US News
Preview: UN urges more female leaders on International Women's Day
By DPA
Mar 7, 2006, 19:00 GMT

New York - On the occasion of International Women's Day on Wednesday, the UN is calling for more women in top national leadership role and in parliaments.

The UN Commission on the Status of Women, said there had been only a marginal increase in female representation rates after decades of work in national assemblies or parliaments around the world, from 10.9 per cent in 1975 to 16.3 per cent in 2005.

The number of women presidents and prime ministers has increased, but there remains only a handful in those top positions, the un said in a study published Tuesday, on the eve of International Women's Day.

Liberia, Ireland, Latvia, Chile and the Philippines now have women as heads of state. Among heads of government, a woman is chancellor in Germany and women are prime ministers in Bangladesh, Mozambique, New Zealand and Sao Tome and Principe.

The UN has set a target of 30 per cent of female legislators, but only 20 countries have reached or exceeded that goal.

Countries above 35 per cent: Rwanda with 48.8 per cent, the highest in the world, followed by Sweden at 45.3 per cent, Norway at 37.9 per cent, Finland at 37.5 per cent and Cuba and Spain at 36 per cent each.

Countries with 30 to 35 per cent women legislators: Costa Rica, Austria, Iceland, South Africa, Germany, Guyana, Burundi and Tanzania.

Rachel Mayanja, UN special adviser on gender issues, said it would take women until 2040 to reach the quota of 30 per cent in legislatures around the world.

Women in Latin America and Africa have gained more than 5 percentage points in representation in politics in the past decade, more the other regions in the world.

In business, women's participation remains low, even in developed countries. In media, the International Federation of Journalists said that one-third of journalists are women, but only 3 per cent are executives or editors.

'Beyond the recent high-profile elections of women heads of state and government in Chile, Liberia and Germany, progress in bringing women into leadership and decision-making positions around the world remains far too slow,' the UN said.