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Liberal Democrats mark International Women's Day by calling for better representation of women
March 5, 2010 11:15 AM
Originally published by East of England Liberal Democrats
Originally published by East of England Liberal Democrats
In yesterdays's debate in the House of Lords, two Liberal Democrats from the Region contributed their thoughts.
Baroness Williams of Crosby noted the link between representation of women in national Parliaments and good government;
"Look at the list of countries where 40 per cent or more of the people involved in representative democratic leadership are women. We all know in this House that the list consists of virtually every Scandinavian country-Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark-and some other, rather surprising countries in western Europe about which I have another word or two to say. Every one of those countries with more than 40 per cent representation by women meets the normal criteria of what it is to live a civilised and cohesive life-the rule of law, the acceptance of educational opportunities for women as well as men, objections to violence and a strong emphasis on conflict resolution. We are looking at a new division in the world. It is not the traditional division between the developed and the developing worlds but between those societies that are genuinely balanced between the genders and those subjected to what can only be described as continuing patriarchal power."
She continued;
"If you look not at the list of the rate of economic growth but, in our own Library, at the United Nations Human Development Report-the crucial measure of the quality of life and not just the quantity of economic output-in the top 20 countries are all those that have 40 per cent, or near it, female representation in their cabinets and parliaments. That is a staggering difference and one we would be unwise not to take seriously. The patriarchal countries still suffer in economic and social development from their rejection of the contribution that women can make. The United Nations has pointed out that this is one of the most marked distinctions between developing countries that are doing well and those that are not."
Her point was developed by Baroness Scott of Needham Market;
"I was particularly taken by the contribution of my noble friend Lady Williams and the link between the quality of governance in a nation and the number of women. If that does not give us pause for thought about how much more we need to do, I despair. It is sad that, whatever the political outcome of the general election in May, women will still be significantly underrepresented in our Parliament. That is very strange because there is no evidence that the public are unwilling to vote for female candidates; in fact the evidence is the reverse. In my party I do not come across the overt bias in selection processes that the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, came across some years ago, but not enough women are coming forward. This is something that I am very exercised about. I am trying to understand why more women are not coming forward.
It is a great pity that for most of the public the only thing they ever see of the work of an MP is the weekly testosterone-fuelled spectacle of Prime Minister's Question Time, which is very off-putting. It is a great shame that people do not get to see more of the other work of a Member of Parliament-representing their constituency, dealing with casework, being on Select Committees. These activities would feel much more worthwhile for women because, if noble Lords will forgive a sweeping generalisation, women on the whole would rather do things than be things. If what they see of an MP's work looks like a doing job, they would like to do it.
The House of Commons has reformed and its practices have changed, but at glacial speed. It is still a very family-unfriendly place and we have to work on that. A colleague recently came to me with a proposal for job-sharing for MPs. My first reaction was, "How on earth would you ever make that work?", but she sat down and explained it to me. I have to say that it is very persuasive as a way of encouraging both more women and people with young families. Noble Lords will be able to judge for themselves because she is appearing on "Woman's Hour" next week to put this case. It is something that bears scrutiny."
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