Women in Global Politics

Paper Summary:

Women have had many barriers toward the pursuit of political office worldwide in the cultures that would have set roles for women and in the balance of family considerations as well. This paper examines how the potential for women pursuing political office has grown exponentially regardless of these factors. It provides an exploration of women's political participation in the world today. It also provides an exploration of individual regions in regard to women's political participation and strategies as well as recommendations, including quotas, toward engaging women in the political processes worldwide.

Outline:
A New Wave of Women's Organizations
Invisible Barriers
Silence of Women

From the Paper:

"According to the United Nations, the first country to grant women the right to vote was New Zealand in 1893. The UN continues to state that only twenty-eight women worldwide have been elected as heads of state or government in this century. Women currently would only hold 11.7 percent of the seats in the world's parliaments. The first and currently only equally distributed male and female diplomatic cabinet belonged to Sweden in 1995. The United Nations is not immune to the distortions of men and women within its ranks having only seven women serving amidst a total of 185 of the highest-ranking diplomats. Between the years 1987 and 1996, the percentage of female cabinet ministers worldwide rose from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• IDEA Contributes to the 49th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; March 30, 2005; http://www.idea.int/gender/un_commission_05.cfm
• IDEA: Beyond Beijing: Toward Gender Equality in Politics; March 3, 2006; http://www.idea.int/gender/un_commission_05.cfm
• Mabila; Women's Political Participation-the Circumstances That Prohibit Participation in Politics; 15 December 2004; Copyright Inkundla/Mabila; http://www.indonsakusa.inkundla.net/Women1.html
• Graphic information on Women in Political Office Quotas by IDEA http://www.quotaproject.org and contained in the following links
• Global Database of Quotas for Women; IDEA; A Joint Project of International IDEA and Stockholm University; Argentina; Copyright 2006; http://www.quotaproject.org/displayCountry.cfm?CountryCode=AR

More papers on Women in Global Politics:

• Essay # 8840 : "Women in Politics"
• Research Paper # 74556 : "Women In Thailand"
• Analytical Essay # 149145 : "Educational Boundaries of Women in the Middle East"

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