Gender Equality in Political Power Sharing for a Better World

Few would argue that today’s world is peaceful and secure, a fact that can only be blamed on a failure of leadership. With women representing only 13% of heads of state, the time has come to reset the scales and test women’s leadership at the global level. 

 I believe that a major factor in achieving peace and security lies in greater political power for women. The current paradigm of global governance—disproportionally dominated by male leadership—has created room for the violence and instability that are known to affect women, children, and other vulnerable populations in greater numbers during times of conflict. 

 And yet, women are consistently missing from the peacemaking process, whether as leaders or participants. Rarely are they even invited to the table, despite the adoption of legislative frameworks aimed at advancing women’s involvement in formal peace and security processes, such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. At the same time, there have been documented increases across all regions in the use of gender-based and sexual violence against women as a weapon of war. Clearly, women’s voices in instilling peace are needed more than ever.

Efforts to achieve gender-inclusive peacebuilding and democratic governance continue to be hampered by challenges both old (entrenched patriarchal ideas) and new (fragile peace deals, weakening democracies, growing autocracy, ultranationalism), all of which deepen gender disparities between women and men and foster the social, economic, and political instability that puts women around the world at greater risk. 

 New data show that women do manage important policy portfolios related to human rights and social protections, but they have little ability to effect actual change, because true political power continues to reside with men. Globally, women represent only about 13% of heads of state, 22% of cabinet ministers, and 26% of parliamentarians. Obviously, governance is still seen as the reserve of men, who use various means, both formal and informal, to maintain power. Indeed, access to power structures remains difficult for women, while corrupted systems of governance generally work in favor of the male-dominated status quo. Furthermore, gender equality is not a policy priority at any level, whether local, national, regional, or global.

 Faced with this unacceptable reality, women’s first struggle must be for political power. Women must adopt a new strategy that defines clearly and in concrete terms the actions needed to achieve leadership parity with men. The time has come for women to share power on the global stage. It is the only way toward a just, peaceful, secure, and prosperous future. 

This essay was adapted from expert paper EGM/B30/2024/EP.14, written by the author for the Expert Group Meetingheld in conjunction with the Sixty-ninth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 69): “Beijing +30: Emerging Issues and Future Directions for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights” (August 13–15, 2024).