In order for Parliaments and legislatures to function as truly representative institutions and safeguards of democracy, it is vital that the views and priorities of all sections of society are represented. Whilst the number of Commonwealth legislatures with 30% or more women members has grown to an all-time high of 45 in 2022, the number of legislatures with no women legislators has grown to the highest level (14 legislatures) since 2016. Furthermore, other underrepresented groups have experienced low levels of parliamentary representation, with data on persons with disabilities in Parliament across the world being particularly difficult to find. Indeed, when the CPA Headquarters Secretariat sought to gather data on persons with disabilities in Parliament, a number of legislatures responded that they did not know the levels of representation or did not look to gather these statistics.

This session explored how the narrative can shift from a focus on a need for those underrepresented individuals to be better equipped for public office and towards how institutions and norms can better accommodate and promote increased diversity. Particularly, the session looked at the importance of women in positions of parliamentary leadership, including in traditionally hard portfolios.  The session also encouraged consideration of how Parliaments can better monitor their levels of diversity within the membership and why this is important. Finally, the session looked beyond the representative function of Parliament at what increased diversity can mean for better legislation and improved oversight of the Executive.

General Resources

Parliamentary Academy

Parliamentary Workplace Equality & Diversity Networks: Case Studies from the Commonwealth

Gender Sensitising Parliaments Guidelines: Standards and a Checklist for Parliamentary Change

Gender Sensitising Parliaments: A Seven-Step Field Guide

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This workshop explored how Parliaments and Legislatures can empower women Parliamentarians and better accommodate and promote increased diversity. In particular, this session looked at the importance of women and other underrepresented groups, including persons with disabilities, serving in public office, especially positions of parliamentary leadership.

The first panellist highlighted the increasing presence of women in political life in India and emphasised that true democracy can only be realised when all segments of society have a voice. The second panellist from Uganda explained how women with disabilities are often the most vulnerable members of society and are too often left out of the conversation about political representation. The Member emphasised that it comes down to political will to have dedicated spaces for persons with disabilities in parliamentary leadership. Delegates also heard from the panellist from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) about effective steps that can be taken to close the representation gap and achieve a gender-sensitive Parliament.

The discussion at the conclusion of the workshop explored various issues in respect of women’s inclusion in political life, including youth engagement, the effectiveness of gender quotas in Parliaments and how to ensure substantive participation of women, and the need to engage political parties to encourage diversity within their membership and why this is important.

As part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference outcomes, each workshop put forward a recommendation. The following recommendation was agreed:

“In promoting women’s empowerment and greater diversity in public office, Parliamentarians and legislatures should take an institution-centric approach towards lasting change.”