Student: Ana Titilokashvili

Group: 03

Professor: Veriko Khutsishvili

women in politics
Women in government are underrepresented in most, if not all, countries
worldwide. In many countries, women have had inadequate opportunities in
social participation, especially in striving for political rights and power in the
government and different institutions. This historical tendency still persists,
although women are increasingly being elected to be heads of state and
government.
Women may face a number of challenges that affect their ability to participate in
political life and become political leaders. A number of countries are exploring
measures that may increase women's participation in government at all levels,
from the local to the national. However, more and more women are pursuing
leadership positions in the present day.
The under-representation of women constitutes a serious democratic deficit,
which undermines the legitimacy of the contemporary democratic ideal. Parity
democracy and the promotion of women in decision-making positions are
therefore important areas of action for EWL. Parity democracy implies the equal
representation of women and men in decision-making positions. It goes a step
further than quotas as it is based on the idea that women are not a minority: they
represent more than half of humanity – a quantitative dimension – and one of its
components – a qualitative dimension.
The current European Parliament consists of 63% men. That is almost 200 more
male than female Members of the European Parliament.
In 10 EU Member States - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Ireland,
Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Romania and Slovakia - men make up at least 80% of the
national parliament
In 2015, there were only 3 women heads of state in the EU - in Croatia, Lithuania
and Malta.
In 10 EU Member States - Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia - all major political parties are led by men.
Across the EU, 85% of mayors are men.
Why is politics not working for women - the 5 Cs

Research shows that women’s underrepresentation in politics boils down to:

Confidence: women - for a variety of highly rational reasons - have more doubts
putting themselves up for election
Candidate selection: once women agree to run, it’s often difficult for them to get
an electable spot on the election list.
Culture: politics is a men’s world. Sexism is rampant and external threats - women
- are often not welcome.
Cash: when women run for election, their campaigns often receive less funding
than their male counterparts)
Childcare: across the EU, women spend double the amount of time on childcare
compared to men.
The number of women leaders around the world has grown, but they still
represent a small group. At the executive levels of government, women become
prime ministers more often than they become presidents. Part of the differences
in these roads to power is that prime ministers are elected by political party
members themselves while presidents are elected by the public. In 2013, women
accounted for 8 percent of all national leaders and 2 percent of all presidential
posts. Furthermore, 75 percent of all female prime ministers and presidents have
taken office in the past two decades. Since 1960 to 2015, 108 women have
become national leaders in 70 countries, with more being prime ministers than
presidents.
Individual female executives usually have high levels of education and may have
close relationships with politically prominent or upper-class families. The general
status of women in a country does not predict if a woman will reach an executive
position since, paradoxically, female executives have routinely ascended to power
in countries where women's social standing lags behind men's.

inadequate - not enough or not good enough : not adequate

striving- to try very hard to do or achieve something

constitutes - to make up or form something

quantitative - of or relating to how much there is of something : of or relating to

the quantity or amount of something

boils - to become so hot that bubbles are formed in a liquid and rise to the top

rampant - used to describe something that is very common or that is spreading

very quickly and in a way that is difficult to control

executives - the president of a country

ascended - to go up : to rise or move toward the sky