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Women in Politics: A revolution of sorts
May 14, 2006
Recent victories may have captured the spotlight, but equality remains inaccessible on the legislative branch.
Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Scan) Natasha Moore - In 2005, important gains were made regarding women's access to, and levels of participation in, political processes. We saw, under vastly different circumstances and across three continents, four women ascend to the highest political posts in their respective countries and the first opportunity for women in Kuwait to vote and stand for office.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) Natasha Moore - In 2005, important gains were made regarding women's access to, and levels of participation in, political processes. We saw, under vastly different circumstances and across three continents, four women ascend to the highest political posts in their respective countries and the first opportunity for women in Kuwait to vote and stand for office.
Michelle Bachelet in Chile, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia, Angela Merkel in Germany and Portia Simpson-Miller in Jamaica have recently taken office amid much media conversation about their personal history, their political experience, the job ahead and—as is customary—what they were wearing.
These four appointments provided an increase of more than 30 per cent in the number of women at the executive level—a positive gain—but also a stark indication of the under-representation of women in our political systems.
At the forefront of political change, New Zealand first gave women the right to vote in 1893. Finland awarded women dual democratic rights—to vote and stand for office—in 1906. Today there remain a small number of countries who refuse women this basic human right.
An analysis of women's political participation must consider not only the barriers within political institutions themselves—such as the masculine structure of the political game—but also gender inequality within historical, social, ideological and cultural contexts. Women's inability to participate is exacerbated by the feminization of poverty, illiteracy and lack of education, and importantly by stereotypical roles that define women through their reproductive and care giving responsibilities.
The fact that women comprise 70 per cent of those living in poverty, contribute twice as much unpaid work as men and on average earn 75 per cent less than their male colleagues contextualizes women's experience and the barriers to participation.
Change however, is occurring. The feminization of politics—particularly in Europe, the United States, Latin America and Africa—sees a growing female electorate. Within the world's aging populations, women live longer and increasingly account for a majority of the voting public. In post-conflict environments, such as Rwanda, women substantially outnumber men and their numbers within political structures have swollen almost to representative levels. Grassroots organizations in new democracies have provided a voice for marginalized and minority groups.
In addition to the socio-demographic factors that have bolstered women's political representation, quotas—established to secure space specifically for women—are also producing positive results. Sweden, Norway and Finland lead the western world with the highest proportion of female parliamentary representatives and do so through quotas that acknowledge and attempt to eliminate barriers to women's participation.
Rwanda is unique in that warfare has forced a type of woman's revolution. Outnumbering men seven to three, women account for 48.8 per cent of parliamentary representatives. Indeed, years of conflict, corruption and democratic decay in Africa have produced a growth in women's grassroots organizing with a distinctively feminist voice.
How this translates into action lends to much debate. Studies indicate contradictory findings regarding women's performance in the public sphere both in terms of how femininity is expressed and how it is perceived. Common assumptions hold that women are more approachable, conscientious and collaborative than men in positions of leadership, but research refuting this finds that men and women demonstrate and admire similar qualities in a leader including vision, commitment and communication, playing down a distinctively feminine political style.
If New Zealand represented the force for change at the turn of the past century, now it is an example of a new era of women in power. Dubbed the 'new girls network' some of the countries most significant and powerful positions are held by women including prime minister Helen Clark, attorney general Margaret Wilson, and chief justice Sian Elias.
Despite evident gains there remain institutional norms preventing women from gaining a critical mass of representation within our political systems and throughout all aspects of public engagement. In an article on Liberia's Johnson-Sirleaf, Newsweek wrote, "No one doubts her sincerity. But look what she's up against." One wonders if a similar sentence would have been written if a man had been elected.
