Uruguay

House of Representatives

Political system
Presidential system
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
99
Women
25
Percentage of women
25.3%

Speaker

Speaker
Ana Olivera Pessano (Female)
Date of birth: 17 Dec 1953
Additional information

For the first year of the five-year term of the legislature, the Speaker occupies the post from 15 February until the end of February of the next year. For the rest second, third and the fourth year of the legislature, the Speaker occupies the post from 1 March until the end of February of the next year. The last Speaker of the legislature occupies the post from 1 March until 14 February of the following year.

Secretary general

No information available

Chairs of specialized bodies

Specialized body Theme Name Sex Age
Human Rights Commission Human rights Female -

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2020-02)
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 1 25 4 13 23 12 1 0 0 79
Female 0 0 5 1 3 8 3 0 0 0 20
Totals per age interval 0 1 30 5 16 31 15 1 0 0 99
Total <= 45: 36 Total >= 46: 63
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
1.0% 1.0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
31.3% 26% 5.1%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
36.4% 30% 6.1%

Reserved seats and quotas

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

Notes: Legislated candidate quotas. Candidates of both sexes must be represented in every three places on electoral lists, either throughout the entire list or in the first fifteen places. Where only two seats are contested, one of the two candidates must be a woman

Sources: Cf. Law nº 18.476, Article 2.

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament
1942

Notes: 1942: 3 women substitute members effectively sat in the Parliament of Uruguay during this time 1942: 1 additional woman substitute member effectively sat in the Parliament of Uruguay during this time

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker
1963

Women’s suffrage

Women’s right to vote
1932
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal
Women's right to stand for election
1932
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