The Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, marked a historic moment in global efforts to advance women’s political participation and leadership. The decades since Beijing have seen some progress, including a gradual rise in the number of women leaders and stronger international commitments to gender equality, yet progress remains uneven and increasingly fragile. Thirty years later, women continue to be underrepresented in political leadership, while democratic backsliding and a growing conservative backlash challenge gender norms and women’s rights. At the same time, funding cuts to development assistance have left many women’s organisations globally without lifeline support.
In response to these inauspicious trends, Club de Madrid and the European Democracy Hub undertook a project to take stock of 30 years of women’s political participation and leadership, assessing the progress made while also identifying persistent barriers that hinder women from increasing their role in senior decision-making.
The report draws in part on 12 interviews with Members of Club de Madrid, former heads of state and government from Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Finland, New Zealand, Senegal, Slovenia, and Sweden. Several of our interviewees led their countries’ delegations to the Beijing Conference and/or advanced gender equality reform agendas in their respective countries.
