Women Are More Likely to Get Elected to Local Bodies Than to National Parliaments

Women comprise just over one-third (36 percent) of the over 6 million elected members in deliberative bodies of local governments globally, according to a new working paper released by U.N. Women last month. Although far from parity, this is the best representation women seem to get across levels of government: As they move towards the subnational and national levels, they begin to be replaced by more and more men, data shows.

In fact, women’s representation at the local level is better than at the national level by almost 10 percentage points.