Women’s rights are human rights

Women are sorely underrepresented in positions of power and authority around the world.

There is in only one nation on Earth, Rwanda, that has more women represented in government than men. In every single other government on the globe there are more men making government decisions than women.

Is this a problem? I think so. 

Let me be clear: My position is not that women are somehow inherently better than men at governing but that the participation of women (or any group) in politics and governmental decision-making bodies should be at least roughly proportional to their percentage of the population. Right now, the level of representation isn’t even close.
 
Among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the median percentage of female members of parliament (MPs) is only 23 percent.

This is especially shocking considering that the OECD is composed of thirty of the richest and most “developed” Western nations around the world (including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Japan and Germany, among others). 

The average figure for all nations is even lower, at only 18.5 percent.  
And the United States is certainly no exception. Since the U.S. Senate was founded, for example, there have been 1,913 US Senators. Only 38 (less than 2 percent) of them have been women. 

This startling lack of women in positions of authority reflects the rampant institutionalized sexism that exists in nations across the world, including the nations of the supposedly “developed” and enlightened West.

In order to get past this and move toward a more equal representation of women in politics, the way people think about equality and women’s rights must fundamentally change.

Millions of women around the world live under (often brutally) repressive regimes and belief systems which limit their ability to function as normal human beings, let alone actively engage in political life.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, women are not allowed to leave their homes without being accompanied by a male relative nor are they allowed to vote or drive. The elimination of these types of regimes and the belief systems that affirm them is an absolutely key first step to the increased representation of women in politics and government. 

Whatever the solution may be, it is perfectly clear to me that women making up only 18.5 percent of the world’s legislators is a problem that needs to be addressed by political leaders around the globe.