The line graph compares the share of female lawmakers in the parliaments of five countries in Europe between 2000 and 2012.
Overall, all five countries showed upward trends during the period, but the rate of change was more pronounced in Belgium, Spain, and Italy. It is also clear that Italy, which has the most male-dominant parliament initially, saw the most dramatic rise in its figure over time.
Germany and the UK’s figures bore parallels to each other. With the initial 31% of women in parliament, the former stood first, while the latter had only 18% in 2000. The proportions of female policymakers in Germany grew steadily over time, reaching around 33% in the final year. The share for the British parliament also increased to approximately 23%during the same period despite remaining stable for the first four years.
In stark contrast, the period saw substantial rises in the figures for Spain and Belgium. Having started the period with about 28% and 23% respectively, both figures soared to around 35% each before leveling off at this level until 2008. Although the percentage of parliament seat held by women in Spain peaking at roughly 38% in 2012.
In Italy, however, women constituted only a small minority in the country’s parliament, at a mere 2%. This share first increased negligibly until 2004 following which it jumped to almost 25% four years later. Then it remained largely the same, reaching parity with the UK’s figure in 2012.