Joyce Luz

Humberto Dantas

Since the end of the last century, there has been a formal agreement within the United Nations that seeks to increase women's representation in various sectors of society, politics being one of the most important. In Brazil, in response to this international movement, the main advance came with the law that determined that at least 30% of the vacancies on the candidate lists for proportional party elections, through which we elect city councilors and representatives, be reserved for women (Law No. 9,504/1997) – the regulation mentions the minority gender in the list of names.

Thus, if there were minimal equality between men and women associated with voting behavior and the structures offered by political parties to their candidacies, it would be more than expected that statistically we would have at least 30% of the total Brazilian deputies and councilors of the female gender. But this is not the case.

The half-full side of the glass shows that progress has been made: starting in 2012, the electoral court interpreted the law more forcefully, and thus, in the case of municipalities, the total percentage of female candidates for local councils rose from somewhere between 18% and 21% in the period from 2000 to 2008, to successive increases between 2012 and 2024, starting at 31.4% and reaching 33.9%. But what about the empty side of the glass?

In Brazil, women are 51.5% of the population according to the 2022 Census; in the electorate, in 2024, they were 52.5% of voters; and in 2023 the percentage of female affiliations was 46% out of a total of 15.8 million people formally associated with partiesBut why aren't these percentages reproduced in the positions gained?

O Map of Electoral Inequality, prepared by RenovaBR, reveals alarming data on the national and subnational reality, linked to the issue of gender and political representation. These figures reveal the disconnect between the discourse of authorities, government institutions, and civil society organizations—which claim to pursue equality and the overcoming of structural disparities—and what is actually observed in public policies, both at the national level and in line with international trends. If the stated objective is to promote electoral balance, the data reveal how far we still are from achieving this goal, especially in the decision-making arenas of municipal legislatures. In general terms, female representation among councilors has grown slowly: in 2016, only 13.5% of those elected were women; this number rose to 16.1% in 2020 and reached 18.3% in 2024. Despite this gradual progress, microdata reveals an even more complex reality. In 2024, 131 municipal councils—equivalent to 737 municipalities—did not elect a single woman. Furthermore, in 291 Brazilian cities, or 1,631 municipalities, only one female councilor holds a seat among those elected.

Considering the legislation that mandates at least 301 female candidates per party, it is possible to examine the extent to which this requirement has translated into effective representation. In 2016, only 10.61 female candidates per party—equivalent to 566 cities—elected at least 301 female councilors. This percentage rose to 151 female councilors in 2020 (833 municipalities) and, in 2024, reached 20.21 female councilors, representing 1,126 municipalities. Although this advance represents some progress, the scenario reveals persistent inequalities when examining female representation based on the composition of councils in relation to the proportion of women in the population.

From this perspective, gender inequality in municipal politics is becoming more pronounced. In 2016, only 0.5% of municipalities—28 cities—had at least half of their legislative seats occupied by women. In 2020, this number rose slightly to 0.9% (51 municipalities), and in 2024, it reached 1.3% (75 municipalities). It is also worth noting that in all these cases, the municipalities that achieved at least 50% of female representation in their chambers are mostly small. Thus, there is a significant gap between what we have—albeit in ascending order—what the law suggests, and what would be ideal proportionally to the population. In other words, an extremely complex challenge to solve.

In this sense, even if legislative changes advance slowly and encounter resistance from political parties, a crucial part of responding to this challenge lies with the voters themselves. In the 2026 elections, it is estimated that more than 3,800 women will run for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. In other words, there is no shortage of female candidates—the real obstacle lies in converting them into elected representatives. In 2022, only 91 women were elected, occupying a paltry 17.7% of the Chamber's seats. This scenario reveals a silent omission: voters need to research more and better women candidates and rethink their selection criteria. Likewise, civil society organizations—such as those promoted by RenovaBR—should increase their efforts in training and strategic support for women who decide to run for office. Female underrepresentation is not the result of a lack of candidates, but of a lack of collective commitment to democratic renewal.