Is Nepal on a Path Towards Gender Inclusive Political Leadership?

Executive Summary

• Female Representation and Candidacy Remains At a Low Level in 2022: Female candidacy and representation remains below or at 5% in mayor, ward chair and open ward positions in 2022. Female candidacy and representation for deputy mayor positions has dropped to roughly 75%.
• Female Representation and Candidacy Fell Overall: Relative to 2017, in 2022 women were 0.5 percentage points less likely to run for office and 1 percentage point less likely to be elected to office.
• With Significant Differences Across Positions: The decline in female representation is primarily due to the position of deputy mayor, where women’s representation has dropped by almost 20 percentage points. Women’s representation in open ward member seats, on the other hand, has increased by more than 1 percentage point.
• Female Incumbents Were More Likely to Drop Out, and There Were Fewer First-time Female Entrants in Politics, Relative to Men: Relative to male incumbents, female incumbents were 7 percentage points less likely than men to recontest for election; and 5 percentage points less likely to be re-elected to office in 2022. The rate of entry by first time entrants was 4 percentage points lower among women than men.