Facts and figures

7% of the world's total cabinet ministers are women. --Online Women in Politics
Women ministers remain concentrated in social areas (14%) compared to legal (9.4%), economic (4.1%), political affairs (3.4%), and the executive (3.9%). –UNIFEM
Among the countries in the developing world that were the earliest to grant women the right to vote were: Finland (1906), Albania (1920), Mongolia (1924), Ecuador (1929), Turkey (1930), Sri Lanka (1931). —BBC
13 developing countries in the sub-Saharan region - the poorest area on Earth – has higher proportions of women MPs than the US (12%), France (11.8%) and Japan (10%). Rwanda has 25.7% and Uganda, 24.7%. Of the Gulf states, which have parliaments, neither Kuwait nor the United Arab Emirates give women the right to vote or stand for election. —Online Women in Politics
On May 2003 Qatar appointed Sheikha bint Ahmed Al-Mahmud as the Gulf state's first woman cabinet minister. The appointment followed an April 29 referendum in which Qataris overwhelmingly approved a written constitution recognising a woman's right to vote and run for office. --Dawn
Some of the latest countries to grant women suffrage are: Switzerland (1971), Iraq (1980), Namibia (1989), Kazakhstan (1994).--BBC
In the 21st century, some countries still do not have universal suffrage. Among them are Brunei Darussalam, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. —Online Women in Politics
Among the developing nations who have not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) are: Bahrain, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates. The United States is the only industrialized nation that has not ratified CEDAW. —Online Women in Politics