Following a virtual event on 18 November 2020, the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and the Inter-Parliamentary Union published a call to action on young women’s participation in politics.

The call to action identifies three priority areas for increasing young women’s representation in politics:

Priority 1: Nurturing Young Women’s Political Aspirations

Priority 2: Supporting Young Women Candidates For Political Office

Priority 3: Empowering Young Women In Office, Investing In Their Leadership

Young women are the least represented amongst political leadership. IPU data on youth participation in parliaments show that only 2.2 per cent of parliamentarians are under 30, and less than 1 per cent are young women.

The exclusion of young women from the adoption of laws, negotiation of budgets and mechanisms to hold governments to account undermines the valuable contributions they make for the good of future generations.

Their participation in formal politics is especially important, as young women are leading change on issues like climate change, racial justice and gender equality. They are powerful advocates for intergenerational collaboration and accountability towards a more just, sustainable and equal world. It will benefit us all to have more young women, in all their diversity, representing us when political decisions for the future are made.