Beyond Numbers: Stories of Gender Equality in and through Parliaments

While gender equality has made great strides in recent decades, it was only as recently as 2022 that the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) could declare that ‘not a single functioning parliament in the world is male-only.

Political representation is essential to achieving gender equality. Diverse voices make democratic decision making more legitimate and effective. Equal representation also empowers and inspires others to participate in leadership roles.

Parliaments play an important role in prioritizing gender equality, by transforming their institutional cultures, practices and outputs towards achieving it. Many parliaments around the world strive to become more gender-sensitive, and there are a suite of tools, guides, experts and international organizations to support them.

This handbook tells real stories from parliaments that have made changes to become more gender-sensitive. This includes changes to internal practices, processes and structures. But it also tells the stories of those actors who have used their powers to advocate for gender equality, change discriminatory laws and hold governments to account on their gender equality commitments. It describes the diversity of approaches taken around the world, to inspire other parliaments to act.