SUMMARY

— One World Action, an international non-governmental organisation working for gender equality and democratic governance in Africa, Asia and Latin America, welcomes the consideration by the Speaker's Conference of the disparity between the representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in the House of Commons and their representation in the UK population at large. In particular, One World Action believes that women's political rights and the rights of minorities are vital to both justice and democracy and to securing and retaining all other rights.

— Despite this, in the UK Parliament, only 19.5% of parliamentarians are women, putting the UK in 59th place among other parliaments in the world in terms of the promotion of women members. This is lower than Rwanda, Afghanistan, China and Honduras and certainly much lower than some European countries. The UK is falling behind and thus is weakening its credibility as a leading promoter of women's rights and gender equality internationally.

— It took a long time for women to get the vote. One World Action believes that without positive action, it will take centuries more to gain gender balance in political institutions. One World Action's More Women, More Power Campaign is campaigning for radical measures to ensure that women occupy 50 per cent or more of seats in parliaments and elected bodies worldwide.

— One World Action calls on the government to take steps to rectify the imbalance in women's political representation and to take immediate action to implement Article 7 of CEDAW through measures such as legislative action on quotas and/or a gender parity principle, all-women shortlists and constituency twinning.

— One World Action also urges political parties worldwide to adopt radical measures to enable women to participate fully in political decision-making, including quotas, all-women shortlists and constituency twinning.

I.  Problems caused by the unbalanced gender representation in the House of Commons

  1.  One World Action sees women's political rights as vital to securing and retaining all other rights. While we see the family, community, workplace, civil society and social movements as important political spaces, we believe that it is a matter of justice and democracy that women should be fairly represented in formal political decision-making at local, national, regional and international levels.

  2.  There is evidence that women's greater representation in political bodies makes a big difference for women and wider society. The presence of women in greater numbers ensures different perspectives, solutions and approaches in decision-making. It means that issues around gender equality and equity are acknowledged and addressed within international and national policy debates—for example on the economy, trade, climate change, foreign policy and defence. It also means that issues such as marriage and divorce, equality under the law, violence against women, reproductive rights and health, rape, public services, caring, equal pay, parental leave, pensions and others critical to the welfare of women, men and children are prioritised.

II.  The problems and practical difficulties encountered by women who are looking to become MPs?

  3.  The barriers to women's political participation in the UK and worldwide are numerous, pervasive and well-known: women are expected to conform to stereotypes, their contributions are not valued, they have to fulfil multiple roles, they lack the confidence, resources or access to claim positions of power and they are confronted with the patriarchal bias of political parties, structures, systems and procedures. Across the world, gender-based violence is one of the key factors preventing and limiting women's participation in political processes and in holding government to account.

  4.  Yet—despite these barriers—some oppose positive action for equality on the grounds that it goes against the principle of meritocracy. This is a flawed argument with a built-in bias—justified in terms of men's superiority rather than the outcome of centuries of discrimination against women. It took a long time for women to get the vote. Without positive action, it will take centuries more to gain gender balance in political institutions.

III.  What actions could be taken by the Government to address gender disparities in representation?

  5.  Laws and international agreements to promote women's political participation are in place.

  6.  In 1995, government representatives the world over went to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. They agreed a Declaration and Platform for Action. The Platform calls on all governments to review electoral systems, reform them if needed, and encourage political parties to integrate women in elective and non-elective positions "in the same proportion and at the same levels as men". Adopting a Gender Parity principle would mean getting in equal or as near as equal as possible numbers of women and men in all bodies and committees

  7.  The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was signed on 18 December 1979 and has been ratified by almost all countries worldwide. Article 7 says that all States who ratify the Convention "shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country." One World Action urges the government to take immediate action to implement Article 7 of CEDAW through measures such as legislative action on quotas, all-women shortlists or constituency twinning.

IV.  What actions have been, or could be, taken by political parties to address gender disparities in representation?

  8.  One World Action's More Women More Power Campaign is calling for women to occupy 50 per cent or more of seats in parliaments and elected bodies worldwide. We are campaigning for radical measures to enable women to participate fully in political decision-making. We believe that pushing for women's greater representation—at home and abroad—will help end centuries of discrimination and will contribute towards more robust democracies and equitable development worldwide. Positive action aims to rectify systemic inequalities in a bold and comprehensive manner. Slow, incremental changes are no longer sufficient.

  9.  One World Action calls on political parties to adopt all-women shortlists as an effective and quick way to reach equality in representation. Candidates must be selected from a list made up of women only.

  10.  One World Action urges political parties to adopt quotas aimed at political parties (and/or governance structures) as a form of positive action to correct the inequalities which systematically exclude women from elected political positions.

  11.  One World Action would like to see the use of constituency twinning by political parties, which pairs constituencies with a woman and a man selected in the twinned areas, noting that to achieve significant results, twinning has to be widespread.

V.  What actions have been taken elsewhere in the UK and overseas, and by whom, to address similar concerns?

  12.  Rwanda's Constitution is committed to the principle of 30% of all decision-making posts at national and 20% at sub-national level to be allocated to women. Rwanda now has 55% of women in its national parliament, putting the country at number 1 in the international ranking and surpassing the commitment in its Constitution to ensuring equal rights between women and men.

  13.  The African Union (AU) has adopted a 30% target which will be raised to gender parity in all areas of decision-making by 2020. They aim to reach the targets through affirmative action, reform to electoral systems, criteria for the selection of women candidates and for recruitment for appointments, and awareness raising.

  14.  After the Marcos dictatorship fell in the Philippines in 1986, the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) sought to maximise and broaden the newly opened up democratic local and national political space by strengthening the capacity of people's organisations and social groups to participate in various spheres of governance. One World Action supports IPD's work in coordinating the Citizen Participation in Local Governance (CPLG) in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia, enhancing citizens' capabilities to engage in local governance.

  15.  In the Philippines, a Party List Law was passed in 1995 making it compulsory to include women on political party lists. Twenty per cent of the 250 seats in the Lower House are allocated for women and marginalised groups.

  16.  Sustained pressure by women's organisations and women in political parties in Bolivia was successful in achieving an Electoral Code which mandated all parties to have at least 30% women on their national lists. However, parties have been slow to implement this and political violence against women in commonplace.

  17.  In El Salvador and with support from One World Action, a Braille machine was purchased for printing Braille voting slips so that blind & partially sighted people—and particularly blind women—do not have to depend on others to vote for them and so they could vote in secret. Alongside the purchase, 200 electoral officials are being trained in the use of Braille slips and in the rights of blind and partially sighted people; 50 police men and women are being trained on how to assist blind and partially sighted people in the voting stations; 50 young people who elected to do social service by helping at election periods are being trained on how to assist blind and partially sighted people in the voting stations; and 100 blind and partially sighted people are being trained in using the Braille voting slips and in replicating their training with others in their local groups and/or organisations.

  18.  In Zambia and Malawi, One World Action is working in partnership with two women's lobby groups on a project called Amai Tengani Mbali Mu Demokalase, "Women for Democracy". The aim of the project is to promote women's equal and inclusive participation and representation in decision-making. Working with some of the poorest and most marginalised women and girls the project focuses on achieving four key outcomes: better civic and rights education for women and girls; a 30% increase of women in leadership positions; greater voice for women in decisions about basic services (eg. education, health, land and justice); and stronger and more effective women's lobbies, particularly at local government and community level. To achieve this, the project has developed a range of activities, some of which include; providing advice and training for local women leaders/aspiring candidates; promoting greater access to information for elected women MPs and councillors through a student internship scheme and women's support desk; providing gender training for National Executive Committee members of all political parties; and establishing forums and other spaces where African women political leaders and activists can exchange and share information, experience and knowledge.

  19.  In Honduras, the Centro de Estudios de la Mujer (CEM-H) and the Parliamentary Women's Committee in the National Assembly have developed a form which women MPs complete to record how well they are acting on the grassroots women's agenda. Women MPs and CEM-H are monitoring the national budget targets and benefits to women's rights programmes, in particular the $16 million funds allocated to the government women's office.

  20.  India amended its constitution with effect from 1994 to reserve one-third of seats in local self-governing bodies (panchayats and municipalities) for women. The result was spectacular, with thousands of women being elected. The on-going challenge is to support these women so that they can be effective and stay in office.

  21.  The Equality Law, passed in Spain in 2007 introduced the "principle of balanced presence" and required political party electoral lists to have a minimum of 40% and a maximum of 60% of women or men as candidates in general, regional, European and local elections. The impact was dramatic: women are now 36.3% of the Spanish parliament and hold nine ministerial posts (eight are held by men).

  22.  Some parts of the UK have likewise made progress. Women are 34.1% of the Scottish Parliament and 46.7% of the Welsh Assembly. This was achieved through some political parties adopting all-women shortlists and constituency twinning.

  23.  We urge the UK to learn from and follow quickly the example of these countries.