Where are the women?

#131

My Dear Friends of Democracy, 

I spent last weekend where I grew up: the Main Tauber Kreis, Germany.

Recently, elections were held there.

One result surprised me: Of the newly 46 elected representatives in the district council (Kreistag, in German), only three are women — a quota of 6 per cent.

I have collected some figures for comparison.

In Germany, the proportion of women in parliaments at the district level throughout the country is, on average, 30 per cent (so my home region is — with just 6 per cent — far behind).

On a global scale, data from 141 countries show that women constitute more than 3 million of elected members in local bodies, that is 35.5 per cent. Only three countries have reached 50 per cent, and an additional 22 countries have more than 40 per cent of women in local government.

Broken down into world regions, the following picture emerges:

• Central and Southern Asia, 41 per cent;

• Europe and Northern America, 37 per cent;

• Oceania, 32 per cent;

• Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, 31 per cent;

• Latin America and the Caribbean, 27 per cent;

• sub-Saharan Africa, 25 per cent;

• Western Asia and Northern Africa, 20 per cent.

✊ In a parliamentary democracy, the members of parliament represent the people. The more the members of parliament "correspond" to the people in terms of their origin, socialization and gender, the more likely the will of the people will be carried out. This is why we need a political system that helps to ensure that the diversity of the population is reflected in parliament. This is why we need more women in parliament.

In any case, my home region has a long way to go.

See you in Europe,

Johannes

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PS: Interested in more figures about women in politics? Check this poster.