Ladies have lengthy confronted an uphill battle for gender equality in politics. Globally, solely about one-third of nations have ever had a feminine head of state, and in legislatures girls make up lower than 30 p.c of the members. Latest years, nonetheless, have introduced important progress. Within the 2020s alone, greater than 15 international locations have elected their first feminine chief, together with Namibia, the place Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took workplace in 2025. Whereas the street to full gender parity stays lengthy, these milestones mirror a rising momentum towards larger illustration and management for women in world politics.
Groundbreaking Ladies in U.S. Politics and Authorities
U.S. Supreme Courtroom Justices
On the International Stage
When Sirimavo Bandaranaike turned prime minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) in 1960, she made historical past because the world’s first female head of government. Since then, greater than 80 international locations have adopted swimsuit, electing girls to guide their governments. Notable figures embody Indira Gandhi (India), Margaret Thatcher (United Kingdom), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), and Angela Merkel (Germany). These girls not solely shattered long-standing political limitations but additionally redefined what management seems like on the worldwide stage. The map under highlights all of the international locations the place girls have taken cost.
Political Leaders of the World
These Who Paved the Method
The story of ladies in U.S. politics is as previous because the nation. Lengthy earlier than incomes the right to vote in 1920, American girls had been operating for workplace and reshaping the political discourse. In 1872 Victoria Woodhull made historical past as the primary girl to run for president, and in 1916 Jeannette Rankin broke limitations as the primary feminine member of Congress. They helped pave the best way for such trailblazers as Shirley Chisholm, the primary Black girl elected to Congress (1968) and Margaret Chase Smith, the primary girl to hunt a significant get together’s presidential nomination (1964). Collectively, these pioneering girls redefined the political panorama, advancing the reason for gender equality and illustration in authorities. Whereas many chapters stay to be written, Britannica celebrates the ladies who’ve made it into the historical past books.
1
Hillary Clinton is an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator (2001–09) and secretary of state (2009–13) within the administration of Pres. Barack Obama. She had served as first girl (1993–2001) throughout the administration of her husband, Invoice Clinton, forty second president of the United
2
Geraldine Ferraro was an American Democratic politician who was the primary girl to be nominated for vp by a significant political get together in the US; as such, she served as Walter Mondale’s operating mate within the 1984 presidential election. They finally misplaced to the Republican ticket
3
Margaret Chase Smith was an American standard and influential public official who turned the primary girl to serve in each U.S. homes of Congress. Margaret Chase attended highschool in her native Skowhegan, Maine, graduating in 1916. She then taught college briefly, held a collection of different jobs, and
4
Shirley Chisholm made historical past as the primary African American girl to be elected to the U.S. Congress, serving within the Home of Representatives from 1969 to 1983. In 1972 Chisholm additionally turned the primary girl to run for the Democratic Celebration’s presidential nomination. Shirley St. Hill was the daughter
5
Patsy Mink was an American politician who was the primary Asian American girl, and the second girl from Hawaii, to be elected (1964) to the U.S. Congress. She served within the Home of Representatives from 1965 to 1977 and from 1989 to 2002. Patsy Takemoto was one in all two youngsters born to Mitama (née
6
Kamala Harris is the forty ninth vp of the US (2021–25) within the Democratic administration of Pres. Joe Biden. Because the Democratic Celebration’s nominee within the presidential election of 2024, Harris was defeated by the Republican nominee, former president (2017–21) Donald Trump. In July 2024,
Discover the Historical past of Ladies’s Suffrage
The journey to girls’s voting rights and the Nineteenth Modification
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Ladies in Cost
Final Modification: Dec. 1, 2025
