Men continue to vastly outnumber women in political leadership worldwide, with new data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women showing slow or stalled progress toward gender equality in government.
The findings, released in the 2025 edition of the IPU-UN Women “Women in Politics” map, come as the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark UN framework for advancing women’s rights.
According to the report, men hold more than three times the number of executive and legislative positions as women. The proportion of women in parliament has inched up by just 0.3 percentage points to 27.2% over the past year, while the share of women in government has declined by 0.4 percentage points.
“The glacial pace of progress in women’s parliamentary representation, even after a year of significant elections, is alarming,” said IPU President Tulia Ackson. “The global disparity highlights a systemic failure to advance gender equality in politics. It’s high time for decisive action to shatter these barriers.”
Women currently serve as heads of state or government in only 25 countries, with Europe accounting for the highest number—12. Despite historic elections in 2024 that brought the first directly elected women presidents to Mexico, Namibia, and North Macedonia, 106 countries have still never had a woman leader.
The report also shows a drop in the number of women holding cabinet positions, with the proportion of female ministers falling to 22.9% from 23.3% in 2024. The decline reflects setbacks in 64 countries, while 63 saw no change and only 62 made gains.
Nine countries, mostly in Europe, have achieved gender-equal cabinets, where at least half of ministers are women. Nicaragua leads with 64.3%, followed by Finland (61.1%), Iceland and Liechtenstein (60%), and Estonia (58.3%). Others—including Andorra, Chile, Spain, and the United Kingdom—have cabinets that are 50% female.
By contrast, nine countries, primarily in Asia and the Pacific, have no women in cabinet positions—an increase from seven in 2024.
Women remain disproportionately assigned to ministries focused on gender equality, family affairs, and social issues. They are least represented in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as defense, finance, and foreign affairs.
Despite the overall gender imbalance, women have made some gains in portfolios related to culture (35.4%), education (30.6%), and tourism (30.5%).
The report follows the IPU’s annual “Women in Parliament” study, which found that progress toward gender parity in legislatures was the slowest since 2017.
Women’s representation remains highest in the Americas (34.5%) and lowest in the Middle East and North Africa (16.7%). While the number of female speakers of parliament increased slightly to 23.7%, women remain a minority in top legislative leadership roles.
“We cannot accept a world where half the population is systematically excluded from decision-making,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. “The time for half-measures is over—it is time for governments to act.”
The findings were presented during the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality.
Founded in 1889, the IPU is the global organization of national parliaments, working to promote peace, democracy, and sustainable development. It comprises 181 national parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies.
UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, working to accelerate progress on women’s rights worldwide.
