In recent years, Sri Lanka has made strides in increasing the representation of women in Parliament. But while the focus has been on how many women make it to Parliament, less attention has been paid to what happens after they get there.
Manthri.lk has profiled the actions and activities of all MPs since the 7th Parliament based on Hansards. A closer look at performance data across the last four parliaments reveals a consistent and important trend: On average, women MPs account for significantly less contribution than their male counterparts – only 68% as much – pointing to an ongoing disparity in parliamentary participation.
Exhibit 1: Contribution of Women MPs as a % of Male MPs
|
7th Parliament (2010 – 2015) |
8th Parliament (2015 – 2020) |
9th Parliament (2020 – 2024) |
10th Parliament (2024 – Present) |
|
|
Number of women MPs in parliament |
13 |
13 |
12 |
22 |
|
Average Contribution of Women MPs* (As a % of Men) |
48% |
49% |
70% |
68% |
Despite persistent challenges, both the representation and contributions of women MPs have improved across the four Parliaments and deserves recognition.
The 10th Parliament recorded a historic high of 22 women MPs, up from 12 in the 9th Parliament.
This progress is also reflected in performance. In the 7th and 8th Parliaments, women’s contributions were roughly half that of their male counterparts, at just 48–49%. By the 9th and current 10th Parliament, this had risen to 68-70%, marking a clear and substantial improvement in relative performance.
Footnotes:
*Contributions for the 7th to 9th Parliaments are calculated over the full term of each Parliament, while the data for the 10th Parliament covers the period from September 2024 to December 2025.
** This blog does not attempt to address the reasons for the disparity in participation levels, and acknowledges that this gap must be understood in the larger context of greater structural and social barriers that may limit engagement.
