Cameroon

Senate

Political system
Presidential-Parliamentary
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

Data on women

Information on the current and historical representation of women in the parliament. Consult the 'Elections' tab to see how women have fared in elections or renewals.

Current representation

Women's representation in the current parliament or chamber

Current number of members
100
Women
32
Percentage of women
32.0%

Speaker

No information available

Secretary general

No information available

Chairs of specialized bodies

Specialized body Theme Name Sex Age
Foreign Affairs Committee Foreign affairs Nicole Okala Bilaï Female 74
Gender Equality Committee Gender equality Eno Emma Veryele Female 83

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2023-04)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 0 0 2 11 19 18 14 1 0 65
Female 0 0 0 1 8 14 7 1 0 0 31
Totals per age interval 0 0 0 3 19 33 25 15 1 0 96
Total <= 45: 3 Total >= 46: 93
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
0.0% 0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
3.1% 2% 1.0%
Members for whom age data is not available
4
(2023-04)

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament
1960

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker
Not applicable

Notes: No woman has occupied the function of Speaker in the country.

Women’s suffrage

Date of independence
1961
Women’s right to vote
1946
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal

Notes: Prior to independence, women in the French administered part of Cameroon were granted the right to vote on 27 October 1946 with foundation of the French Union and the 4th Republic. Following the "Loi Lamine Guèye" all citizens of the Union territories had the right to vote for the French Parliament. This right was extended to local legislative assemblies on 23 June 1956 by the Loi-cadre Deferre and confirmed at independence.

Women's right to stand for election
1946
Restricted or universal
No information available

Women's caucus

Women's caucuses or parliamentary groups that bring together women parliamentarians to strengthen cooperation and amplify their voices. For other parliamentary bodies or committees that have a specific mandate to address gender equality matters, see the ‘Specialized body – Gender equality’ tab.

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No