, or getting a seat at the negotiating table
for the most critical issues of their countries, that it helps their countries to become more stable,
more peaceful, and more prosperous.”2
To support the United States Government’s efforts to empower women’s political rights, the 116th
Congress appropriated funds for foreign assistance programs designed to promote the political
and economic participation of women. Both P.L. 116-94, the Further Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2020, and P.L. 116-260, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, included funding for
Gender Equality programs in Section 7059 of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and
Related Appropriations divisions. Each act appropriated $50 million to fund programs designed to
increase the political involvement of women “by strengthening protections for women’s political
status, expanding women’s participation in political parties and elections, and increasing
women’s opportunities for leadership positions” at the local, provincial, and national levels.3
Each act also appropriated $300 million for grants to the National Endowment for Democracy
(NED).4 The NED, through its core institutes, the International Republic Institute and the
National Democratic Institute, funds democracy programs, including programs aimed specifically
at increasing the political participation of women.
The 115th Congress enacted the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-68) with the
aim to increase the participation of women in conflict prevention and conflict resolution
processes as a means to build more inclusive societies and to help stabilize countries and regions.
This act expressed the sense of Congress that “the political participation, and leadership of
women in fragile environments, particularly during democratic transitions, is critical to sustaining
lasting democratic institutions.”5 Both P.L. 116-94 and P.L. 116-260 included statements that “the
Secretary of State shall promote” the participation of Afghan women in peace and reconciliation

1 The Global Gender Gap Report 2018, prepared by The World Economic Forum, December 18, 2018,
https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-gender-gap-report-2018.
2 Ambassador Kelley Currie, Briefing on the Women, Peace, and Security Implementation Plan, June 12, 2020, at
https://www.state.gov/briefing-with-ambassador-at-large-for-global-womens-issues-kelley-currie-on-the-women-
peace-and-security-implementation-plan/.
3 P.L. 116-94, Division G, Sec. 7059(b) at 133 Stat. 2920 and P.L. 116-260, Division K, Sec. 7059(b).
4 P.L. 116-94, Division G, Title I, at 113 Stat. 2824 and P.L. 116-260, Division K, Title I, at page 519.
5 P.L. 115-68 §3(2).
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processes in the country “in a manner consistent with the Women, Peace, and Security Act of
2017.”6
The Women, Peace, and Security Act required the President to submit to Congress a strategy (the
WPS Strategy) describing how the United States intended to fulfill the objectives of the act.7 The
Trump Administration filed its WPS Strategy in June 2019 and acknowledged that the “social and
political marginalization of women strongly correlates with the likelihood that a country will
experience conflict.”8 One particular goal is to “encourage partner governments to adopt policies,
plans, and capacity to improve the meaningful participation of women in processes connected to
peace and security and decision-making institutions.”9 The WPS Strategy approach to achieve the
goal includes conferring “with host governments and non-governmental organizations to reduce
barriers to and enhance the meaningful participation of women in economic, political, and
security spheres.”10
This report provides a global snapshot of women’s political participation worldwide by compiling
statistics and other information from a variety of sources, including the annual Global Gender
Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the CIA World Factbook, news
reports, and other sources.
Voting Rights
The right to vote is a primary step toward involving a populace in the political decisions of a
government. In many countries, voting rights were originally granted only to adult men who
owned property, then were eventually expanded to include all adult male citizens regardless of
property ownership, then women, and then other underrepresented groups. Definitions of what
constituted a “citizen” may also have changed over time, as they did in the United States, and
gradually have become more inclusive of minorities and indigenous peoples. Other countries
enacted universal suffrage from their very founding, granting the right to vote to all adults, male
and female, regardless of ethnicity, religion, economic standing, or other criterion.
Table 1 and Table 2, respectively, list the first and latest countries to extend the right and duty of
voting to women. Although subnational regions (e.g., states, provinces) may have granted the
right to vote earlier, the years in the tables below indicate when suffrage was extended for
national elections to female adult citizens.

6 P.L. 116-94, Division G, §7044(2) at 133 Stat. 2900 and P.L. 116-260, Division K, §7044(2).
7 Department of State page on the Women, Peace, and Security Strategy (WPS Strategy), at https://www.state.gov/
women-peace-and-security/. Included on this page is the Implementation Plan for the Strategy.
8 United States Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS Strategy), June 2019, p. 4, at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/WPS_Strategy_10_October2019.pdf#page=6.
9 WPS Strategy, p. 12, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/
WPS_Strategy_10_October2019.pdf#page=14.
10 WPS Strategy, p. 14, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/
WPS_Strategy_10_October2019.pdf#page=16.
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Women in National Governments Around the Globe: Fact Sheet

Table 1. First Countries to Allow Women to Vote
Year
Country(ies)
Year
Country(ies)
1893
New Zealand
1917
Canada*
1902
Australia*
1918
Austria, Estonia, Georgia, Germany,
Hungary, Ireland,* Kyrgyz Republic,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia,
United Kingdom*
1906
Finland
1919
Belarus, Belgium,* Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Sweden,* Ukraine
1913
Norway
1920
Albania, Czech Republic, Iceland,**
Slovak Republic, United States
1915
Denmark, Iceland*
1921
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Sweden**
Source: The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/suffrage.htm.
Notes: Some countries granted suffrage in stages, at first denying the right to women of certain racial, ethnic, or
economic groups. One asterisk (*) indicates the first year female citizens were allowed to vote in national
elections with limitations; two asterisks (**) indicate when those limitations were removed. No asterisk indicates
there were no restrictions and all female adult citizens were granted the right to vote.

Table 2. Most Recent Countries to Allow Women to Vote
Year
Country
2003
Qatar
2005
Kuwait
2006
United Arab Emirates
2011
Saudi Arabia
Sources: Pamela Paxton and Melanie M. Hughes, Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective, 2nd edition,
SAGE Publications, 2014, p. 50-51; and the CIA World Factbook on Suffrage, at https://www.cia.gov/library/
publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/311.html#AF; “‘Surprise and Excitement’: Saudi Women React
to Voting Rights Decision,” NPR, September 26, 2011, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/09/26/
140819859/surprise-and-excitement-saudi-women-react-to-voting-rights-decision.
Note: Newly independent countries (Kosovo, South Sudan, etc.) would be included only if women had not been
granted suffrage under the preceding country. For example, because Sudan granted women the right to vote in
1964, South Sudan is not included in this list, even though it did not gain independence until 2011.
Legislative Representation
Women’s suffrage has been closely linked to women’s participation in legislative bodies. In 1907,
the voters of Finland elected 19 women to the country’s new unicameral parliament a year after
Finnish women were granted suffrage; this was the first election in the world in which the names
of both female and male candidates appeared on the ballot. On the other end of the spectrum,
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia granted Saudi women the right to vote and run in municipal
elections in 2011; women were able to exercise this right for the first time in 2015.11

11 “‘Surprise and Excitement’: Saudi Women React to Voting Rights Decision,” NPR, September 26, 2011,
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/09/26/140819859/surprise-and-excitement-saudi-women-react-to-
voting-rights-decision; “For Saudi Women, ‘Baby Steps into this World of Democracy,’” NPR, December 2, 2015,
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Gender Quotas
Several countries have instituted quotas to ensure that women are represented on the ballot or in
the legislature. Similar quotas may also be used to ensure ethnic or religious diversity in the
national legislature of some countries (e.g., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq).
The Atlas of Electoral Gender Quotas explains that “[g]ender quotas are numerical targets that
stipulate the number or percentage of women that must be included in a candidate list or the
number of seats to be allocated to women in a legislature. They aim to reverse discrimination in
law and practice and to level the playing field for women and men in politics.” The Atlas further
states that “gender quotas have proved to be the single most effective tool for ‘fast-tracking’
women’s representation in elected bodies of government.”12
Three main types of gender quotas are generally recognized, and they may be used at the national
or subnational level, or both:
 Legislated candidate quotas. These quotas are mandated through national
constitutions or legislation to regulate the gender composition of the ballot.
 Legislated “reserved seats.” These quotas reserve a specific number or
percentage of seats in the legislature for women members. The quotas are
mandated through national constitutions or legislation and are implemented
through special electoral procedures.
 Party quotas (also known as voluntary party quotas). These quotas are
adopted by individual political parties through the party’s statutes and rules. Such
adoption is the prerogative of each party, and some parties in a country may
adopt quotas while other parties choose not to do so.
Table 3 shows the number of seats held by women in the national legislative chambers of
selected countries. The countries listed include the 19 nation members of the G-20 (excluding the
European Union) and countries that have legislative bodies in which women hold 44% or more of
the seats. Two members of the G-20—South Africa and Mexico—are included in the 12 countries
with more than 44% women legislators.
Note: At the time of publication, the most current numbers published by the IPU were from
December 2020. It is expected numbers from February 2021 will be available by April 2021, and
the report will be updated at that time.

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/12/02/458162191/for-saudi-women-baby-steps-into-this-world-of-
democracy.
12 The Atlas of Electoral Gender Quotas was a joint project of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance (IDEA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Stockholm University, published in June 2014, p. 16, available
at https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/atlas-electoral-gender-quotas?lang=en.
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Table 3. Female Representation in National Legislatures of Selected Countries
As of December 1, 2020
IPU Rank
National
by % of
Level
Total Seats
Type of
Gender
Total
Total Seats
% of Total
Held by
Legislative
Quota
Legislative
Held by
Seats Held
Womena
Country
System
Codesb
Seats
Women
by Women
1
Rwanda
Bicameral
RS
106
59
55.7
2
Cuba
Unicameral
None
605
322
53.2
United Arab
3
Unicameral
RS
40
20
50.0
Emirates
4
Mexico
Bicameral
C, P
628
304
48.4
5
New Zealand
Unicameral
P
120
58
48.3
6
Bolivia
Bicameral
C, P
166
80
48.2
7
Nicaragua
Unicameral
C, P
91
43
47.3
8
Sweden
Unicameral
P
349
164
47.0
9
Andorra
Unicameral
None
28
13
46.4
10
Finland
Unicameral
None
200
92
46.0
11
South Africa
Bicameral
P
453
207
45.7
12
Costa Rica
Unicameral
C, P
57
26
45.6
18
Argentina
Bicameral
C, P
329
134
40.7
31
France
Bicameral
C, P
925
344
37.2
32
Australia
Bicameral
P
227
84
37.0
36
Italy
Bicameral
P
950
335
35.3
42
Canada
Bicameral
P
434
146
33.6
48
Germany
Bicameral
P
778
246
31.6
56
United
Bicameral
P
1,445
433
30.0
Kingdom
70
United States
Unicameral
None
524
142
27.1
82
China
Unicameral
RS
2,975
742
24.9
111
Indonesia
Unicameral
C
575
117
20.3
116
Saudi Arabia
Unicameral
RS
151
30
19.9
123
South Korea
Unicameral
C, P
300
57
19.0
135
Turkey
Unicameral
P
589
102
17.3
142
Russia
Bicameral
None
620
100
16.1
148
Japan
Bicameral
None
710
102
14.4
149
Brazil
Bicameral
C, P
594
85
14.3
156
India
Bicameral
Sub only
784
105
13.4

TOTAL 194 COUNTRIES

46,025
11,699
25.4%
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service using data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union at
https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=12&year=2020, and the Gender Quotas Database at
https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas/database, published by the International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance, as posted on February 1, 2021.
Notes: The selected countries listed here include the 19 national members of the G-20 (excluding the European
Union) and the 12 countries in which women hold 44% or more of the seats in the national legislative body.
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a. The rankings by percentage of total seats held by women is based on the 191 countries listed in the
complete IPU list of Percentage of Women in National Parliaments, posted at https://data.ipu.org/women-
ranking?month=12&year=2020.
b. Four codes indicate the type of gender quota used in the country: C=legislated quotas for candidates on the
ballot level; RS=legal quotas for reserved seats, whether legislated or mandated by the executive branch;
P=voluntary party quotas; Sub only=quotas at the subnational level only, as identified by the Gender Quotas
Database.

Table 4 lists countries where women hold fewer than 8% of the legislative seats.
Table 4. Countries Where Women Hold Fewer Than 8% of Total Legislative Seats
As of December 1, 2020
IPU Rank
National
by % of
Level
Total Seats
Type of
Gender
Total
Total Seats
% of Total
Held by
Legislative
Quota
Legislative
Held by
Seats Held
Womena
Country
System
Codesb
Seats
Women
by Women
174
Tonga
Unicameral
No data
27
2
7.4
175
Nigeria
Bicameral
No data
469
34
7.2
176
Benin
Unicameral
No data
83
6
7.2
177
Palau
Bicameral
No data
29
2
6.9
178
Solomon
Unicameral
C
47
3
6.4
Islands
179
Kuwait
Unicameral
No data
63
4
6.3
180
Burkina Faso
Unicameral
C
127
8
6.3
181
Tuvalu
Unicameral
No data
16
1
6.3
182
Marshall
Unicameral
No data
33
2
6.1
Islands
183
Iran
Unicameral
No data
286
16
5.6
184
Sri Lanka
Unicameral
Sub only
223
12
5.4
185
Lebanon
Unicameral
No data
128
6
4.7
186
Maldives
Unicameral
No data
87
4
4.6
187
Yemen
Bicameral
No data
412
4
1.0
188
Micronesia
Unicameral
No data
14
0
0.0
189
Papua New
Unicameral
No data
111
0
0.0
Guinea
190
Vanuatu
Unicameral
Sub only
52
0
0.0
191
Haiti
Bicameral
RS
10
0
0.0
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service using data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union at
https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=12&year=2020, and the Gender Quotas Database at
https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas/database, published by the International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance, as posted on February 1, 2021.
a. The rankings by percentage of total seats held by women is based on the 191 countries listed in the
complete IPU list of Percentage of Women in National Parliaments, posted at https://data.ipu.org/women-
ranking?month=12&year=2020.
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b. Four codes indicate the type of gender quota used in the country: C=legislated quotas for candidates on the
ballot level; RS=legislated quotas for reserved seats; P=voluntary party quotas; Sub only=quotas at the
subnational level only, as identified by the Gender Quotas Database.
Over a 20-year period, the percentage of seats held by women in national legislatures has risen
worldwide from 12.7% in December 1998 to 25.4% by December 2020 (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Worldwide Percentage of Seats Held
by Women in National Legislatures
1998-2020

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, available at http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-
e/world-arc.htm.
As shown in Figure 2, in 2000, women held more than 20% of legislative seats in only one
region, the Nordic countries. In 2020, women legislators in five more regions held more than 20%
of the legislative seats, and less than 20% in two regions. Currently, the Middle East is the region
with the smallest portion of legislative seats held by women, although women’s legislative
representation has increased more since 2000 than in other regions.
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Figure 2. Regional Percentages of Seats Held by Women in National Legislatures
2000-2020

Source: Created by CRS using data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, available at http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-
e/world-arc.htm.
Executive Representation
At least 70 countries have chosen a woman as their executive since Sirima Bandaranaike of Sri
Lanka was selected as the world’s first female Prime Minister in 1960. Executives may be
selected through various methods: directly elected from a ballot dedicated to the executive office;
indirectly elected by the legislature; appointed, following legislative elections, as the leader of the
majority political party or majority coalition; or through other indirect means.
Women Leaders in the 21st Century
Table 5. Current Women Executives
Country
Name
Title
Dates in Office
Moldova
Maia Sandu
President
Dec. 2020-present
Lithuania
Ingrida Simonyte
Prime Minister
Nov. 2020-present
Kosovo
Vjosa Osmani
Acting President
Nov. 2020-present
Togo
Victoire Tomegah Dogbe
Prime Minister
Sep. 2020-present
Gabon
Rose Christiane Ossouka
Prime Minister
July 2020-present
Raponda
Greece
Ekaterina Sakellaropoulou
President
Mar. 2020-present
Sint Maarten
Silveria Jacobs
Prime Minister
Jan. 16 2020-present
Finland
Sanna Mirella Marin
Prime Minister
Dec. 10, 2019-present
Denmark
Mette Frederiksen
Prime Minister
June 26, 2019–present
Slovakia
Zuzana Čaputováa
President
June 15, 2019–present
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Country
Name
Title
Dates in Office
Georgia
Salome Zourabichvili
President
Dec. 16, 2018–present
Ethiopia
Sahle-Work Zewdea
President
Oct. 25, 2018–present
Barbados
Mia Mottley
Prime Minister
May 25, 2018–present
Trinidad and Tobago
Paula-Mae Weekesa
President
Mar. 19, 2018–present
Iceland
Katrin Jakobsdóttir
Prime Minister
Nov. 30, 2017–present
Aruba
Evelyn Wever-Croesa
Prime Minister
Nov. 17, 2017–present
New Zealand
Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister
Oct. 26, 2017–present
Singapore
Halimah Yacoba
President
Sept. 14, 2017–present
Hong Kongb
Carrie Lama
Chief Executive
July 1, 2017–present
Serbia
Ana Brnabić
Prime Minister
June 29, 2017–present
Turks and Caicos Islands
Sharlene Cartwright-
Premier
Dec. 20, 2016–present
Robinsona
Estonia
Kersti Kaljulada
President
Oct. 10, 2016–present
Taiwan
Tsai Ing-wena
President
May 20, 2016–present
Burmac
Aung San Suu Kyia
State Counsellor
Apr. 6, 2016–present
Nepal
Bidhya Devi Bandhara
President
Oct. 29, 2015–present
Namibia
Saara Kuugongelwa-
Prime Minister
March 21, 2015–present
Amadhilaa
Norway
Erna Solberg
Prime Minister
Oct. 16, 2013–present
Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister
1996–2001; Jan. 6, 2009–
present
Germany
Angela Merkela
Chancellor
Nov. 22, 2005–present
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service using information from the CIA World Factbook,
available at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/312.html#AG; the Global
Gender Gap 2020, published by the World Economic Forum, at https://www.weforum.org/reports/gender-gap-
2020-report-100-years-pay-equality; and media reports.
Notes: Surnames appear in bold face.
a. This woman is the first female to hold this position in her country.
b. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, which affords the city a
limited degree of autonomy. Although President Xi Jinping is China’s chief of state, Chief Executive Carrie
Lam is recognized as the head of Hong Kong’s government and, as such, is responsible for the day-to-day
governance of Hong Kong.
c. Aung San Suu Kyi, as head of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the majority party in the national
legislature, was selected by the parliament as State Counsellor in April 2016 and has been recognized as the
de facto leader of the civilian side of Burma’s government. Fol owing elections in November 2020 and
winning 83% of the contested seats in parliament, the NLD, with Aung San Suu Kyi at its head, was set to
begin a new session of government on February 2, 2021. However, on February 1, 2021 the Burmese
military staged a coup, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the civilian government, declaring a
state of emergency, and installing Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as head of the government.

Table 6 lists additional women who served as the executive of their country, and whose term of
office has concluded.
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Table 6. Additional Women Executives from the 21st Century
Selected leaders whose term of office has ended prior to December 31, 2020.
Country
Name
Title
Years in Office
Bangladesh
Khaleda Zia
Prime Minister
1991-1996 and 2001-2006
Panama
Mireya Moscoso
President
1999-2004
New Zealand
Helen Clark
Prime Minister
1999-2008
After leaving office, Clark became the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program.
Indonesia
Megawati Sukarnoputri
President
2001-2004
Philippines
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President
2001-2010
Jamaica
Portia Simpson-Miller
Prime Minister
2006-2007 and 2012-2016
Chile
Michelle Bachelet
President
2006-2010 and 2014-2018
Liberia
El en Johnson Sirleaf
President
2006-2018
Sirleaf was the first woman to be elected the head of state of an African country.
Argentina
Cristina Fernandez De
President
2007-2015
Kirchner
India
Pratibha Patil
President
2007-2012
Thailand
Yinglluck Shinawatra
Prime Minister
2011-2014
Shinawatra was forced to leave office after the constitutional court found her guilty of abusing her power.
Brazil
Dilma Rousseff
President
2011-2016
Rousseff was the first woman elected as President of Brazil and was reelected in 2014. Over allegations of
corruption, she was impeached and removed from office in August 2016.
Malawi
Joyce Banda
President
2012-2014
Banda was elected in 2009 as Vice President to President Bingu wa Mutharika. She succeeded him as President
upon his death in April 2012.
South Korea
Park Geun-hye
President
2013-2017
Park was the first female President of South Korea. She became the country’s first democratically elected
president to be impeached on grounds of corruption and removed from office.
United Kingdom
Theresa May
Prime Minister
2016-2019
Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaite
President
2009-2019
Malta
Marie-Louise Coleiro
President
2014-2019
Preca
Romania
Viorica Dăncilă
Prime Minister
2018-2019
Bolivia
Jeanine Áñez
Interim President
2018-2019
Croatia
Kolinda Grabar-
President
2015-2020
Kitarovic
Austria
Brigitte Bierlein
Chancellor
2019-2020
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service using media reports, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and
the BBC.
Notes: Surnames appear in bold face.
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Women Leaders of the 20th Century
Table 7 identifies several notable female executives who held office in the 20th century.
Table 7. Notable Women Executives, from 1960 to 2000
Country
Name
Title
Years in Office
Sri Lanka
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Prime Minister
1960-1965; 1970-1977;
1994-2000
Bandaranaike was the world’s first female Prime Minister
India
Indira Gandhi
Prime Minister
1966-1977 and 1980-1984
Gandhi was assassinated while in office; she was succeeded by her son, Rajiv.
Israel
Golda Meir
Prime Minister
1969-1974
Meir and her husband immigrated to then Palestine in 1921. She was a founder of the State of Israel and the fourth
prime minister.
Argentina
Isabel Martinez de Perón
President
1974-1976
Perón was world’s first female president when, as vice president, she succeed her husband, President Juan Perón,
upon his death.
United Kingdom
Margaret Thatcher
Prime Minister
1979-1990
Thatcher became the first woman prime minister in Europe and was the only British prime minister in the 20th
century to be elected to three consecutive terms.
Iceland
Vigdis Finnbogadottir
President
1980-1996
Philippines
Corazon Aquino
President
1986-1992
Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto
Prime Minister
1988-1990 and 1993-1996
In January 1990, Bhutto became the first prime minister to give birth while in office.
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service using news and other sources, such as the
Encyclopedia Britannica and Gale Biography in Context.
Notes: Surnames appear in bold face.

Violence Against Women in Politics
Many experts and observers have found that, while men candidates and officeholders experience
violence, women politicians are targeted because of their gender and subjected to sexist threats,
sexual harassment, and violence. Many agree that these acts are perpetrated to “preserve
traditional gender roles and stereotypes and maintain structural and gender-based inequalities.”13
Violence may occur during the registration and voting processes, while campaigning and running

13 Violence against Women in Politics, A/73/301, Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against
women, its cause and consequences, August 6, 2018, page 5, paragraph 13, at https://undocs.org/A/73/301. For more
information on violence against women in politics, see International Foundation for Electoral Systems, “Violence
against Women in Elections,” at https://www.ifes.org/VAWE; and Alanis, Carmen. Violence against Women in
Politics, Kofi Anan Foundation, November 2020, at https://storage.googleapis.com/kofiannanfoundation.org/2020/11/
fa21f2be-violence-against-women-in-politics_2020_final_en.pdf.

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for office, and when serving in a government.14 Perpetrators may include both State and non-State
actors, such as members of political parties, other parliamentarians, members of the public, media
representatives, and religious or community leaders.15
Underreporting incidents of violence against women in politics makes addressing the issue
particularly challenging. Information about the problem tends to be anecdotal rather than
statistical, making it difficult to determine the extent and prevalence of the problem. In addition,
many of the women are reluctant to report violence out of the belief that doing so may limit a
woman’s political aspirations, and out of fear of reprisals, threats, and possible increased
harassment. Political women may also be concerned that they will be considered “difficult” and
“not toing the party line.”16
In October 2016, the Inter-Parliamentary Union published a survey of 55 women legislators from
39 countries on their experiences of harassment, intimidation, or violence based on their gender.17
Tables 1 to 4 illustrate the findings of this survey. Broadly, almost 82% of the women surveyed
reported they had personally experienced psychological violence, almost 22% reported incidents
of sexual violence, 25.5% reported experiencing physical violence, and almost 33% had been
subjected to economic violence.
Table 8. Prevalence of Various Forms of Violence Against Women Legislators
Findings of a survey of 55 women legislators from 39 countries

% of Respondents Answering “Yes”
“Have you
witnessed acts of
this violence
committed
“Have you been
against one or
subject to one or
more of your
more acts of this
female
Type of Violence
kind of violence?”
colleagues?”
Psychological violence (see Table 9 for details)
81.8%
78.1%
Sexual violence (e.g. sexual harassment; efforts to force sexual
relations inappropriate and unwanted gestures or physical
contact; requests for sexual relations in exchange for material or
21.8%
32.7%
political advantages
Physical violence (e.g. actions that inflict or attempt to inflict
bodily injury to a legislator, or to friends or members of her
25.5%
20.0%
family)
Economic violence (e.g. denied funds and other resources that
legislators are entitled to such as salary, offices, computers, staff,
32.7%
30.9%
security; damage to or destruction of personal property)
Source: Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians, Inter-Parliamentary Union, October
2016, at https://www.ipu.org/file/2425/download.
Notes: Definitions of the various kinds of violence are included in the report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.


14 Special Rapporteur, page 9, paragraph 33, at https://undocs.org/A/73/301.
15 Special Rapporteur, page 6, paragraph 15, at https://undocs.org/A/73/301.
16 Alanis, Carmen, page 17, at https://storage.googleapis.com/kofiannanfoundation.org/2020/11/fa21f2be-violence-
against-women-in-politics_2020_final_en.pdf#page=17.
17 Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians, Inter-Parliamentary Union, October 2016, at
https://www.ipu.org/file/2425/download. Survey participants included 18 from Africa, 15 from Europe, 10 from the
Asia-Pacific region, 8 from the Americas, and 4 from Arab countries.
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Table 9. Psychological Violence: Prevalence of Specific Behaviors
Behaviors described by the 81.8% of respondents who reported they had experienced psychological
violence, as noted in Table 8.
% of Respondents Who Had
Actions of Psychological Violence
Experienced These Actions
Humiliating sexual or sexist remarks
65.5%
Images or disrespectful comments with sexual connotations about you in the
27.3%
traditional media

Extremely humiliating or sexual images of you distributed through social
media
41.8%
Threats of death, rape, beatings, or abduction
44.4%
Harassment (e.g. exposure to insistent and uninvited behavior, including
unwanted attention, unwelcome verbal contact, or interaction that may have
32.7%
frightened you)
Source: Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians, Inter-Parliamentary Union, October
2016, at https://www.ipu.org/file/2425/download, p. 3.

Table 10 lists several factors identified in the IPU study that may make some women legislators a
likely target for gender-based intolerance.
Table 10. Risk Factors for Women Legislators
Reasons for Violence, as reported by women legislators subjected to
% of Survey
gender-based violent acts and behavior
Respondents
Intention to dissuade them and other women from participating in politics
61.5%
Political rivalry
41.7%
Positions of women legislators on specific issues
60.5%
Additional risk factors that appear to lead to violence against women in legislatures include being a member of the
political minority, being under the age of 40, and belonging to a minority ethnic, religious, or other marginalized
social group.
Source: Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians, Inter-Parliamentary Union, October
2016, at https://www.ipu.org/file/2425/download, p. 6.

Table 11 identifies how the women legislators reacted to the acts of violence they experienced.
Table 11. Effects of Violence Against Women in Politics
% of Survey
Reactions of Women in Politics Subjected to Violent Acts
Respondents
Distressed over the experience
66.7%
Concerned for the security of themselves, their friends, and family members
46.7%
Felt weakened in their ability to complete their mandates and to express their
opinions
38.7%
Reported incidents to the legislative security services or the police
51.7%
Strengthened their determination as a legislator
80.0%
Source: Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women Parliamentarians, Inter-Parliamentary Union, October
2016, at https://www.ipu.org/file/2425/download, p. 7.
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Additional Materials
Following is a list of current websites and recent publications, in addition to those cited above,
that are available online and discuss the issue of violence against women in politics. These titles
are listed from most recent to the earliest published.
National Democratic Institute, “Not the Cost: Stopping Violence against Women in Politics,” at
https://www.ndi.org/not-the-cost.
International Foundation for Electoral Systems, “Violence against Women in Elections Online: A
Social Media Analysis Tool,” at https://www.ifes.org/publications/violence-against-women-
elections-online-social-media-analysis-tool.
International Foundation for Electoral Systems, “Violence against Women in Elections,” at
https://www.ifes.org/VAWE.
Eliminating Violence against Women in Politics: What Works and What Doesn’t?, Inter-
Parliamentary Union, November 25, 2020, a video of an online discussion at https://www.ipu.org/
event/eliminating-violence-against-women-in-politics-what-works-and-what-doesnt.
Alanis, Carmen. Violence against Women in Politics, Kofi Anan Foundation, November 2020, at
https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/electoral-integrity/eliminating-violence-against-women-in-
politics/.
Guidelines for the Elimination of Sexism, Harassment and Violence against Women in
Parliament, Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2019, at https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/
reference/2019-11/guidelines-elimination-sexism-harassment-and-violence-against-women-in-
parliament.
Violence against Women in Politics: Expert Group Meeting Report and Recommendations, United
Nations Human Rights Special Procedures, UN Women, United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner on Human Rights, March 8-9, 2018, at https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/
headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2018/egm-report-violence-against-women-
in-politics-en.pdf?la=en&vs=4036.
Ballington, Julie, Gabrielle Bardall, and Gabriella Borovsky. Preventing Violence against Women
in Elections: A Programming Guide, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (UN Women), United Nations Development Program, 2017, at
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2017/11/preventing-violence-against-
women-in-elections.

Acknowledgements
Sandra Delaney, CRS summer intern, and Jennifer Roscoe, CRS research assistant, helped in
gathering data and presenting key points.

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Author Information

Susan G. Chesser

Senior Research Librarian




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