FIGURE 2.20 Women's representation in parliament (weighted by population), by region, 2013-2022 40 Eurasia and Central Asia East Asia and the Pacific Europe 30 e (%) Shar20 10 2013 2022 2013 2022 2013 2022 40 Latin America and the Caribbean Middle East and North Africa North America 30 20 10 2013 2022 2013 2022 2013 2022 40 Southern Asia Sub-Saharan Africa 30 20 10 2013 2022 2013 2022 Source World Economic Forum’s calculations based on data from Inter-Parliamentary Union and World Population Prospects data. Local governance the forefront, women contribute to creating more equitable and responsive local communities. Women’s equal political participation at all levels Data reveals that signi昀椀cant strides have been of government is recognized in international made in terms of women’s representation in local frameworks such as the Beijing Declaration and government globally, though disparities remain Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for between countries and regions. Out of the 117 29 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Traditional countries with available data since 2017, only 18 efforts to promote gender equality in politics have countries, including Bolivia (50.4%), India (44.4%) primarily focused on national parliaments. However, and France (42.3%), have achieved representation the SDGs have introduced a new indicator that of women of over 40% in local governance. On the emphasizes women’s political representation in local other hand, 24 economies, mostly in the Middle decision-making positions. This expansion enables East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, such a broader understanding of the opportunities and as Saudi Arabia (1.2%), Ghana (3.8%), Türkiye challenges for leveraging women’s contributions to (10.1%) and Japan (14.31%), have below 15% local decision-making. representation. The remaining 75 economies fall within the 15%-30% range, including diverse Research indicates that women in local decision- nations such as Brazil (15.7%), Indonesia (15.7%), making positions play a crucial role in rede昀椀ning China (28.1%), Ireland (23.9%), Germany (30.3%) local priorities. They bring a unique perspective to and the United Kingdom (35.3%). governance, emphasizing inclusivity, prioritizing family-friendly policies, and promoting gender Overall, almost 3 million women have been elected equality in areas such as income, employment to local deliberative bodies in 136 countries. 28 and parental leave. By bringing these issues to Encouragingly, 85 countries have introduced Global Gender Gap Report 2023 54