The Health of a Democracy Is Measured by Its Leaders: Celebrating Women’s Political Leadership in Mexico, Iraq, Nepal and More
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!
Milestones for notable women this week include birthdays for: Lois Wessel, Amy Poehler, Alexis Bledel, Caroline James, Soledad O’Brien, Nancy Bocskor and Lauren Leader. It’s also the anniversary of the week that Harriet Tubman set herself free in 1849, that Carla Hayden was named the first female librarian of Congress, and Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right.
Jacinda Ardern: The Health of Democracy Is Measured in the Courage to Lead With Strength and Kindness
“I really rebel against this idea that politics has to be a place full of ego and where you’re constantly focused on scoring hits against one another. Yes, we need a robust democracy, but you can be strong, and you can be kind.”
— Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand Prime Minister
As the United Nations prepares to open its General Debate for the 80th session in New York next week, I’ve been carrying Jacinda Ardern’s words with me. They remind us that the health of democracy is not measured only in debate or in power, but in the courage to lead with both strength and kindness.
That spirit is echoed in the ritual that begins every General Assembly: a moment of prayer or meditation, followed by the formal election of the Assembly president. It is a small but profound tradition—a pause before the debates and speeches—reminding us that even in the midst of conflict and competition, the world can still choose reflection.
This year, that reflection feels especially urgent. The theme of UNGA 80 is “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” a call to reinvigorate global cooperation and deliver on the Women and Sustainable Development Goals. It is also a chance to ask whether the multilateral system we built 80 years ago can meet the challenges of today.
The answer will depend, in part, on the courage of those who lead it. On Monday, Annalena Baerbock, former German foreign minister, will formally assume her role as president of the General Assembly. At 44, she is one of the youngest to hold the post, and the first woman from the Western European group to wield the Assembly’s gavel. In her acceptance speech earlier this year, Baerbock promised to lead inclusively:
“I see the diversity of the General Assembly as our strength. This is the place where all nations come together and where every country has a seat and a voice.”
Her words resonate deeply. Democracy is not self-sustaining—it must be reimagined, reformed and renewed if it is to serve all people. That is as true at the United Nations as it is here in the United States.
I was reminded of this connection firsthand when our team had the chance to sit down with Michelle Harrison, founder of the Reykjavik Index for Leadership, during her visit to RepresentWomen’s office this week.
While our visit with Michelle was fantastic, it also grounded us in reality. She shared troubling new findings: Support for women’s leadership is declining, most notably in the U.S. and Germany. That should serve as a wake-up call. What struck me most in our conversation was not just the data itself, but the urgency it carried—the reminder that it isn’t enough to cheer for the occasional breakthrough. We need a stronger story about why women’s leadership matters, both descriptively and substantively, and we need the scaffolding to ensure that women’s expertise is valued and sustained.
It was a conversation that left me both sobered and inspired. Sobered, because the setbacks are real. Inspired, because naming these truths together helps us imagine how to meet them, and how to build systems where women’s talent and experience are never wasted.
That urgency has stayed with me, calling to mind an equally powerful sentiment once shared by ally and longtime advisor to RepresentWomen, Laura Liswood, secretary general of the Council of Women World Leaders. Laura has often reminded me that the greatest barriers for women in American politics are not about ambition or readiness, but about structure. If we are serious about addressing the urgent need for more women in politics, then we must be equally serious about transforming the systems that shape who can run, win, serve and lead. As she noted in an alumni interview with Harvard Business School:
“First and foremost, we don’t have a parliamentary system. Our two-party, winner-take-all system is unfriendly to out-of-power groups, including women. Ours is also the only system that requires an enormous amount of cash to finance an election — another obstacle to those outside the power structure.”
That critique speaks to the mechanics of exclusion—the way our rules themselves tilt the playing field. But Laura has also emphasized that even when women do break through, representation alone is not enough. “Diversity is only the first step. The more challenging part is ensuring that it is inclusive and that the organization is a level-playing field for everyone.”
While roughly 75 percent of Americans say they are willing to elect a woman as president, a stubborn bedrock of resistance remains.
Together, her words serve as a reminder that readiness doesn’t guarantee inevitability. While roughly 75 percent of Americans say they are willing to elect a woman as president, a stubborn bedrock of resistance remains. Laura once recounted an anecdote about President Gerald Ford predicting that the first woman president might come only after a woman vice president succeeded a man who died in office—and that after that, perhaps we’d never see another male president again. Half-joke, half-lesson, the story underscores just how deeply our system resists change.
And that’s precisely why these international conversations matter. Other nations have reimagined their systems—adopting proportional representation, quotas or party structures that normalize women’s leadership. In October 2024, I joined partners at the Athens Democracy Forum for a global dialogue on strengthening democracy through women’s leadership, where reformers across Europe and beyond shared lessons on how systematic changes can open doors.
What I took from that gathering is the same truth our own International Dashboard makes plain: Women’s representation depends not only on individual ambition, but on the systems we design.
- Norway ranks 17th in the world, with women holding nearly half the seats in parliament thanks to proportional representation and party quotas.
- Iraq, with reserved seats, ranks 78th—showing how quotas can raise a floor but don’t guarantee full parity.
- Japan remains far behind at 140th, even as women’s representation in its upper house rises slowly through a mixed electoral system.
- Nepal and Ireland, each with their own quota structures, show both progress and setbacks, reminding us that reform is always a process, never a single step.
What these snapshots reveal is simple but profound: representation doesn’t just depend on women running. It depends on whether the rules of the game allow talent to rise or keep it locked out.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton captured this well:
“There cannot be true democracy unless women’s voices are heard. There cannot be true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives. There cannot be true democracy unless all citizens are able to participate fully in the lives of their country.”
That is the charge before us today. If the United States wants to build a democracy worthy of its promise, we cannot afford to ignore the wisdom of the global community. Around the world, women leaders and reformers are showing us what’s possible. Our responsibility is to listen, to learn and to ensure that our own systems reflect the courage and inclusivity that this moment demands.
Nepal Unrest Results in Nation’s First-Ever Woman Prime Minister
Suhikla Karki is the new prime minister of Nepal, following demonstrations that toppled the previous government and negotiations between the “Gen Z” demonstrators and the military. The Guardian reports that the nation’s former chief justice is expected to serve until new elections next March.
The Daily Jagran provides this analysis of Justice Karki.
Youth leaders and students praised her selection. One youth said her appointment is meant to protect democracy, while a Nepali student studying International Affairs emphasised her legal expertise as crucial for maintaining law and order during the interim period.
“My immediate concern is the law and order in the country. To maintain it, the country requires a person who is knowledgeable about the law. For this, Sushila Karki is the right option,” said a Nepali student.
Born on 7 June 1952 in Biratnagar, Sushila Karki became Nepal’s first woman Chief Justice in 2016, making history in a country where women had never previously held the post. Her appointment was part of a symbolic moment when Nepal’s three top posts, President, Speaker of Parliament, and Chief Justice, were all occupied by women.
Karki began her legal career in 1979 as an advocate in Biratnagar. She later became a Supreme Court justice in 2009, eventually serving as acting Chief Justice in April 2016 before her formal appointment as Chief Justice on 11 July 2016. She remained in the position until 7 June 2017.
Known for her zero tolerance on corruption, Karki gained a reputation as a fearless, independent, and principled judge. In 2017, she faced an impeachment motion filed by the Maoist Centre and Nepali Congress over alleged judicial activism. Public pressure and a Supreme Court order led to the motion being withdrawn.
Women Running Strong in Ireland’s Presidential Election with Ranked Choice Voting
Two of Ireland’s last three presidents have been women, with Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese each winning in hotly contested elections with ranked choice voting. On Oct. 24, an open-seat contest is taking shape for a seven-year term, with two of the three candidates already on the ballot being women; the field will be finalized later this month.
An early poll provides only first-choice results, but underscores the competitive nature of the contest and how the winner will need to both turn out their first-choice voters and find ways to connect with backers of other candidates. RTE reports on its poll:
A new opinion poll suggests that the Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys is leading the presidential race. The Red C survey for the Business Post puts her on 22 percent, with the Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin in second place on 18 percent. The third candidate in the field, the left-backed Independent Catherine Connolly, is said to be on 17 percent. However, 36 percent of those questioned did not state a preference for any candidate. The poll found that 29 percent of Fianna Fáil voters would give Heather Humphreys a first preference in the election.
Ireland uses the proportional form of ranked choice voting to elect its parliament and most of its local governments, as it has for over a century.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Elevates Women at National Cry of Independence
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has one of the highest approval ratings of national leaders a year after her trailblazing elections. The New York Times reports on a recent history-making moment- and how Sheinbaum lifted up women.
For the first time in 215 years of Mexican history, a woman led the national cry of independence late Monday night, echoing the original call made by a priest for rebellion against Spanish rule. It was a deeply symbolic moment for Mexico and for President Claudia Sheinbaum, the first female president in the country’s history, who has remained popular through her first year in office while weathering intense pressure from President Trump over issues like trade and drug cartels. In her appearance, Ms. Sheinbaum underscored the importance of Mexican women and her country’s sovereignty repeatedly….
Ms. Sheinbaum, 63, celebrated the occasion in Mexican history as other presidents have: standing on a balcony in Mexico City’s main square, the Zócalo, before a teeming crowd, ringing the same bell used by Hidalgo centuries ago. But she also marked the moment with her own changes…On her way to the balcony, in the National Palace, Ms. Sheinbaum and her husband, Jesús María Tarriba, stopped briefly in front of a portrait of Leona Vicario, known as the mother of the Mexican homeland. The government said it was the first time a painting of a woman had been included in the palace’s main gallery.
Wearing a presidential sash made by female military officers, Ms. Sheinbaum then received the Mexican flag from an all-female honor guard. “Mexican women and men,” Ms. Sheinbaum began her address, before shouting out the names of fallen heroes from Mexico’s war of independence.
She then highlighted women who were not typically included in the cry, including the rebel fighters Gertrudis Bocanegra and María Manuela Molina. She also referred to a Mexican patriot commonly known as Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez as Josefa Ortiz Téllez-Girón, her name before marriage. Then Ms. Sheinbaum shouted: “Long live the unsung heroines! Long live the heroines and heroes who gave us our homeland! Long live Indigenous women! Long live our migrant sisters and brothers!”…
The government said the crowd had numbered 280,000. One particular group appeared to have come out in droves: women, especially younger ones. Jacqueline Olvera, 35, of Mexico City, came with her family, including her 6-year-old daughter, Naomi. Ms. Olvera said that she had wanted her daughter to see a woman standing front and center before the country.
“It’s important that she sees what it means to see a woman empowered and able to become president,” Ms. Olvera said. Naomi, wearing a traditional Mexican outfit, agreed with a smile and a thumbs up, calling the night “special.”
Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians Call to Advance Women in Politics
The Interparliamentary Union held its 11th global conference of young parliamentarians in Peru this month. Women in politics were at the top of the agenda, according to this report from the IPU.
The theme “Uniting generations for gender equality,” the Conference was chosen to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the global blueprint for gender equality and women’s rights.
While significant strides in women’s political representation have been made – IPU data shows that the percentage of parliamentary seats held by women has almost tripled since 1995 from 11.3 percent to 27.2 percent today – recently progress has stalled, with only a 0.3 percentage point increase in 2024, the slowest rate since 2017.
The Conference also highlighted the underrepresentation of youth, and young women in particular. Young women aged 30 and under comprise only 1.4 percent of the world’s MPs, despite making up about 25 percent of the world’s population, a democratic deficit that risks undermining the legitimacy and effectiveness of parliaments.
Traditionally reserved for parliamentarians under 40, this year’s Conference invited more experienced MPs to join their younger colleagues in a spirit of intergenerational dialogue. Notably, for the first time, gender parity was achieved at the Conference, with equal numbers of male and female MPs attending, reflecting the IPU’s commitment to lead by example.
Coming on the eve of the International Day of Democracy on 15 September, which was initiated by the IPU in 2007, the Conference concluded with a declaration pledging unified action to “turn the tide” and safeguard democracy through full gender equality. Key priorities outlined include expanding mentorship programmes, institutionalizing parity in leadership roles, and strengthening partnerships with community organizations.
Moldova Analyses of Gender Quotas in Party List form of Proportional Representation
Moldova will hold its next parliamentary elections on Sept. 28. The country has a single nationwide constituency, with representation for individual parties that earn at least five percent, party coalitions that earn at least seven percent, and individual independents that earn at least two percent. Three parties are currently in P
arliament (with nearly 15 percent of votes in 2021 for parties not winning seats).
Women hold 40 percent of seats, putting them 29th in the national rankings—and up dramatically from 22 percent in 2015 before a gender quota law was passed.. I wanted to share excerpts from two analyses of the impact of this representation from the United Nations’ lead agency on international development, the UNDP. On Aug. 22, the UNDP released Tradition overshadows equality: gender stereotypes and electoral passivity undermine democratic progress. An excerpt:
Laws evolve, but gender stereotypes persist. According to the study of the “Center Partnership for Development” (CPD) “When tradition overshadows equality”, despite the gender quotas introduced in 2016 – which oblige political parties to include at least 40% women candidates on their lists, improving perceptions of women in politics – traditionalist attitudes have become stronger, especially among men…
Key findings of the study:
- The share of those who believe that women “have no place in politics” rose to 26.2% in 2025 (up 8 percentage points compared to 2021). Traditional expectations persist in society, according to which women should primarily take on family care and household responsibilities, while their involvement in politics is perceived as a deviation from these roles.
- Gender stereotypes have become more pronounced especially among men, people with lower levels of education, and those living in rural areas. Among men, the share increased from 35.6 percent in 2021 to 46 percent in 2025, confirming that they remain the main bearers of traditionalist conceptions.
- The analysis also highlights an alarming age-related trend: while the share of people aged 60+ who share gender stereotypes remains high (45.5 percent), stereotypes have grown significantly among young people aged 18–29, reaching 37.6 percemt of respondents in 2025 (compared to 27.6 percent in 2021)…..The most disengaged from politics are young people, with more than 60 percent of those under 45 years old not getting involved, as well as voters with lower education and income levels. In contrast, the highest level of civic engagement is found among people aged 60+ (approx. 29 percent being active voters) and those with higher education (21 percent active).
On Sept. 1, the UNDP released Analysis of the 2025 Parliamentary Elections: A detailed study on the representation of women and men on candidate lists, an excerpt:
A new study by the Center Partnership for Development (CPD) shows that although women make up 44.5 percent of candidates in the 2025 parliamentary elections – almost achieving parity – this share has slightly decreased compared to the 2021 elections. The analysis confirms that compliance with the gender quota is essential to ensure such representation, as political parties take different approaches: some treat it as a formal obligation, while others regard it as a strategic objective. Key findings of the study:
- Although the numerical presence of women on candidate lists is relatively balanced, the analysis of their placement reveals certain fluctuations. In the first 10 positions – considered the most competitive and with the highest chances of securing a parliamentary mandate – women account for 40.7 percent of all candidates, while in the next decile (positions 11–20) their share slightly increases to 42 percent.
- Although the gender quota is respected, men dominate the top positions on the lists, while women are concentrated in quintiles with lower chances of election.
- Some parties limited themselves strictly to meeting the minimum mandatory quota, while others went beyond the legal requirements by including over 50 percent women among their candidates…
- The detailed analysis shows that younger candidates are predominantly placed toward the end of the lists, where their chances of entering Parliament are lower.
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A Woman Among the Three Presidential Candidates in the Oct. 12 Election in Cameroon
Hermine Patricia Tomaïno Ndam Njoya is the only woman among 12 challengers in Cameroon’s presidential election on Oct. 12, running against 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya, who has ruled since 1982. The strongest challenger in the polls, Maurice Kamto, was blocked from the ballot, creating a free-for-all in a U.S.-style plurality voting election.
French speakers might enjoy this Sept. 11 interview with Njoya. As reported in Wikipedia:
Tomaïno Ndam Njoya is the president of the Cameroonian Democratic Union (UDC) she became involved in politics in 1991 and participated in opposition marches calling for a return to multipartism. She joined the UDC at its inception in 1991.She was elected as a member of parliament to the National Assembly for Noun in the 2007 legislative elections.
She served as the secretary of the Committee on Constitutional Laws, Human Rights and Freedoms, Justice, Legislation, and Regulation at the National Assembly of Cameroon. She was the spokesperson for UDC deputies in the National Assembly from 2007-2020. As a member of parliament she was member of the Bureau of the National Assembly, member of the Forum of Women in Africa and Spain for a Better World, member of the African Parliamentarian Union, and Member of Réseau Parlementaire pour la Promotion du Genre–REPAGE.
Despite winning the municipal and legislative elections Member of Parliament in 2020, Hon. Tomaïno Ndam Njoya gave up her seat and chose to become municipal councillor of the City of Foumban and subsequently Mayor of the city of Foumban] She was elected Regional Councilor of the Western Region, and is the spokesperson of the councilors from the Noun Division from 2020 until the present. She is the president of the union of Noun Division mayors.
Norway Holds Elections—Where Women Are Near Parity in the Parliament
On Sept. 8, Norway held national elections to its parliament. Center-left parties won a majority of seats, and their prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, will likely be able to form a governing coalition. The Progress Party, which takes a hard line on immigration, doubled its number of seats, and its leader, Sylvi Listhaug, would likely have been prime minister in the event of a rightwing victory.
The Norwegian parliamentary website has a rundown of progress for women in Norway. It introduces profiles of trailblazing women political leaders with this text:
“The story of female representation in the Storting is about small steps on the road to major change. At the 2021 parliamentary election, 76 women were elected to the Storting. This equates to almost 45% of the total, a historic high in this country.
The first woman to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Storting was Anna Rogstad. She took her seat as a Substitute MP for the Liberal Left Party in 1911. This was a mere four years after a limited number of women, those of a certain means or income, had been given the vote at parliamentary elections. One consequence of the change was that women were now also eligible to stand for election to the Storting. This enabled Anna Rogstad to take her seat as an MP two years before universal female suffrage was adopted in 1913. It took a further 11 years until the architect Karen Platou from the Conservative Party was to become the first regular female MP.
After peace returned to Europe in 1945, the proportion of women in the Storting slowly rose. However, it was during the 1970s that this trend gathered pace. Women gradually took on important parliamentary offices in the post-war years. From the mid-1970s, women also rose to key leadership positions in the political parties.”
Will Sanae Takaichi Become Japan’s First Woman Prime Minister?
Women do far less well in Japan than in any other major democracy, ranking 139th in the world with women holding only 15.7 percent of seats in its lower house of parliament. Like the United States, women have also never risen to the top executive office. CNBC reports on how, with the resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Sanae Takaichi leads public opinion polls as his replacement. From its coverage:
“Various names have been bandied around to see who would succeed Ishiba, but two prominent names have emerged: former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and current agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
Neither has formally announced a run, but political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said both are expected to enter the contest to replace Ishiba. A Nikkei opinion poll last month showed Takaichi leading with 23% support, while Koizumi had 22 percent. If elected, Takaichi would be the first woman to helm the world’s fourth-largest economy.
When asked if Japan was ready for a female prime minister, Tomohiko Taniguchi, former special adviser to the cabinet under the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that voters are more ready for a female leader than many assume.
“It’s just about time for Japan to have the first female prime minister, and I think it’s in line with the changes that have happened over the last 10, 15 years,” he noted, adding that “female labor participation in Japan is bigger in number than it is in the United States.”
About 85 percent of Japanese women aged between 25 and 54 years were working, compared with 78 percent in the U.S, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.”
Iraq’s First ‘Feminist’ Political Party Jumped High Hurdles to Exist
Iraq will hold its next parliamentary elections in November, once again using a party list form of proportional representation with gender quotas—a combination of rules established in Iraq’s 2004 constitution under United States military control. Women hold 28.9 percent of seats in its Parliament, just about the same as the 28.7 percent held by women in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The London School of Economics last year published an analysis of the value of building on this progress to enable women to have more substantive representation. But a new feminist party with that mission has fallen short of running candidates this year. PassBlue has a fascinating interview with the party’s founder and secretary-general, Jihan al-Taei.
Excerpts:
“Jihan al-Taei, calls al-Mawadda a historic development in Iraqi politics. It is a party born out of the marginalization of Iraqi women, who make up more than half the population but remain systematically excluded from decision-making spaces.
“When we entered the world of candidacy and politics, I felt let down by the ruling parties’ treatment of independent female candidates,” al-Taei said in an interview with PassBlue. “I saw how women working within party organizations were favored over those from outside, and how males controlled everything and were favored over women.”…
According to Mariana Duarte Mutzenberg, a gender expert at the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which tracks women’s political representation globally, “Sexism, harassment and violence remain key obstacles to women parliamentarians’ full participation.” Despite the quota in Iraq, no woman has ever held the position of Speaker, and of Iraq’s five parliamentary committees monitored by the IPU, only the gender one is chaired by a woman.
Yet, compared with its regional neighbors, Iraq’s gains are significant: the country now has the second-highest proportion of women MPs in the Mideast and North Africa (MENA) region, behind the United Arab Emirates, which has achieved gender parity through quotas.
Nevertheless, women candidates in Iraq continue to face intimidation, smear campaigns and logistical barriers, as detailed in media reporting from the 2018 and 2021 elections, where some candidates experienced harassment and damage to campaign materials. Additionally, legal interventions have often favored male candidates. Human rights activists have documented persistent resistance from religious and ruling parties to women’s participation.
Al-Taei’s party seeks to move beyond symbolic representation. Its platform emphasizes women’s political, economic and social empowerment, protection of children, reform of state institutions and stronger enforcement of the law against gender-based violence. The party already counts more than 7,000 members across Iraq and the autonomous Kurdistan region, al-Taei said.”
P.S. — Here in the U.S. Capitol, it’s heartening to be reminded that there are still leaders and organizations, such as the Congressional Management Foundation, who choose collaboration over division. In moments like these, I’m reminded of what’s possible when we put people before politics—a democracy that truly listens, and where every voice has a place.
This week, I also attended the Congressional Management Foundation’s Democracy Awards, which celebrate members of Congress who are making government work better for the people they serve. It was terrific to see bipartisan recognition for collaboration and institutional strength, reminders that democracy can still be about service, not just politics.
