Some national parliament have a very low number of women representatives, this includes the UK

The Green Economics Institute believes that political representation has a strong bearing on womens status and also affects literacy in children and the happiness of young people.

The Uk is very poor on this UN index too and its no accident- both are connected.Stressed and unhappy overworked women - paid less for equal work and less valued by society produce and bring up unhappy youngsters- although England's GDP is the 5th highest in the world - half its population is not doing so well- does the GDP really measure economic well being??? - no it clearly doesnt- for women and young people- only perhaps for homo economicus - white middle class men! who are much less than half the population.!

When countries are ranked for the number of women representatives, the Uk comes a lowly 47th out of 184 countries listed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The IPU ranks countries according to the percentage of women in the lower or single house of the national parliamentary body. The top 20 are as follows:

Rank Country Election Date Total No. Seats No. Women % Women

1 Rwanda Sept 2003 80 39 48.8

2 Sweden Sept 2002 349 158 45.3

3 Norway Sept 2001 165 63 38.2

4 Finland Mar 2003 200 75 37.5

5 Denmark Feb 2005 179 66 36.9

6 Netherlands Jan 2003 150 55 36.7

7 Cuba Jan 2003 609 219 36.0

8 Spain Mar 2004 350 126 36.0

9 Costa Rica Feb 2002 57 20 35.1

10 Mozambique Dec 2004 250 87 34.8

11 Belgium May 2003 150 52 34.7

12 Austria Nov 2002 183 62 33.9

13 Argentina Oct 2001 255 86 33.7

14 South Africa Apr 2004 400 131 32.8

15 Germany Sept 2002 601 197 32.8

16 Guyana Mar 2001 65 20 30.8

17 Iceland May 2003 63 19 30.2

18 Belarus Oct 2004 109 32 29.4

19 Seychelles Dec 2002 34 10 29.4

20 New Zealand Jul 2002 120 34 28.3

The UK is ranked 13th within the European Union (EU). Many European countries use positive action measures designed to address the under-representation of women in their legislature. In Europe, the Nordic countries (with the exception of Iceland) and the Netherlands head the ranking.

EU Countries % Women MPs (equivalents) Election Year

Sweden 45.3% 2002

Finland 37.5% 2003

Denmark 36.9% 2005

Netherlands 26.7% 2003

Spain 36.0% 2004

Belgium 34.7% 2003

Austria 33.9% 2002

Germany 32.8% 2002

Luxembourg 23.3%

2004 Lithuania 22.0% 2004

Latvia 21.0% 2002

UK 19.8% 2005

Portugal 19.5% 2005

Estonia 18.8% 2003

Czech Republic 17.0 2002

Further information For an analysis of why the UK is behind so many other countries, see the Fawcett briefing Increasing women in politics: what works worldwide, available on our website.

Figures from the The Fawcett Society Website, opinions from Miriam Kennet Green Economics Institute Director

October 2007