CAPE TOWN, South Africa (IPS/GIN) - A new report by the Geneva-based Inter Parliamentary Union has shown that women are changing the priorities and sometimes the tone of legislatures around the world.

It has also highlighted, however, the slow pace at which the number of parliamentary seats held by women is increasing.

In 1975, when the first United Nations World Conference on Women took place in Mexico City, some 11 percent of places in single chamber legislatures and lower houses of parliament were occupied by women. By 2008 there had been scant progress on this front. Now, just under 18 percent of legislators worldwide are women, far lower than the 30 percent that is widely deemed necessary for women to begin influencing the direction of parliamentary affairs.

The equitable representation of women in legislatures is clearly “an ideal, not a reality” according to the report, “Equality in Politics: A Survey of Women and Men in Parliaments.”

The study examined gender equality in legislatures from a variety of perspectives, based on responses from approximately 300 parliamentarians—40 percent of whom were men—working in 110 countries. It was a follow-up to a similar report published in 2000, titled “Politics: Women’s Insight.”

“Equality in Politics” was released at the 118th assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union, which took place April 13-18 in the South African port city of Cape Town. The union is an umbrella organization for parliaments around the globe.

The limited representation of women in legislatures must be seen alongside more promising national and regional trends, the report concedes.

There have been advances in Africa and Asia for instance, with about 17 percent of parliamentary posts in the two regions now held by women. Rwanda leads the field globally, with women accounting for some 49 percent of those in its lower house of parliament.

As regards countries that managed to have women occupy more than 30 percent of parliamentary posts, half are developing nations.

“Developing and emerging countries have made great progress, while the situation in the so-called old democracies has not moved forward much,” said Inter Parliamentary Union Secretary-General Anders Johnsson.

A number of those surveyed for the report said men and women seemed to share certain political priorities. Far more pointed to different priorities among male and female legislators, however. Issues of concern to women included poverty alleviation, pensions, reproductive rights, child care and gender-related violence.

The report notes, however, that while female legislators appear to be taking the lead in foregrounding matters of importance to women, these issues are not their sole concern.

In addition, women parliamentarians can experience difficulty translating their priorities into political change, sometimes because of unsympathetic ruling parties and a limited presence in assemblies prevents them from participating fully in the parliamentary committees that scrutinize laws.