Gender Politics

Despite the female candidates involved in the historic 2008 election, women trail men in all types of elected offices in the United States. The fascinating statistics and cogent analysis presented here show that, although it may take decades until a woman is elected president of the United States, this possibility is becoming increasingly likely.

online resources

women politicians around the world

The Inter-Parliamentary Union offers data on the number of women in national parliaments around the world. Check out the comparative chart by country. Scroll down–far down–to find out how the United States ranks.

The Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership provides an overview of the history of women in executive, ministerial, and royal positions around the world. See which countries have and have not elected women as heads of state, and find out about women like Sirivamo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, the first elected prime minister in 1960.

According to a story in the Hindustan Times, India has the most female elected representatives in the world.