Women now hold just 27.5 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide, marking a meager 0.3 per cent increase from 2025, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has revealed.
The UN-backed report, Women in Parliament 2025, released ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, described the growth as the slowest in nearly a decade.
The report also highlighted a decline in women’s leadership roles in legislatures, with women occupying only 12 of the 75 newly appointed speakerships.
According to the IPU, electoral quotas play a “critical role” in improving female representation. In the 49 countries that held elections last year, chambers with quotas recorded an average of 31 per cent women lawmakers, compared to 23 per cent in parliaments without such mechanisms.
However, the report also warned that women parliamentarians are increasingly targeted by intimidation and violence. Globally, 76 per cent of women MPs reported experiencing harassment, compared to 68 per cent of their male counterparts.
The intimidation spans both online and offline platforms and, the IPU noted, may discourage more women from seeking public office.
“Public and online harassment continues to pose significant barriers to women’s political participation, threatening progress in gender equality in politics,” the IPU said.
Some countries have moved to counter the trend. For instance, the Colombian Parliament recently enacted legislation to prevent and punish violence against women in politics, providing a model for others to follow.
Founded in 1889, the IPU is the first multilateral political organization, bringing together 183 national parliaments and 15 regional bodies worldwide. It aims to strengthen democracy, foster dialogue between nations, and promote gender-balanced governance.
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