GGGR 2023

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