Two Experiences in Tunisia and One in Morocco.. 28 Governments Around the World Led by Women

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The appointment of Fatima Zahra Al-Mansouri as the head of the Moroccan government was not just a local political event, as it placed Morocco on a limited list of countries where a woman has reached the pinnacle of executive power, and reopened the discussion about the presence of women in the highest decision-making positions, both in the Arab world and beyond.

Al-Mansouri's rise to the premiership followed two female leadership experiences in Tunisia; she was preceded by Najla Bouden, who served as the head of the government from 2021 to 2023, and then Sara Zaafrani, who became the head of the Tunisian government in March 2025.

Thus, Al-Mansouri becomes the third Arab woman to assume the position of prime minister, while Morocco is the second Arab country to have a woman in this position after Tunisia.

This step is not separate from a broader global context, as women remain a minority among government leaders, despite their increasing participation in parliaments, governments, and decision-making institutions.

According to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women, only 28 countries were led by a woman as head of state or government at the beginning of 2026, while 101 countries had never seen a woman reach this position in their history.

From the Arab world to Europe, women have reached the leadership of governments in several European countries, but their presence remains uneven from one country to another.

As of September 2026, women have held the position of head of government in Denmark, Italy, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Ukraine. The list includes Mette Frederiksen in Denmark, Giorgia Meloni in Italy, and Katrín Jakobsdóttir in Iceland. However, the presence of women in head of government positions does not necessarily reflect a similar level of representation in various governing institutions.

In the European Union, for example, only two women currently hold the position of head of government, in Denmark and Italy, while in 2026, the leadership of the government in Latvia and Lithuania transitioned from women to men.

On the other hand, the limited number of women at the head of governments does not necessarily mean that their participation in European political life is limited; some countries have achieved high levels of female representation within cabinet ministries, even when the head of government was a man.

Here, the difference between a woman reaching the peak of executive power and the expansion of women's participation in governance institutions in general becomes evident.

France provides another example of this disparity; women's access to the position of Prime Minister is not new there. Édith Cresson was the first woman to hold the French Prime Minister position in 1991, followed by Élisabeth Borne, who served from May 2022 to January 2024. The French government officially confirms that Cresson and Borne are the only two women who have held this position in the Fifth Republic so far.

Thus, the French experience reveals another aspect of the issue: merely having a woman reach the Prime Minister position does not necessarily mean that this will lead to a sustained presence of women at the peak of executive power. From this perspective, Morocco's experience becomes part of a broader question regarding the sustainability of women's participation, rather than just recording a historical precedent.

The United States differs from Morocco and most European countries constitutionally; there is no position of Prime Minister, as the president combines the roles of head of state and leader of the executive authority. Although women have reached high political positions, no woman has yet been elected as President of the United States, while Kamala Harris became the first woman to hold the position of Vice President.

Recent opinion polls have revealed that the likelihood of a woman reaching the White House remains a matter of doubt among a segment of Americans.

In a survey conducted by the "Pew" Center between July 6 and 12, 2026, 37 percent of Americans said that electing a woman president during their lifetime is "unlikely" or "very unlikely," compared to 17 percent who believed it is "very likely" or "likely," while 44 percent said it is "somewhat likely."

Between Morocco, Tunisia, Europe, and the United States, different experiences reveal that the rise of women to the top of the executive power is no longer an unprecedented event, but it is still far from being a widespread phenomenon.

Thus, the significance of Mansouri's experience is not only about being the first woman to head the Moroccan government, but also about what this step may mean for the political participation of women in the region: does the rise of women to the top of executive power remain an exceptional precedent, or is it gradually transforming into a more ordinary and sustainable presence?