By Elect Her

At Elect Her, we often say that getting more women into politics isn’t just about fairness — it’s about building better, more trusted democracy.

**Now, new international research gives us powerful evidence to support what many of us have long believed**

The University of St Andrews has found that parliaments with higher levels of women’s representation are trusted more by their citizens.

Not in one country.
Not in one election cycle.
Across 107 countries and three decades of data.

At a time when trust in politics feels fragile, that matters.

Using nearly half a million survey responses from around the world, researchers identified a clear pattern:

The greater the proportion of women in parliament, the higher the public’s trust in that parliament.
This link remains even when you account for economic conditions, corruption levels, democratic systems and other social factors.
Interestingly, simply having a woman at the very top — a female prime minister or president — doesn’t have the same effect.

This isn’t about token representation. It’s about sustained, visible participation. It’s about women being present across the chamber — debating, leading committees, shaping policy, holding government to account.

When representation is shared, trust grows.

Why Might This Be?

There are a few reasons this connection makes sense.

Democracy feels fairer when it looks like society

Women make up half the population. When legislatures reflect that reality, they feel more legitimate and inclusive. People — women and men alike — are more likely to trust institutions that mirror the communities they serve.

Representation changes perceptions

Research over many years has shown that women in public office are often perceived as collaborative, community-focused and ethical. Whether through lived experience or leadership style, their presence can shift how politics is experienced and understood.

It normalises women’s leadership

When women are consistently present in political spaces, leadership stops feeling exceptional and starts feeling expected. That cultural shift matters. It builds confidence in the system itself.

Where representation rises, public trust tends to rise too.

Across the world, countries that have implemented mechanisms such as gender quotas or reformed candidate selection processes have seen significant increases in women’s representation.

In the UK, we’ve made progress but we are still far from equal representation.

And if increasing women’s participation strengthens democratic trust, then accelerating that progress isn’t just desirable, it’s necessary.

What This Means?

For us at Elect Her, this research reinforces why our work matters.

Encouraging women to stand,
Equipping them through the process to office,
Supporting them to thrive once they get there,
Creating communities of confidence and ambition!
And fixing the barriers that exist across political parties, in institutions and with the system…

This isn’t just about individual success stories. It’s about institutional health. It’s about ensuring our democratic structures are credible, representative and trusted.

When women are elected in greater numbers, democracy doesn’t just become more equal. It becomes stronger.