WHO’S COUNTING?

I’ve been counting women lawmakers and politicians. It is true that we have made substantial gains in the last decade but equal representation in the lawmaking and ranks of political power still seems to elude us.

Less than 18% of the world’s lawmakers are women and many developing countries have more women in the corridors of political power than Western democracies. Globally, the proportion of female lawmakers jumped from 11% to 17.7% between 1995 and 2006 according to a survey “Equality in Politic” presented to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in its lower house, with 48% followed by Sweden, Finland and Argentina.

The United States trailed in at 71st place with women accounting for only 16% of members in the House of Representatives. Sudan’s lower house has 18%.

One third of South Africa’s lawmakers are women and all the Speakers of Parliament have been women since the advent of multiracial democracy in 1994.

It seems the old democracies talk a lot about equality but are not doing particularly well at practising it. This gap really matters. Like men, women with the brains, the desire and the perseverance to lead should be encouraged to fulfil their potential and leave their mark.