Global progress towards gender parity in national parliaments has recently decelerated, as detailed in a report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. According to the “Women in Parliament in 2025” report, women held 27.5 percent of parliamentary seats worldwide as of January 1, a mere 0.3 percent increase from the prior year. This indicates a worrying trend of stagnation, especially since at this pace, achieving full parity could take another 75 years (JURIST).
The Americas continue to lead in female representation, with women occupying 35.6 percent of parliamentary positions. Notably, countries like Bolivia and Ecuador have achieved significant milestones. Bolivia returned to parliamentary gender parity post-2025 elections, while Ecuador’s National Assembly reached a record 45 percent of seats held by women, influenced by a recently instituted parity quota law.
The importance of legislative quotas is further highlighted, with chambers employing them seeing women occupy 30.9 percent of seats on average. Kyrgyzstan’s implementation of a majoritarian system with gender-based seat restrictions resulted in a 12.9 percentage point increase, demonstrating the impactful role quotas can play.
Conversely, the Middle East and North Africa persist as regions with the least female representation, with only 16.2 percent of seats held by women. Cases like Oman, Tuvalu, and Yemen, where no women occupied seats in 2025, underscore persistent gaps that need addressing.
While the overall numbers show minor gains, women’s ascent to top parliamentary positions has stalled. By January, the representation of female parliamentary speakers decreased to 19.9 percent, a drop from 23.7 percent. Of the 75 speakers appointed or elected in 2025, only 12 were women. Meanwhile, women chairing standing parliamentary committees increased to 32.5 percent, though the impact is diminished outside gender or youth committees.
The report also highlights the growing issue of violence and harassment against women in legislative roles. It reveals that 76 percent of surveyed women parliamentarians in the Asia-Pacific region faced psychological violence, including sexist remarks and online abuse. The report stresses that such violence needs to be addressed urgently, with only a few countries legally defining and tackling these abuses.
Nonetheless, there were significant strides in diversity, with record numbers of women from varied backgrounds entering parliaments. Australia saw disability activist Ali France take a seat in the House of Representatives, while in Germany, Heike Heubach became the first deaf person in the Bundestag.
As nations start implementing measures, such as Colombia’s introduction of Law 2453 to combat political violence against women, it becomes clear that a concerted effort is necessary to address these disparities and ensure equitable representation.