Gender representation in the Senedd could go backwards at the next election, it has been warned.

Electoral Reform Society (ERS) Cymru is calling for all political parties to take action or risk women being underrepresented in the next Senedd after the Welsh Government dropped plans to legislate gender quotas for party candidates and instead issued guidance to encourage political parties to voluntarily diversify their candidate selections.

ERS Cymru is warning that there is a “real risk” that some parties will choose not to implement it – which would reverse progress on representation in the Senedd.

The Senedd was the first parliament in the world to achieve gender parity, when 50 per cent of its members elected in 2003 were women.

However, the proportion of women has fallen since then to 43 per cent today, and with the Senedd expanding to 96 members next year, that number could fall further.

Jess Blair, Director of ERS Cymru, said: “Wales was the first legislature anywhere in the world to achieve equal representation of women in 2003.

“This was an area where we led not only the UK but also globally, yet in recent years it is disappointing to see that we have slipped back and now fall behind the Scottish Parliament in terms of female representation.

“Equal representation of women should be a basic requirement of Welsh democracy rather than an often-missed aspiration.

“This is something gender quotas would have enshrined in law, yet the Welsh Government dropped plans to legislate to make this a reality.

“As the guidance is voluntary, the responsibility of ensuring a gender equal and diverse Senedd now falls squarely on the political parties and their selection processes.

“An expanded Senedd after the next election means there is an even greater onus on the political parties to ensure the Senedd properly reflects the modern Wales.”