Women’s Political Leadership

Elevating the status of women and girls has been demonstrated to advance global prosperity, stability, and security, yet the journey toward gender equality has been marked by fitful and incremental gains. Women’s political representation and leadership remains the area of greatest lag, despite notable success in some countries. The Project on Women’s Political Leadership examines the factors that account for progress as well as the impediments that are stalling progress. In addition to ongoing structural barriers and persistent bias, gains in women’s leadership and representation have been significantly affected by the worldwide erosion in democratic norms, rising authoritarianism, and growing online gender-based violence fueled by increasingly powerful artificial intelligence. The project examines the experiences of current women world leaders to understand the effects of these trends on political leaders, identify the components of effective policy responses, and assess the demonstration effect of contributions that women leaders are making to global peace and stability. Project activities include meetings, articles, government briefings, and a book. The project will include a blog series, "Women Leaders' Contributions to Foreign Policy," that will feature excerpts from interviews conducted as part of the book research. The project also maintains the program’s signature digital interactive, the Women’s Power Index, a robust five-indicator measure of women’s political leadership and representation, backed by ongoing analysis of relevant peer-reviewed research.