Brazil recorded, from 2005 to 2025, an increase of 111% in the number of women occupying positions in and 60% in . The numbers, however, are still considered insufficient by experts, when compared to those in other countries.
Data from reports by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a global association of national parliaments, and Women, a United Nations organization dedicated to women, analyzed by Sheet show that Brazil has fallen 41 positions in the last 20 years in a ranking that positions countries in terms of representation in the lower or unilateral chambers — in the case of Brazilian politics.
The country dropped from 92nd place in 2005, even with the record of growth in the number of vacancies occupied by women in the sector. Of the 513 deputies, 44 were women 20 years ago. Today, there are 93 female deputies, according to data referring to January 1, 2025.
Progress was more timid in the Senate. Previously, of the 81 vacancies, 10 were occupied by women, and now there are 16 senators.
The growth falls short of expectations, both in relation to that recorded in other countries, and considering that the first legislation that established the gender quota for candidates turned 30 years old in 2025.
The Latin country with the best performance in this aspect is Cuba, second in the world rankings, behind only Rwanda, in Africa. The Caribbean island has 55.7% of the unicameral parliament occupied by women (262 of the 470 positions). In 2005, women held 35% of positions. In third and fourth place are Nicaragua (55% of the single chamber) and Mexico (50.2% of the Chamber of Deputies and 50% of the Senate), respectively. In seventh, Costa Rica (49.1% of the single chamber).
In Brazil, women represent 18.1% of the Chamber and 19.8% of the Senate. The country occupies 133rd position on the global list, the worst performance in female representation in South America, well behind countries such as Bolivia (8th place), Ecuador (19th), Argentina (20th) and Guyana (28th), the best positioned.
For Débora Thomé, PhD in political science and professor at IDP (Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research), this means that parties need it, making them truly competitive.
“That one,” he states. “Brazil and other Latin American countries had very similar measures in politics before the 2000s. Today, among the top ten countries in the world for female representation, many are Latin American, and Brazil is still behind”, he adds.
In 1995, it established 20% of female candidates in municipal candidates. Law 9,504, of 1997, determined that at least 30% of proportional applications were reserved for one of the sexes.
In 2009, the law was changed so that each party or coalition met this minimum of 30%. Until then, almost no acronym respected the vacancies reserved for female candidates.
The law was considered ineffective by experts, partly because the quota was for candidacies and not seats, says political scientist Maiane Bittencourt, master from UFPR (Federal University of Paraná)
“Until 2009, it was enough to ‘reserve’ places on the list. This means that many parties did not fill or resort to , and funding/media time was not linked to women”, he says.
A second reason is the open list proportional system, adopted for the Legislature, in which the seats won by the party or coalition are occupied by the candidates with the most votes, up to the number of seats allocated to each group.
“Highly individualized and expensive, the system also penalizes those who receive fewer internal resources. The literature documents these mechanisms and their limited effect on women elected before 2018”, he adds.
The biggest recent increase in women in Congress has occurred since 2014, says Thomé, a reflection both of laws that try to strengthen the design of quotas, and also of a new wave in Brazil, driven by social media.
In 2018, the (Superior Electoral Court) decided that at least 30% of the Special Campaign Financing Fund and advertising time on radio and TV should be allocated to female candidates, with the exclusive use of these resources in their campaigns. Constitutional amendment 117, of 2022, raised these rules to the constitutional level.
“From the moment the party has to spend 30% of its money on female candidacies, it also has to invest in competitive women’s candidacies. So, you also start to increasingly increase the contingent of women from conservative groups”, says Thomé. If the majority of parliamentarians in Congress are from the center and right, he adds.
To improve representation, women. “We have good laws, we just need them to actually be applied.”
