Women’s Participation in Politics

The document argues that women's political representation is vital for the durability of peace, as it can lead to increased social welfare spending and improved perceptions of governance. It highlights that while global representation in national parliaments slightly increased to 25.5% by January 2021, women still face systemic barriers including poverty, patriarchal stereotypes, and violence. The briefing suggests that international bodies should implement gender quotas, establish participation benchmarks for 'free and fair' elections, and ensure women's rights are guaranteed in peace agreements.

• As of 1 January 2021, the global share of women in national parliaments saw a slight increase from 24.9% to 25.5%, although there was a simultaneous increase in the number of countries with no women in government.
• Increasing women's political participation can enhance the durability of peace through two primary mechanisms: prioritizing social welfare spending over military spending and improving public perceptions of elite credibility and governance quality.
• In post-conflict states where local actors oppose women's political participation based on religious or cultural norms, international bodies face a conflict between supporting women's rights and maintaining state stability to avoid a return to conflict.
• Women encounter several systemic obstacles to entering political office, including poverty, limited education, patriarchal gender stereotypes, violence against women in politics, lack of financing, media prejudice, and a gendered digital divide that creates unsafe online spaces.
• To strengthen participation, the document recommends that international bodies adopt gender quotas, develop minimum participation benchmarks for elections to be considered 'free and fair', and ensure women's rights are explicitly guaranteed in peace agreements.
• In Afghanistan, gender quotas were adopted in the legislature following the 2001 US-led invasion; currently, women hold 67 out of 248 seats in the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People).

APA

Ahmad, N., & Tank, P. (2021). Women’s Participation in Politics. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/883fdbc1-1594-49e7-9244-f98f967a316f/Backgrounder 6 Ahmad and Tank 2021 _ Womens Participation in Politics.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Ahmad, Neven, and Pinar Tank. Women’s Participation in Politics. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2021. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/883fdbc1-1594-49e7-9244-f98f967a316f/Backgrounder 6 Ahmad and Tank 2021 _ Womens Participation in Politics.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ahmad |first1=Neven |last2=Tank |first2=Pinar |title=Women’s Participation in Politics |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=19 April 2021 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/883fdbc1-1594-49e7-9244-f98f967a316f/Backgrounder 6 Ahmad and Tank 2021 _ Womens Participation in Politics.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ahmad2021womens, author = {Ahmad, Neven and Tank, Pinar}, title = {{Women’s Participation in Politics}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/883fdbc1-1594-49e7-9244-f98f967a316f/Backgrounder 6 Ahmad and Tank 2021 _ Womens Participation in Politics.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }