1. Women’s Political Representation in Sri Lanka
- Author:
- Shehara Athukorala, Supriya Ramanathan, Meredith Applegate, and Sarah Bibler
- Publication Date:
- 04-2022
- Content Type:
- Case Study
- Institution:
- International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
- Abstract:
- Sri Lanka has taken some positive steps to address significant gaps in women’s electoral representation and achieve greater gender equality. One such step is the introduction of a quota at the local government level, and a new electoral system with a quota at the provincial level. However, women in Sri Lanka continue to face serious barriers to political representation, and the country ranks among the lowest in the world for the percentage of women in national legislatures. For example, the most recent parliamentary elections in 2020 resulted in just over 5 percent of elected women representatives in Parliament. This persistent underrepresentation of women combined with other recent trends — such as negative impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic that further exacerbated gender inequalities — underscore the need for targeted action. To help inform stakeholders’ efforts to sustainably promote women’s political leadership and participation in Sri Lanka, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) published a research paper, Women’s Political Representation in Sri Lanka: Electoral System Analysis and Recommendations, which analyzes the current standing of women’s representation and the main reasons behind the underrepresentation of women in politics, and offers recommendations for how to address the underlying and persistent barriers.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Elections, Voting, and Political Participation
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Sri Lanka