Online and offline violence deterring women from politics
The number of women being head of ministries is declining. UN Women stresses online and offline violence against women in politics as one explanation. “The decline in representation is unfolding against a backdrop of global backlash against women’s rights, compounded by widespread violence targeting women in politics both online and offline.”
“This violence, spanning physical spaces and digital platforms alike, deters many women from entering or continuing careers in political leadership, undermining gender equality in representation.”
UN Women’s moon Women Political Leaders 2025 shows that women’s political leadership in executive positions is regressing.
“The persistent underrepresentation of women as heads of state or government and in key ministerial roles highlights widespread barriers and a fragile and uneven commitment to gender equality in political leadership.”
Only 27 countries are led by a woman head of state or government – up from 21 countries five years ago, while 103 countries have never had a woman in the highest executive office.
“Women hold just 22.9% of positions of cabinet members heading ministries globally – down from 23.3% in 2024, marking the first recorded decline in the number of women cabinet ministers.”
The number of parity cabinets – those with at least 50% women – has dropped from 15 last year to 9.
At the same time, the number of countries with no women in ministerial roles has increased from seven to nine in the past year.
Europe and Northern America (31.4%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (30.4%) lead the global share of women cabinet ministers. Central and Southern Asia has 9%.
“The world is witnessing the erosion of women’s political leadership at the very moment we need inclusive decision-making the most,” says Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women.
The report shows that men overwhelmingly hold cabinet positions like defence (87%), financial and fiscal affairs (84%) and foreign affairs (82%). Women are most frequently appointed to positions related to gender equality (87%) and family and children affairs (71$).
“Adding to these challenges is the decline in the number of gender equality ministries, a key institution for embedding gender equality in government policy and action. In 2020, there were approximately 80 ministries, decreasing to 76 in 2024 and 74 in 2025”, the report says.
The 27 countries led by women:
Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Honduras, Iceland, India, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, North Macedonia, Peru, Republic of Moldova, Samoa, San Marino, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and United Republic of Tanzania.
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
