For most of history, men have made up all global governments. However, today, a select few lead the world with more than half of their parliamentary seats being occupied by women.
UN Women’s Event. UN Women Gallery. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
While governments around the world are still generally male-dominated, and men continue to hold most positions of high power, women have made significant strides. Rwanda and Cuba are the only countries in the world with more than 50% of their government being occupied by women today, while Bolivia maintained a female majority from 2014-2019.There are other countries whose highest roles are filled by women. For example, Jacinda Ardern is the prime minister of New Zealand, Sanna Marin is the youngest prime minister ever elected in Finland, Mia Mottley is the first woman elected as prime minister in Barbados, and Katrín Jakobsdóttir is the prime minister of Iceland. However, Rwanda, Cuba and Bolivia are the only three countries led by women in terms of legislative percentages. .
Rwanda
Dr. Usta Kayitesi, Former Deputy CEO of Rwandan Governance Board. Paul Kagame. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
In 2003, Rwanda set a rule that at least 30% of government seats had to be filled by women. That very year, the elections resulted in nearly a 50/50 gender split in Rwanda’s parliament. Ten years later, the Rwandan parliament became 64% female. In 2022, Rwandan parliament is still 61% women.With that being said, women in the Rwandan government say that they still face sexism, despite holding the majority. District Vice Mayor Claudette Mukamana says women’s abilities are still questioned; Executive Secretary for the Rubavu District Berthilde Muruta says their motives for being in government are questioned.
Cuba
Cuban flag in Havana. Samuel Negredo. CC BY 2.0.
In 2018, Cuba followed Rwanda as the second country to elect a female majority parliament. Since 2018, 53% of Cuba’s parliament has been made up of women. Unlike Rwanda, Cuba does not have a quota in place for women in government. Despite the majority-woman parliament, there have been criticisms of Cuba’s treatment of elected women, just like Rwanda, including that the higher up one goes in the government, the less women there are. Essentially, while in terms of pure statistics women dominate Cuba’s government, men continue to occupy the roles with the most political power.
Bolivia
Former Bolivian President of Senate Adriana Salvatierra, third from the left, (insert which one she is in parentheses) at UN Women’s Event. UN Women Gallery. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
In 2020, Bolivia’s proportion of women in parliament equaled 46% and has stayed at that figure since. But from 2014 to 2019, Bolivia was one of the only countries with a majority woman government, at 53%. Like Rwanda, Bolivia has gender quotas, but these quotas are enacted a bit differently in Bolivia versus Rwanda. Bolivia has a quota for the number of female candidates put forward in any given election cycle, as opposed to the number actually elected. For the Lower House, Bolivia requires at least half of the candidates to be women.
Calliana Leff
Calliana is currently an undergraduate student at Boston University majoring in English and minoring in psychology. She is passionate about sustainability and traveling in an ethical and respectful way. She hopes to continue her writing career and see more of the world after she graduates.