Incorporates important recent changes in women's political participation and representation, such as the election of new women presidents and prime ministers and the continued spread of gender quotas Expanded coverage of women's political participation now includes women judges and women in local levels of governance Updated coverage of women's political representation in the Middle East and North Africa highlights events and issues since the Arab Spring Incorporates more than 100 new studies from the rapidly expanding field of gender and politics Includes an up-to-date discussion on gender quotas and their effects, including coverage of the trend towards “parity” quotas KEY FEATURES: Six chapters cover women's political power in specific geographic regions with case studies from all over the world Includes the latest information available on women in politics worldwide Charts, maps, and tables give visual overviews of the substantial variation in women's access to political power around the world, the growth in women's political power over time, and persistent obstacles to gender equality in politics

Introduction to Women in Politics

Introduction to women in politics

Women are underrepresented in politics. Simply turning on the television to a summit of world leaders, a debate in the U.S. Senate, or a UN Security Council meeting reveals fewer faces of women than men. Women make up half of the population of every country in the world, but the worldwide average percentage of women in national parliaments is only 22%. Of the more than 190 countries in the world, a woman is the head of government (president or a prime minister) in only 13. Women are 15% of ambassadors to the United Nations and 19% of the world’s cabinet ministers.

But women’s participation in politics has increased dramatically over the past 100 years. In 1890, ...

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