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Good practice Imported

Laos's 30% Women's Assembly Target — Declining Despite a Decade of Policy

Laos · Vientiane · See the Laos profile · See the Vientiane profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 83% 37/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Laos set a 30% target for women in its National Assembly, pursued via the Lao Women's Union and a National Commission. Representation instead fell from 27.5% (2016) to 22% (2021-25), and the government admitted to CEDAW in 2024 that the target was missed.

27.52 %
Women's seats in the National Assembly (2016)
21.95 %
Women's seats in the National Assembly (2021)
41 of 149
National Assembly seats held by women (count) (2016)
36 of 164
National Assembly seats held by women (count) (2021)
~22 %
Current women's representation in the National Assembly (2025)
30 %
Policy target for women's representation
Laos's 30% Women's Assembly Target — Declining Despite a Decade of Policy

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Lao Women's Union / National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children (NCAWMC)
Period
2016-2025 (ongoing target cycle 2021-2025)
Keywords
political participation, gender mainstreaming, governance, women in parliament

Context

Laos has pursued a 30% target for women's representation in the National Assembly (NA) and Provincial People's Assemblies (PPAs) since its National Strategy for the Advancement of Women (2016–2020, renewed 2021–2025). The target is carried through the Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan and implemented via the Lao Women's Union (LWU) and the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children (NCAWMC, established 2003, under LWU since 2016), alongside the NA's own Women's Caucus. A Gender Situation Analysis (GSA) of the NA and PPAs was commissioned by the NA's Social and Cultural Affairs Committee with UNDP support (commissioned October 2023, launched September 2025).

Results

World Bank data show women held 27.52% of NA seats in 2016 (41 of 149 members) but only 21.95% after the 2021 election (36 of 164 members). The 2025 UNDP-backed Gender Situation Analysis reports current representation at around 22%. The Lao government acknowledged to the CEDAW Committee in October 2024 that the 30% target had not been met.

Conclusions

Despite nearly a decade of policy commitment and embedding of the 30% target in national development planning, women's representation in the National Assembly has declined rather than increased, and no cost or resource-efficiency data is available to explain why.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Lao Women's Union (LWU), National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children (NCAWMC), under LWU since 2016, National Assembly's Women's Caucus

Conditions for success

  • Embedding the target in the Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan
  • Coordination across LWU, NCAWMC and the NA Women's Caucus
  • Independent monitoring, e.g. the UNDP-supported Gender Situation Analysis

Common failure modes

  • Setting a numerical target without binding mechanisms (e.g., legislated candidate quotas) did not prevent representation from declining
  • No cost or resource-efficiency data was collected, limiting the ability to diagnose what is not working
  • The government itself acknowledged to CEDAW (October 2024) that the target was not met

Where it fits

Governance type
one-party state
Scale
national
Income level
lower-middle-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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