New Delhi, March 7 -- Political institutions, from Parliament to Panchayats, must become more empowering and enabling for women to take on leadership roles."

- Sulata Deo, Member of Rajya Sabha

Currently, one-fourth of the world's parliamentarians are women, while three-fourths are men. This falls short of the goal of gender parity, typically defined as a 50-50 split or at least 45-55, given that women represent 49.73 per cent of the global population.

Additionally, less than 10 per cent of the world's heads of state are women. Women serve as Heads of State and/or Government in only 31 countries, and they make up just 26.5 per cent of Members of Parliament globally. In India, women's representation in Parliament is even lower, at only...