Percentage of women MPs doubles worldwide

Nov 08, 2016

Goal 5 specifically aims to promote gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls through a set of targets.

The percentage of women in Parliament across the globe has nearly doubled in the last 20 years, but this only translates into 22 percent, a United Nations has revealed.

According to UN Women, only 22.8 per cent of all national parliamentarians were women as of June 2016, a slow increase from 11.3% in 1995.

In Uganda, currently the percentage of women in Parliament has considerably increased as a result of increase in districts and constituencies.

Created in July 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly the UN Women is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.  It is working with countries around the world to fulfill the shared commitment to achieve gender parity in political, economic and public life by 2030.

According to information posted by the organization, as of September 2016, 10 women are serving as Head of State and 9 are serving as Head of Government while as of January 2015, only 17 per cent of government ministers were women, with the majority overseeing social sectors, such as education and the family.

In 2015, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an action plan for addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality and fostering peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

Goal 5 specifically aims to promote gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls through a set of targets. One of Goal 5's key targets is: Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

This target was set because women represent half of the world's population but their representation in the political space is far from being equal to men.

From the local to the global level, women are under-represented as voters as well as in elected offices, despite their proven abilities as leaders and their right to participate. Discriminatory laws, institutions and attitudes, and capacity gaps in education, networks and resources are holding women back.

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