‘Inequality is not inevitable but there is more to be done all around the world,’ says a leading gender equality charity head. As 2024 saw a bumper year for elections, the rise in the share of female politicians appeared to stall. Billions of people across the world went to the polls in over 80 countries this year, with nearly half of the global population - some 3.6 billion people - living through major elections over the 12 months.
![[Jemima Olchawski]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/29/16/WhatsApp-Image-2024-12-29-at-16.00.47.jpg)
That figure was just a meagre rise of only 0.2 per cent from last year. The published data, which covered almost every country around the world, also showed the actual number of female politicans had fallen, from 11,872 last year. Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the UK’s leading gender equality charity, Fawcett Society, told The Independent those working in politics have “enormous power to shape democracies, cultures and economies”.
She added: “Parliaments must represent all of us and they must bring about policy changes that benefit all women. We have seen landmark moments for women following the UK election and these are to be celebrated. “The highest proportion of women in our parliament ever, the most balanced cabinet ever, the first female chancellor of the exchequer. These changes show that inequality is not inevitable but there is more to be done all around the world.”.
