After the mega-election year, the growth of women in power has almost stopped

Almost half the world’s population – 3.6 billion people – had a major election in 2024, but it was also a year that saw the slowest rate of growth in women’s representation in 20 years.

Twenty-seven new parliaments now have fewer women than before the election – countries such as the US, Portugal, Pakistan, India, Indonesia and South Africa. And for the first time in its history, fewer women were elected to the European Parliament.

The BBC collated data from 46 countries where election results have been confirmed and found that in almost two-thirds of them the number of women elected decreased.

The data is from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global organization of national parliaments that collects and analyzes election data.

There were gains for women in United KingdomMongolia, Jordan and the Dominican Republic, while Mexico and Namibia both elected their first female presidents.

However, losses elsewhere mean growth this year is marginal (0.03%) – after doubling worldwide between 1995 and 2020.

Mariana Duarte Mutzenberg, who tracks gender statistics for the IPU, says progress is “too fragile” in some democracies. For example, the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu lost its only female member of parliament and now has no women in government at all.

The Pacific Islands have the lowest proportion of female members of parliament in the world at 8%.

Globally, women make up 27% of the world’s parliaments, and only 13 countries are close to 50%. Latin America and parts of Africa are currently leading the way when it comes to women’s representation.

Some countries, says Ms Duarte Mutzenberg, are still making strides, largely thanks to gender quotas – Mongolia jumped from 10% to 25% female representation this year after introducing mandatory 30% candidate quota for women.

On average, countries without quotas chose 21% women compared to 29% with quotas.

For example, quotas—and political will—helped Mexico achieve gender parity in 2018, after former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador decided that parliament should be 50 percent female.

Political will can also be a game-changer when it comes to ministerial positions, says Julie Ballington of UN Women, which collects data on women heading government ministries.

Cabinets have the power to influence society, but still have the lowest representation of women of all the policy measures UN Women looks at, she says, with women generally restricted to certain ministerial roles, such as overseeing human rights, equality and social issues – instead of finance or defence.

It’s a “missed opportunity,” she says.

With so many different countries, contexts and political intricacies at play, it’s hard to tell why the dial barely moved this year.

But there are some universal barriers to women’s participation in politics.

First, research shows that there is ambition gender difference.

“Women are less likely to wake up and think they’d be good in senior management,” said politics professor Rosie Campbell audience at King’s College, London. “They often need to be nudged: ‘Have you thought about becoming an MP?’

And the delay could mean fewer mentors for future female politicians, says Dr Rachel George, an expert on gender and politics at Stanford University in the US. So young women would be “less likely to think they can or should run.”

Once they decide to run for office, women are usually at a financial disadvantage.

A wealth of research found that it is more difficult for women to access political campaign finance or have the financial freedom to take time off from work.

In most societies, women still have more caring responsibilities than men – which can negatively affect how they are perceived by voters, says Dr George.

This is not helped by the fact that few parliaments offer maternity leave, says Karlien Schelle of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). “It turns women away if these policies aren’t in place,” she says.

And then there’s the way electoral systems are designed.

Countries using proportional representation (PR) or mixed electoral systems elect a higher proportion of women than electoral systems and are also more likely to have electoral quotas for women, according to the IPU.

But these factors are not new. So what’s changing?

There is an increase in attacks against women in public lifeonline and in person, according to studies in many different countries.

In Mexico, which is already experiencing violent electionsGender-based violence was particularly high this year, says the IPU’s Mariana Duarte Mutzenberg, with female politicians also particularly targeted by misinformation aimed “to try to ruin their reputation in one way or another”.

All this has a wider “chilling effect” and stops younger women from wanting to run, says Dr George.

Backlash to women’s economic empowerment and feminism is also a factor.

In South Korea – despite a small increase in the proportion of women elected – the feeling among many young men of reverse discrimination played out in this year’s election.

“Some parties have continued to feed or capitalize on anti-gender sentiments among male voters who see women’s rights activists as anti-men,” says Ms. Duarte Mutzenberg.

However, she says, it can lead to even more women turn out to vote.

So why does all this matter?

Basic fairness aside, equal parliaments could improve national economiessays Karlien Scheele of EIGE, citing research showing that gender-diverse groups make better decisions and mixed-gender boards lead to higher profits.

Studies also show the benefits of including women in peace negotiationssuggesting that processes that are based on substantial input from women are more likely to achieve sustainable results.

“When women are in the room, peaceful deals are more likely to happen and more likely to continuesays Dr. George.

Julie Ballington of UN Women says she would encourage people to think differently about women in politics.

“It’s not the underrepresentation of women. It’s the overrepresentation of men.”

Further data analysis by Rebecca Wedge-Roberts of BBC Verify

Design by Raees Hussain