OSCE Round Table, How do Politics and Economic Growth Benefit from More Involvement of Women?, Chisinau,

Transcription

1 OSCE Round Table, How do Politics and Economic Growth Benefit from More Involvement of Women?, Chisinau, Quota and non-quota provisions best practices in the EU President Dr Werner Zögernitz Institute for Parliamentarism and Democracy Questions, Vienna Women make up over 50% of the population in the European Union. With high educational standards it can be said that today women are well-qualified to fulfil duties of high political office. However women are underrepresented at all levels in political life in most EU countries eg in governments, in national legislatures, in the European parliament and as mayors of cities and so on. Fair participation is important in a mature democracy. Both majority and minority interests and groups have to be taken into account. The low percentage of women in 1

2 politics is a potential loss of talent to the community and a waste of educational resources. In addition a report of the European Parliament found that more than half of women in the EU would support a fair balance of women in the European Parliament. They preferred however to encourage women to fight elections in their own right rather than quotas. In our publication on Women in Politics which came out last year we showed that female representation in the first chamber of parliament was, on average, in the EU just 24%. Malta has under nine percent and Sweden over 47%. Since the study came out there have been only few changes. Our research has shown that women are even less likely to achieve high, prestigious and influential posts in politics eg heads of government, heads of state, senior cabinet positions, mayors of large cities and so on. These on the whole remain male bastions. Women are more likely to be found as so-called junior ministers or as ordinary backbenchers in parliament with limited influence on day-to-day decision-making. 2

3 In your handout you find figures for the percentage of women mayors in EU countries (note without deputy mayors). Women mayors are rare in the EU. Until recently there was only one female head of government, Angela Merkl (CDU) in Germany. Now there is a female head of government in Finland (Centre-Liberal) and also in Slovakia (Conservative Slovakian Democratic and Christian Union) making just over 11%. It should also be noted that Spain has a cabinet with a strict gender balance. In some countries female heads of state have been directly elected by the people eg Finland, Ireland and Lithuania. Much depends on the personality of the candidate and charisma. Our latest publication analysing cabinets in the EU countries notes the introduction of ministries that specifically deal with gender issues and equality of opportunity. As you will see from your handout this kind of ministry is an exception in the EU. 3

4 In Austria there is such a minister in the federal chancellery. Other countries where such ministries occur are: Germany, Sweden, UK, Spain, Denmark and Italy. In Germany eg a female minister heads a department with a male parliamentary state secretary and a male state secretary. In Sweden there is a similar situation. Female ministers should also respect a gender balance. The trend towards more female representation in politics on the whole remains upward but the pace is slow. And sometimes there are even setbacks. In Hungary and the Czech Republic the recently formed governments have no women as senior ministers. We can also differentiate between the types of positions that women are likely to get in politics. For example as chairwomen of parliamentary committees or in government ministries. For the most part women are more likely to be in ministries and committees dealing with family questions, social affairs and the like. Merely having women as ministers in more female type departments reinforces the stereotyping of women. 4

5 Here too there are signs of change and today in Austria, Finland, Latvia and Slovenia there is a female minister of the interior. In the UK the interior minister is also a woman and is also responsible for women and equality. Denmark has female ministers for foreign affairs and defence. Slovenia also has a female minister of defence. In Lithuania you find a female minister of finance. Now to the question of quotas. Here you have in your handout a summary of the quota provisions in the 27 EU member states. Quotas can be of different types. - compulsory with sanctions - compulsory without sanctions - voluntary They can also be applied at different levels. - in the constitution - in simple laws or regulations on national, regional or local level 5

6 - with or without ranking rules - they can be written in the party programmes, voluntary or compulsory, with or without details on percentages etc Generally it can be said that quotas can be helpful but when their objective is fulfilled they could be dispensed with as was the case in eg Denmark. Also it should be noted that the formulation of quota rules should avoid any discrimination of men. Such a law then could be declared unconstitutional and revoked. The debate for and against quotas is controversial. What is the case for quotas? For: 1. women make up over half of the population and should be fairly represented in political life. Quotas help this. 2. quotas can help overcome existing barriers and are thus not discriminatory 3. quotas encourage parties to put up female candidates. Parties see that this will be honoured by the voters (snowball effect). 6

7 4. democratic legitimacy is increased through more female participation in politics 5. women are more likely to go into politics if they think there is a real chance of being elected. What is the case against quotas? Against: 1. there are other groups in society not just women 2. merit is more important than gender 3. quotas discriminate against men 4. parties lose their scope for decision-making on selection of candidates; quotas are therefore undemocratic 5. women themselves do not want to be selected just because they are women ( quota women ). Also researchers have found that in some countries previously under communist rule, quotas are unpopular since they are seen as a relic of Soviet times when the central committee anyway made the decisions. Clearly quotas to have any effect must be applied with democratic intentions. This means placing women on the 7

8 party list in an order where they have a real chance of being elected. Some parties include so-called zipping alternating between male and female candidates. It should be noted at this point that the electoral system plays a big part when it comes to women in politics. Our research shows that in majority electoral systems applied for parliamentary elections in Britain and to some extent in France, women are at a disadvantage. In a constituency there is only one winner and the top dog is likely to be a man. France has constitutional provisions for national elections which sees an obligation on the part of political parties to observe an equal access of women and men to political representation (Parité Laws). There are also financial sanctions. But despite this France has low female representation for the parliamentary elections (19%). At European Parliament elections however the proportional representation system is applied in all EU countries. In France last year 44% women were elected, in the UK 33% (compared with 22% at the parliamentary 8

9 election this year). Finland with 62% has the highest percentage of women in Strasbourg. Malta returned no women to the European Parliament. The average EU figure was 35% confirming an upward trend. Either way we can say that political parties themselves are truly the gatekeepers when it comes to promoting political participation of women. Generally it can be said that at the beginning the parties on the left of the political spectrum have taken the initiative in introducing quotas but these have been quickly adopted by more conservative parties that did not want to get left behind or seem undemocratic and out of date. Parties too should ensure that they democratise their own structures to allow for more gender balance. As I mentioned quota provisions can include sanctions. These can be of different kinds eg financial penalties or refusal to accept the list if it does not confirm to the regulation. Financial penalties tend however to penalise the smaller parties since a bigger party will have more money. 9

10 On the whole quotas can help women to get elected but not necessarily move up the career ladder. Furthermore quotas cannot compensate for everything and there are other reasons for poor representation of women in politics that need action. Independent researchers focus on these four main areas: Culture Childcare Cash Confidence Culture: In Scandinavian countries eg the political culture is more open to the political participation of women. In fact it has been noted eg in Denmark that if a party failed to nominate fairly female candidates, it would be shunned by voters. Childcare: Often women do not just have to look after the young but also the elderly and time off for evening or weekend meetings is difficult. 10

11 Cash: Fighting an election campaign is costly. Politicians are expected to look good and especially women are critically examined by the media when it comes to what they wear. Confidence: Male politicians will be praised if they present themselves with self-confidence as showing strong leadership. A female politician runs the risk of being described as too dominant. Now we can consider some ways for improving female representation in politics. Culture: This is something that politicians themselves have to work on to avoid scandals. Otherwise not just women will be put off getting involved in politics but also well-educated males. Childcare: political organisations can offer crèche facilities or ensure that politics does not take place at times which disrupt family life. Politics however is very much a profession that requires attendance at events on holidays and weekends. 11

12 France and Britain eg have taken note of school holidays when allowing for a recess of parliament. Cash: legislation to ensure that women are fairly paid can help but parties also can assist female candidates. Confidence: Mentoring and training programmes can help women to present themselves to the media. Women already in politics can help coach others considering a career. To conclude there are many lessons to be learnt from EU countries - gender provisions applied in eg Spain and Belgium, the constitutional provisions in France, the culture of the Scandinavian countries, inter-party parliamentary networks (Finland, France) and special ministries for gender equality (eg Austria, Germany, Sweden etc) The case for more women in politics however will not be helped if women adopt an attitude of exclusion towards men in an effort to move into the corridors of power. This very point was made at the recent Supplementary 12

13 Human Dimension Meeting of the OSCE on gender in Vienna and noted in the final report which recommended the adoption of coalitions of both men and women to promote gender equality eg in parties, legislatures and governments. Here I quote, such coalitions can be decisive in mobilising support in legislatures for passing important equality laws and ensuring that implementation across various government bodies is gaining ground. Further details are in the handout we have provided. melanie.sully@parlamentarismus.at 13