Gender quotas have been identified as an important contributor to changes in women’s political representation in Western Europe.
They act as a process of change and a facilitator of women’s political inclusion. They give women access to power structures and the ability to participate in the agenda-setting process.
As it may take decades before all social, cultural and political barriers preventing equal representation of women are eradicated, many view quotas as a ‘kick-start’ in the process of getting more women elected to parliament.
Introducing quota provisions in politics has been considered a legitimate equal opportunity measure in many countries.
Several types of quota exist.
Larserud and Taphorn[1] (2007: 8 – 9) describe the various types of quotas and application measures that are possible:-
“Constitutional quotas are enshrined in the country’s constitution, while legislative quotas are enshrined in the election law, political party law or other comparable law of a country. Non-compliance with legislative or constitutional quotas can result in penalties”.
Alternatively, there are Voluntary Party quotas which are “adopted voluntarily by political parties. They are set by parties themselves to guarantee the nomination of a certain number or proportion of women. As the name reveals, voluntary party quotas are not legally binding”.
How are gender quotas applied?
Quotas can be applied to the nomination phase of candidate selection with the aim of providing for a certain number of women on the ballot paper. Such a process allows women to be placed before the electorate for election. Such quotas can be loose targets (for example, 25 per cent of all party candidates must be women) to stricter regulations which not alone specify the number or proportion of women candidates that must be selected, but also specify where on the ballot paper they are to be positioned (for example, the zipper system which prescribes that every other candidate on the ballot paper must be a woman).
“In the nomination process, quotas can be applied voluntarily by the parties, as well as being officially regulated by law through for example the election law or the constitution” (Larserud and Taphorn, 2007: 9).
Gender quotas may also take the form of a Results-based quota. This type of quota ensures that either a certain percentage of parliamentary seats or a certain number of parliamentary seats are reserved for women. When results-based quotas are used, they must be provided for in either a country’s constitution or electoral law to ensure that the predetermined percentage or number of seats reserved for women are achieved. Results-based quotas can take the form of “a separate ‘women-only’ list or electoral district, or a ‘women-only’ electoral tier, electing women to a predetermined number of seats” (Larserud and Taphorn, 2007: 9).
Do gender quotas work?
Gender quotas are now used in more than one hundred countries worldwide (Krook, 2010: xx). They have been very effective in raising the number of women to parliament. Belgium[2], France, FYR of Macedonia and Spain are examples of countries where legal gender quotas (quotas enshrined in either a country’s constitution or provided for by legislation) have been introduced (or extended in the case of Belgium) in the past decade. In these countries, a certain percentage of each party’s list of election candidates must be women (50 per cent in Belgium and France; 40 per cent in Spain; 30 per cent in FYR of Macedonia).
The impact of the introduction of these quotas has been quite significant in terms of the number of women being elected to parliament.
- In Belgium, women’s representation rose from 12.7 per cent in 1995 to 35.3 per cent in 2007.
- In FYR Macedonia, the percentage figure of women’s representation rose from 6.6 per cent in 1998 to 31.7 per cent in 2008.
- In Spain, it rose from 26.7 per cent in 1996 to 36.3 per cent in 2008.
- In France the figure rose from 10.9 per cent in 1997 to 18.9 per cent in 2007.
To be effective, legal sanctions for non-compliance must be included…
such as reducing public funding for political parties as is the case in France; limiting the number of candidates as in Belgium; or simply not approving lists as is the case in Spain and FYR Macedonia.
The use of voluntary party quotas has also been very successful. These have been quite prominent in the Scandinavian region and amongst leftist and Green parties in many European countries. The Scandinavian region is a regular ‘table-topper’ in league tables of women’s representation in parliament. It has been found that the larger the party to introduce voluntary quotas, the greater the contagion effect. In Norway, the Socialist party was the first party to use voluntary party quotas back in 1975. However, it was not until the Norwegian Labour Party, the largest party, introduced voluntary quotas in 1983, that there was a sea-change in all party’s attitudes towards quotas. Growing nervous of the electoral advantage the Labour Party were gaining from being considered ‘women friendly’, the Centre Party and the Christian Peoples’ Party introduced quota in 1989 and 1993 respectively. The Labour Party’s decision to introduce quotas had a ‘contagion effect’ amongst other parties. If only the Fine Gael proposal to introduce quotas for the selection of their women candidates was carried through earlier this year, Ireland may have witnessed a similar spread of quotas throughout the party system.
Are gender quotas currently in use in Ireland?
Many Irish political parties have introduced what are termed as ‘soft’ party quotas or targets. The 2007 Labour Party manifesto is committed to introducing a one-third party quota from 2012 (update information to note recent Bill); the Green Party actively promote women’s candidacy through the use of party quotas; Sinn Féin supports the call for affirmative action on gender quotas (need to check the nature of this support). Fianna Fáil are committed to implementing a Gender Equality Action Plan and aspire to having women comprise one-third of all candidates for local and general elections by 2014. Unfortunately, a proposal by Fine Gael to introduce a voluntary party quota into that party was defeated in March 2010.
What is the current position of women in Irish politics today?
Today, there are currently 23 women in Dáil Éireann, which accounts for a paltry 13.85 per cent of the seats. The figures for Seanad Éireann are only marginally better where twelve of the 60 senators (20 per cent of the seats) are women. Ireland currently lies in 84th position, ranked equally with Cameroon, in a world classification table of women’s representation in parliament compiled by the inter-parliamentary union. Of the 27 EU member states, Ireland is ranked in 23rd position (only Cyprus, Romania, Hungary and Malta are ranked lower). Women account for 17 per cent of the members of local authorities and just 12 per cent of the members of regional authorities. Only eighty-two women out of a total of 470 candidates contested the General Election in 2007. This is the lowest number of female candidates to contest a general election since 1989.
Since 1990, when Mary Robinson was elected as Ireland’s first woman president, women’s proportion of political representation has reduced drastically. Ireland was then 37th in the world classification of women’s representation in the lower house of parliament. Before 1981, the average Dáil contained only four women. 1981 saw a record number of eleven women elected to Dáil Éireann. Since then, the average number of women in Dáil Éireann has increased to 15. The figures for women TDs and candidates in 1981, low as they were, represented record levels at the time, and marked a turning point in women’s parliamentary seat holding. However, since then, progress has been relatively modest and appears to have stalled at about 22 seats. The percentage of women TDs has never exceeded 14 per cent in Dáil Éireann[3].
Should legislative gender quotas be introduced in Ireland?
Yes. There is clearly a democratic deficit in Ireland that must be rectified. A male-dominated political system is not reflective of a population composed of close to 50 per cent male and female voters. The National Women’s Council of Ireland recently advised that at the current rate of change it will take Ireland 370 years before we see a gender balanced parliamenrt. The continuing minimal presence of women in politics poses serious questions for the context, style and substance of political representation in Ireland. Change is required and required now. Thus, the introduction of legislative gender quotas is an urgent necessity.
The Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Women in Politics[4] reported in November 2009 and recommended the introduction of candidate quota legislation modelled on that system used in countries such as Belgium and France. Under this system, no party could have more than two-thirds of their candidates of one gender. The report advised that such legislation should be introduced on a temporary basis only, and would have “an inbuilt sunset clause to ensure that when targets are met, the law will lapse” (Oireachtas Report on Women in Politics, 2009: 32). To date, this legislation has yet to be introduced.
Are gender quotas discriminatory towards male candidates?
Analysis of quota discourse reveals that resistance to quotas is connected primarily to the belief that quotas are in conflict with the concept of liberal democracy and the principle of merit. Some consider quotas to be a form of discrimination and a violation of the principles of fairness of competence. If we take the actual exclusion of women as the starting point, that is, if we recognise that many barriers exist that prevent women from entering politics (such as childcare, culture, candidate selection methods) then quotas are not viewed as discriminating, but, instead, as compensation for the many obstacles that women face. Quotas should be viewed as compensation for structural barriers that prevent fair electoral competition.
Would gender quotas not undermine women’s credibility as election candidates in their own right?
As soon as legal and social obstacles were removed to allow women access to work outside the home or to education, for example, gender balance became more the norm rather than the exception. Gender quotas are, similiarly, merely a means to redressing obstacles in the path of greater gender balance in the Irish politics. Political parties select candidates for election. Direct discrimination and a complex pattern of hidden barriers prevent women from being selected as candidates and getting their share of political influence. Quotas and other forms of positive measures are thus a means towards equality of result. As stated in the Oireachtas report on Women in Politics (2009:32) “unless effective positive action measures are adopted, Ireland will continue to languish at the bottom of the international league tables for women’s representation, and our democracy will remain ‘unfinished’”.
Acknowledgements
www.quotaproject.org : Stockholm University
Report of the Oireachtas Committee of Oct 2009
[1] Larserud, S. and Taphorn, R. (2007) Designing for Equality: Best-fit, medium-fit and non-favourable combinations of electoral systems and gender quotas, Stockholm: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
[2] It is useful to compare Belgium and Ireland in terms of changes in women’s participation. In 1995, Belgium was in 34th position in the world table of women’s representation in parliament with 12.7 per cent women. At that time, Ireland was very close to the Belgian position, ranked in 37th place with women constituting 12 per cent of the Dáil’s deputies. In 1994, the ‘Smet-Tobback Law’ was introduced in Belgium, aimed at increasing the proportion of women candidates at all political levels; communal (local), European Parliament, federal and regional elections. This law stipulated that no electoral lists would comprise more than two-thirds of candidates of the same sex. Belgium now has 38 per cent women in parliament, and is ranked 4th in the EU, and 12th in the Worldwide Tables in terms of women’s representation.
[3] At the time of writing six of the current 23 women in Dáil Éireann have announced that they will not contest the 2011 General Election.
[4] http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/committees30thdail/j-justiceedwr/reports_2008/20091105.pdf
