In many countries around the world, women are entering political office at higher rates than in the United States. As of January 2022, the U.S. was tied with Egypt and the Philippines in 72nd place for the number of women (120 of 433, or 28%) in the lower legislature, the U.S. House of Representatives. Twenty years ago, there were half as many women in the U.S. House, and the country ranked 59th for women's representation.
In 2020, RepresentWomen released a report analyzing the impact electoral rules and systems have on women's representation. We found that countries with proportional systems and gender quotas were more likely to have women present in their national legislature. Our report, "Achieving Gender Parity: Systems Strategies Around the World," also introduces new research on women heads of state and government, women in executive cabinets around the world, the use of ranked-choice voting internationally, and the role women's representation has on democratic rankings.