Regional overview
In Europe and Central Asia, despite the adoption of regional commitments, the protection of women's rights and the achievement of SDG 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment remain a pressing issue. Key areas of concern include freedom from violence, the absence of discrimination in employment and education, and political participation and access to justice for women, all of which are essential for achieving gender equality. Currently, in the Europe and Central Asia region, significant challenges remain in the achievement of SDG 5, while progress is only moderately increasing. Central Asia ranks fifth of the eight regions on the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Gender Gap Index, and its parity score has slightly regressed since last year, despite an overall improvement of +2.3 percentage points since 2006. Compared to other regions, Central Asia registers the second lowest level of political parity, and suffers a 1.7 percentage points setback since 2023.
Women's representation in parliament
Women’s political representation in Europe and Central Asia remains a key concern as countries and territories in the region are yet to achieve gender parity in parliaments and governmental bodies.
Over the last decade, countries in the Europe and Central Asia region have increased the proportion of women in parliament. As of July 2024, eight out of the 19 countries and territories covered by the ECA region have more than 30 percent of seats in national parliament held by women. However, this leaves a remaining 11 countries and territories that have yet to meet the internationally agreed minimum target set in 1990, despite this target being reemphasized at the 1995 Beijing Platform as well as the setting of the Agenda 2030 in 2015. Among the highest reaching parliaments when it comes to women’s representation are Moldova (40.6 percent), Serbia (38.1 percent), and Armenia (36.5 percent). Notably, Moldova registered a record increase of almost 16 percent, from 24.8 percent in 2020 to 40.6 percent in 2021, and has remained one of the highest levels of representation in the region since then. Meanwhile, Cyprus occupies the lowest level of women’s parliamentary representation at 14.3 percent, followed closely by Azerbaijan with 16.8 percent.
Quotas
Several countries and territories have implemented measures to bolster the number of women in politics, as a result of sustained efforts by women’s networks in parliament and local assemblies and pressure from women’s rights advocates. The most notable legislation in this area has been electoral gender quotas for candidates in parliamentary and local elections. Gender quotas have already been adopted in 12 out of the 19 countries and territories in the Europe and Central Asia region at the national and local level. These gender quotas currently lie between 30 and 40 percent at the national level, and between 30 and 50 percent at the local level, and many hold sanctions for non-compliance. Countries yet to implement a gender quota include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cyprus, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Turkmenistan, as of 2024, while recently Georgia abolished its mandatory gender quotas for election lists.
At the sub-regional level, in the Western Balkans, all countries and territories have amended electoral laws for national legislatures, introducing electoral gender quotas of at least 30 percent on electoral lists, while Serbia upped this to 40 percent in 2020.
However, when it comes to the effectiveness of such quotas in propelling women to the front lines of politics, the devil is in the details. In some countries, where the law is not specific enough, the leaders of political parties ignore it by simply naming women candidates to ineligible positions in the second half of their lists. In others, the proposed quotas are voluntary; even if mandatory, fines or penalties for defaulters are often not strong enough to motivate real change. Furthermore, if quotas only apply to the lower house, progressive legislation for gender equality, designed by women entering parliament, often gets stuck in the upper house - many of which remain heavily dominated by men.
Despite these challenges, quota measures do signal a commitment to gender equality. Some countries have managed to fix the loopholes that prevented them from being effective. For example, in Armenia and Montenegro the quota laws were amended in recent years to make sure women and men alternate on candidate lists. Election authorities in North Macedonia reject candidate lists that do not fulfil the quota requirements. As of 2024, almost all countries and territories in the region that have adopted electoral gender quotas have seen an increase in the number of women in parliament. For instance, when the electoral gender quota in Armenia rose to 30 percent in 2020, women’s share of seats in parliament went up by nearly 12 percent. With the right mix of measures, quotas can accelerate progress towards gender parity in parliaments by 2030.
Women ministers or cabinet members
In the Europe and Central Asia region, there is still significant progress needed to achieve gender equality within governmental bodies, such as the cabinet of ministers. As of July 2024, only four out of 19 countries and territories in the region have succeeded in having more than 30 percent of women ministers in their cabinets. These countries and territories are Albania, Cyprus, Kosovo* and Serbia, where women make up 55.6 percent, 35 percent, 33.3 percent and 32.1 percent of the ministerial positions, respectively. The lowest share of women in ministerial roles is seen in Azerbaijan, where women comprise a mere 2.7 percent of cabinet members as of July 2024.
Furthermore, it is crucial to examine the specific ministerial roles that women hold in these cabinets. A significant number of women are concentrated in positions that align with traditional gender stereotypes, often overseeing Ministries that focus on family affairs, education, culture and social services. For instance, out of the 19 countries and territories in the region of Europe and Central Asia, 15 have women in ministerial positions, which are related to education and culture or women and family affairs. By contrast, only four countries and territories, namely, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine have women Ministers in the traditionally men-dominated roles of Minister of Economy, Finance, or Defense.
Women's representation in public administration
Efforts are also needed to increase women’s participation in public administration, as gender parity in public institutions is yet to be achieved at a regional level. Furthermore, studies suggest that a higher proportion of women fill public administration roles with lower financial remuneration, such as in education, health, and social care.
Despite the available disaggregated data, comparisons between countries and territories in the region are not possible, due to the varying definition of public administration roles from place to place. However, the data of each country and territory shows a clear need to continue initiatives supporting women in leadership and public administration, as an essential part of achieving gender equality and meaningful representation from local to national levels.
