The original edition of Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, published in 1998, was produced as part of International IDEA’s work on women and political participation. 

Since its release, the picture regarding women’s political participation has slowly changed. Overall, the past decade has seen gradual progress with regard to women’s presence in national parliaments.

In 2002 International IDEA published expanded translations of the Handbook in French and Spanish, featuring case studies of women's experiences in Francophone Africa and Latin America, respectively. In 2002 a further edition was published in Bahasa Indonesia, with case studies from the Asia-Pacific region. English versions of these region-specific case studies are available below. 

Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, A Revised Edition, published in 2005, incorporates relevant global changes, and presents new and updated case studies.