Hard numbers, in honor of International Women’s Day on March 8

27.5%: The share of parliamentary seats women hold worldwide, as of Jan. 1, 2026, per a report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. It’s a modest gain – 0.3 points – from a year prior, but marks an overall slowdown since 2017. The Americas topped the list of regions with the highest share of female parliamentarians, with women making up 35.6% of members across all countries in the region.

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0.3: The percentage-point decrease in the global gender gap in 2025, according to a report by the World Economic Forum. The report estimates that 68.8% of the gap has been closed, accounting for factors like economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment (100% implies full gender parity). While no country has achieved this, Iceland continues to lead the world as the only economy to close over 90% of its gender gap to date.

13: The number of United Nations member countries, out of a total of 193, with female heads of state. Ten of the current female leaders are their countries’ first in modern times. Among them are Mia Mottley, who was reelected last month as prime minister of Barbados, and Sanae Takaichi, who became Japan’s first female prime minister in 2025.

For more on the role of women in global leadership, make sure to check out GZERO’s interview with the United Nations’ Annemarie Hou at the 2026 Munich Security Conference on how women leaders are shaping foreign policy and peace.