Some 34% of large US cities are governed by women. Cities with female leaders include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC and Boston. Overall, of the 125 American cities with more than 200,000 residents, 43 have women mayors. Most, 67%, of the female mayors are Democrats, while 23% are registered Republicans. (Photo: Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington DC since 2015)
Canada’s three largest cities, Toronto, Montréal and Calgary, are governed by women mayors. Among the country’s 100 largest cities, 21 have female mayors. Women are also in charge in Mississauga, Hamilton and Surrey. Among the country’s 100 largest cities, 21 have female mayors. (Photo: Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal since November 2017) IN DETAIL
131 million people in Mexico live in 2.469 cities and other municipalities. Some 534 (22%) of the communities have female mayors. Aurora Meza Andraca was the first woman mayor in Mexico in as early as 1938. She was then followed by María del Socorro Blanc Ruiz in 1955. Currently, of the 2,469 cities and municipalities in Mexico, nearly 22% are governed by women. (Photo: Angélica Moya Marín Mayor of Naucalpan de Juárez) IN DETAIL
Women are at the helm of Paris and the European co-capital city Strasbourg. More than a quarter of largest French cities are run by women. In the 2020 municipal elections, women were re-elected as mayors in principal cities like Paris, Lille, Nantes and Rennes and newly elected in Strasbourg and Besançon. (Photo: Martine Aubry, Mayor of Lille since 2002.) IN DETAIL
Only one, West Yorkshire, of England’s ten regions with elected mayors has a woman at its helm. Tracy Brabin was elected in 2021. In addition to elected regional mayors, 14 out of 296 local councils in England have elected mayors in place. Of the 14 elected city mayors, five are women. (Photo: Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire since 2021) IN DETAIL
In Turkey’s 2024 municipal elections, women candidates won the mayorships in eleven of 81 metropolitan provinces. In addition, some 65 women were elected as district mayors. In the 2019 elections, women were elected in only four big cities. Female mayors were elected in cities such as Aydın, Diyarbakır, EskiÅŸehir, TekirdaÄŸ, AÄŸrı, Afyonkarahisar, Batman, Bilecik, Edirne, Siirt and Gaziantep (Photo: Batman Mayor Gülistan Sönük) IN DETAIL
Lodz and Gdansk are Poland’s only two top-10 cities with female mayors. The percentage of women among mayors from the 100 largest Polish cities is even lower. Just eleven out of 100 cities have women at the helm. The longest serving female mayor is Malgorzata Manka-Szulik, Mayor of Zabrze. (Photo: Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Lodz since 2010) IN DETAIL
Women Mayors in the Netherlands
Some 23% of the 35 largest Dutch cities have women mayors. Femke Halsema has been mayor of Amsterdam since 2018. Other top-15 Dutch cities with women mayors include Utrecht and Haarlemmermeer. In the Netherlands, mayors are appointed by the monarch, based on a recommendation by the municipal council. Mayors are appointed for six years. (Photo: Liesbeth Spies, Mayor of Alphen aan den Rijn since 2014.) IN DETAIL
Spain has one of the highest proportions of female mayors in Europe. Of the 41 Spanish cities with more than 150,000 residents, 17 (41%) have women as mayors. In comparison, only 12.5% (10 in total) of Germany’s 80 cities with populations of above 100,000 are run by women mayors. In England, five (21%) of the nation's 24 elected mayors are women. (Photo: Marifran Carazo, Mayor of Granada since 2023) IN DETAIL
On other pages
News pages: North American women mayors | European women mayors | Asian women mayors |
Mayors' Code of Ethics | ON OTHER PAGES: American Women Mayors | Canadian Women Mayors | Mexican Women Mayors | French Women Mayors | British Women Mayors | Polish Women Mayors | Dutch Women Mayors | Spanish Women Mayors | Turkish Women Mayors | Moldova Women Mayors | German women mayors | Amsterdam Mayor advocates legalising cocaine use | Obituary: Leila Mustapha, Mayor of Raqqa, who died aged 35 |
​
Please email us for further information and / or with any questions you may have.