Women's equal participation
Women’s participation today
Women make up half of the world’s population. Yet in almost every country, they are underrepresented and less likely to hold positions of power—whether as politicians, economic decision-makers, peace negotiators or participants in public debate.
Women’s representation in politics is appallingly low. On average, women worldwide hold just 20% of seats in national parliaments. In the regions where our partners operate, the figure ranges from 61% in Rwanda to a mere 3,1% in Lebanon.
The situation is even worse for peace processes. Since the 1990s, less than one in ten peace delegations have included women.
In the global economy too, women are underrepresented. The World Bank reports four out of five companies worldwide are led by male CEOs.
Traditionally, many women have turned to civil society as an alternative arena of power, outside of formal decision-making structures. Currently, however, there is an ongoing worrying trend of shrinking space for civil society. This has hit women’s rights activists particularly hard, closing off one of their only ways of influencing society.