TOKYO -- Back in 1995, Asia was at the forefront of breaking the political glass ceiling for women. Twenty-three years later, the region has fallen behind the world average.
Asia's average proportion of women in parliament -- lower and upper houses combined -- stood at 18.6% in 2017, behind the Americas' 28.4%, Europe's 27.1% and sub-Saharan Africa's 23.6%, according to a report by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union.
