While Vice-President Kamala Harris has just suffered a defeat, the question of the place of women in the highest offices is coming back to the fore, in the United States and elsewhere. In 2023, women remain a large minority at the head of states and world governments.
They remain few in number. According to UN data, in 2023, only 36 women held the head of political power in their country: 17 as elected heads of state and 19 headed a government. This represents 11% of heads of state and 10% of heads of government globally, respectively. In concrete figures, out of 151 heads of state, only 17 are women, and among the 193 heads of government, 19 are women.
In Europe, only Greece and San Marino are currently led by a woman. Other women presidents or prime ministers are at the head of countries such as India, Singapore, five in Eastern Europe, including Georgia, two in Africa, and a few in Latin America and the Caribbean. .
Still slow progress towards equality
Despite progress, progress remains slow. In 2008, there were only 15 female presidents or prime ministers in the world; in 2023, this figure rose to 36. However, the presence of women at the head of state is not a guarantee of a more egalitarian policy in favor of women. Their rarity in the highest positions is due to various factors: choice of educational orientation, gender stereotypes, still omnipresent sexism and predominantly male power networks.
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