This is exemplified in Rwanda, which achieved the highest percentages of women in parliament after the introduction of a quota system in 2002. With 44% of its parliamenterians being women, Rwanda outperformed even Sweden, one of the few countries that has made continous progress towards closing the gender gap in parliament (without a quota system). This composite index is available from 1950 to 2003 (Figure 12.10). After a slow start in the 1950s, the gender equality measure exhibits a steady trend upwards, which can be observed for all the world’s regions.