Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Iceland Parliament (Almost) Reaches Gender Parity and Europe's First Female-Majority Legislature
Iceland Elected the First Female-Majority Parliament in Europe. A Recount Reversed It.
That is still the highest representation for women in Europe, at nearly 48 percent, ahead of Sweden and Finland with 47 percent and 46 percent, respectively.
“The female victory remains the big story of these elections,” politics professor Olafur Hardarson told the state broadcaster after the recount.
On average, just over a quarter of legislators globally are women, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Only three countries — Rwanda, Cuba and Nicaragua — have more women than men in parliament, while Mexico and the United Arab Emirates have a 50-50 split.
Iceland, a North Atlantic island of 371,000 people, has been ranked the most gender-equal country in the world for more than a decade by the World Economic Forum, based on measures such as economic opportunities, education, health and political leadership. It even bettered its overall score last year at a time when global progress stagnated during the coronavirus pandemic.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/gender_law/2021/09/iceland-parliament-almost-reaches-gender-parity-and-europes-first-female-majority-legislature.html