Women at the helm of executive power. From the first woman prime minister to date

Statistics compiled by researcher Aaron O’Neill show that between 1960 and 2021, the number of women in the highest executive positions in the world never exceeded 19 per year, which is less than 10% of the number of those who held those positions (UN number of member states – 193).

The highest position of executive power has been held by a woman in just 58 countries, since 1960. The first democratically elected female Prime Minister was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, who took over the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party when her husband was assassinated in 1959. Bandaranaike successfully led her party to victory in three elections, in 1960, 1970 and 1994, however constitutional changes in the 1980s meant that her final term as Prime Minister was spent in a more ceremonial role, while the President now held the real executive power (although the President at this time was also a woman; Bandaranaike’s daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga). Sri Lanka is one of just thirteen countries that has had more than one woman in the highest position of executive power, and most of these countries can be found either in the Indian sub-continent or in Northwestern Europe. Of these thirteen, New Zealand and Finland are the only countries to have had three female leaders, including the current Prime Ministers; Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin.

Longest-serving female leaders

The women who have served the longest consecutive terms in these positions are Angela Merkel of Germany (currently in her 15th year; will likely be around 15 years and 10 months at the end of her term), Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica (14 years, 328 days), and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (12 years, 6 days). The longest non-consecutive terms were held by Indira Gandhi of India (16 years, 15 days) and the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina (almost 17 years in total).

Slow progress

Since 1960, 73 women have held the most powerful positions of executive power in their respective countries, although over one third of these women were acting in a temporary capacity, or they replaced previously-elected leaders and were never re-elected in their own right (the shortest term was held by Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, who was the Acting President of South Africa for just 14 hours in 2008). Since Bandaranaike was first elected in 1960, the number of women in power has grown slowly, with the fastest growth coming in the past twelve years. The most recent addition to the list of female leaders was on March 13, 2020, when Katerina Sakellaropoulou was appointed as the first elected female President of Greece (although a number of women were elected Head of Government or more ceremonial Head of State roles throughout the year). Despite this growth in recent years, there has never been more than 19 women in these positions of power in a single year, which is less than 10% of the number of men who have held these positions (as today, there are 193 UN member states). At the beginning of 2021, there were 12 UN member states with women in the highest position of executive power; although this number rises to 14 when Tsai Ing-Wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the acting President of Kosovo, Vjosi Osmani, are included.

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