Bridging the Leadership Gap: Women in Local and Regional Governments in Latin America

Women’s leadership in local government remains one of the most underrecognized drivers of inclusive democracy. The new report from GWL Voices’ Women in Politics initiative, developed with UN Women and UCLG, provides one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of women’s participation in local and subnational executive leadership across Latin America. Examining recent elections in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Panama, the study reveals that women hold only 17% of local executive positions on average—a pace of progress so slow that parity in mayoral leadership could take up to 85 years if current trends continue.

Combining new data with the lived experiences of women mayors and governors, the report highlights the structural barriers they face—from political violence and unequal access to financing to entrenched gender norms and care responsibilities—while also documenting their strong commitment to advancing more inclusive, responsive governance. Strengthening women’s leadership at the territorial level is not only a matter of rights and representation; it is essential to building more democratic, resilient, and equitable societies.