Equality in Parliaments? Seats occupied by women in Europe

Given the electoral cycle that has opened in Spain and in the European Parliament, we analyze how many seats are occupied by women in the 28 Parliaments of united Europe. Spain is the state with the highest percentage of women as elected officials in the Cortes Generales and in the Government with 52.4%, closely followed by Sweden (52.2%) and France (48.6%). The average presence of women in the Parliaments of the 28 Member States is 30.2%, while the member of the European Union with the most equality problems among elected officials is Hungary, where only 7.1% of seats are occupied by women.

The progression of equality in the Spanish Cortes Generales has been very notable in the last four years, with the number of elected women doubling and going from 26.3% in 2015 to 52.4% in 2018. It is the most relevant progression in all of Europe, where Sweden and France have maintained a scenario of parity in their legislatures since much earlier legislatures.