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20/09/2023 | Indicator
Autonomy in decision-making

Legislative power: percentage of women in the national legislative body (SDG Indicator 5.5.1a)
It corresponds to the proportion of seats occupied by women in the national parliament, derived by dividing the total number of seats occupied by women by the total number of seats in the parliament. The result is expressed in percentages. The indicator is obtained from the "Women in National Parliaments" database of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which is updated annually on January 1. Data is available from the year 2000 to the latest year.

Analysis

Despite the increasing participation of women in public life, gender-equal democracy, which includes 50/50 gender parity in elected positions worldwide, is far from being achieved, both at the national and local government levels. Women legislators in lower or single chambers have gradually increased in recent years in Latin America and the Caribbean. While most seats are still occupied by men globally, the region leads the way toward parliamentary parity. However, considering the variation in results across countries with recent elections, it is estimated that it will take more than 40 years to achieve parity in national parliaments. This indicator is part of the global framework for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the set of prioritized indicators for monitoring the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean.