tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/womens-representation-48805/articlesWomen's representation – The Conversation2023-11-27T19:17:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183472023-11-27T19:17:32Z2023-11-27T19:17:32ZHow your money is helping subsidise sexism in academia – and what you can do about it<p>It’s frightening to imagine where the world would be right now without mRNA vaccines. The COVID-busting technology <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/mrna-vaccine-revolution-katalin-kariko/">revolutionised vaccine development</a> at an internationally critical moment – with massive implications for people’s health, wellbeing and the global economy.</p>
<p>Yet imagine we must – because some of the research most crucial to the development of mRNA vaccines almost didn’t happen.</p>
<p>Biochemist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katalin-Kariko">Katalin Karikó’s</a> fascination with the therapeutic potential of mRNA began in the early 1990s, but she received little encouragement. She was undervalued and underfunded throughout her university career and eventually left academia.</p>
<p>When she went on to jointly win the Nobel Prize for Medicine for her pioneering role in developing the mRNA technology that allowed the world to take on COVID, Karikó’s former employer, the University of Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/10/03/researcher-demoted-by-university-of-pennsylvania-wins-nobel-prize-for-mrna-discoveries-and-some-academics-urge-penn-to-apologize/?sh=227a13cb68b1">tried to take credit</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1709214249266847957"}"></div></p>
<p>Yet during her time there, the university <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/10/03/researcher-demoted-by-university-of-pennsylvania-wins-nobel-prize-for-mrna-discoveries-and-some-academics-urge-penn-to-apologize/?sh=227a13cb68b1">sidelined and demoted Karikó</a>, eventually <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=514nzDeT7WM&ab_channel=NobelPrize">pushing her out</a> altogether. While it would be nice to think of Karikó’s experience as an aberration, her experience - as we highlight in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-023-00624-3.epdf?sharing_token=gTOgpetseLdnjca2_9Hgk9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Os9buY1YZg369tprUI8R4tE1kHIVUshCsCo-QKEUAJYagHcGPxf5SREieGp6HtI5EFMB9XTL_gCHcjMmfBri6InvilMNKfPvtOiZntXCRh87wFh1PO_QOoKOPxvx_Jtcw%3D">our new paper</a> - is all too common for women in academia. </p>
<h2>Barriers to women’s success</h2>
<p>Academia is widely viewed as a meritocracy, a bastion of liberalism, and a place where people go to pursue a higher calling. The data, however, point to a dark side to the ivory tower.</p>
<p>For instance, a <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/sexual-harassment-in-academia">major report</a> published in 2019 by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine showed rates of sexual harassment in academia are second only to those in the military.</p>
<p>More common than overtly sexualised harassment, however, is gender bias. <a href="https://www.cell.com/article/S0896-6273(21)00417-7/fulltext">Studies reveal</a> women’s research receives tougher assessment, less funding, fewer prizes, and less citation than men’s. Women professors <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10755-014-9313-4">receive lower evaluations</a> and more criticism from students – both male and female – and face higher expectations as mentors.</p>
<p>Women often face chilly academic climates, isolation, job insecurity, stalled promotions and unequal or limited access to resources. These tendencies can easily verge on incivility, ostracism, online abuse, academic sabotage and malicious allegations. And these problems are worse for women of colour, and those who belong to <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-women-underrepresented-groups-sexual-academic.html">sexual and gender minority</a> groups.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-women-of-colour-in-science-face-a-subtly-hostile-work-environment-130204">'Death by a thousand cuts': women of colour in science face a subtly hostile work environment</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When women are brave enough to speak out, it usually backfires. At best, they may face minimisation or silencing. More damaging is retaliation, including from institutions themselves. Women can find themselves <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00473-8">placed on probation</a>, under investigation, targeted for character assassination, facing retaliatory accusations, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01600-7#:%7E:text=08%20June%202022-,Max%20Planck%27s%20cherished%20autonomy%20questioned%20following%20criticism%20of%20misconduct%20investigations,investigations%20into%20them%20lacked%20transparency">demoted</a> or even <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01286-5">fired</a>.</p>
<h2>Bad for science and a waste of funding</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03251-8">massive study</a> of almost a quarter of a million US academics showed women are leaving academia at significantly higher rates than men.</p>
<p>They are also leaving for different reasons. While men are more likely to leave because they have been attracted by better opportunities, the number-one reason women cite for leaving is toxic workplaces.</p>
<p>The outcome of this gradual attrition is that women continue to be vastly underrepresented in senior academic positions: as full professors, research directors, and heads of research institutions and universities.</p>
<p><iframe id="fSdfk" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/fSdfk/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The loss of so many women from research and higher education isn’t just a social or ethical issue. It’s also an economic one. Women in academia reflect investment. Their many years of post-secondary education, their training, their research – it all costs money. This money is wasted when they are pushed out of academia.</p>
<p>The worst bias and explicit harassment often comes as <a href="https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/2018/09/24/the-tallest-poppy-high-performing-women-pay-a-steep-price-for-success">women achieve greater success</a>. Rates of departure between men and women really start to widen <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03251-8">about 15 years</a> after academics finish their PhDs. </p>
<p>This means higher education and research are often losing women with the most experience and promise, and in whom the greatest funding investments have been made.</p>
<h2>Follow the money</h2>
<p>As current and former institutional heads and research leaders, we suggest it’s time to follow the money. Where does all this wasted money come from?</p>
<p>You, the taxpayer.</p>
<p>Higher education, research and science all are, in many parts of the world, funded mostly through public sources. This means when higher education and research organisations fail to tackle the persistent sexism, discrimination and harassment that are driving women out, they are throwing your money out the window.</p>
<p>Or you can think of it another way: your taxes are subsidising sexism.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-309-544-patent-applications-and-found-inventing-is-still-a-mans-world-188600">We studied 309,544 patent applications – and found inventing is still a man’s world</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The buck stops here</h2>
<p>The fact that tax money supports higher education and research also presents an opportunity: taxpayers can demand change in how their taxes are used.</p>
<p>They can demand efficiency in public funding – efficiency that will lead to less sexism in the institutions educating our children, and to more of the science we desperately need to address the collective challenges we face.</p>
<p>We call on governments to address sexism in higher education and research as a matter of urgency, such as by:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>acknowledging that self-regulation isn’t working</strong>. <br><br>Universities and research institutions have implemented gender equity initiatives and policies for decades. Yet gender biases remain entrenched.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>developing effective and transparent systems for measuring gender equity, and applying them to all publicly funded higher education and research institutions</strong>. <br><br> This means collecting and publishing data on recruitment, appointment, salaries, workload allocation, promotions, discrimination, harassment, misconduct, demotion, dismissal and departure.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>making funding in higher education and research dependent on the achievement of gender equity targets</strong>. <br><br> Institutions currently receive public funding regardless of whether they uphold a fair academic culture that provides equal opportunity for men and woman. <br><br>Disregard for rules, procedures and laws designed to achieve gender equity does not hold institutions back from receiving continued public funding. This lack of accountability helps perpetuate gender bias. It needs to change.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You can join us in pressing for these changes by contacting your local representative, organising and submitting petitions, or reporting concerns to organisations designed to investigate possible abuses of public funding (such as federal auditing offices).</p>
<p>The story of Karikó and the transformative research that almost never was should be the wake-up call we need to demand better.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-5-years-this-australian-astrophysics-lab-reached-50-women-heres-how-they-did-it-216632">In 5 years, this Australian astrophysics lab reached 50% women. Here’s how they did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susanne Täuber is affiliated with the Academic Parity Movement and the Network Against Power Abuse in Science. Both are non-profit organizations fighting harassment and power abuse in academia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet G. Hering, Nicole Boivin, and Ursula Keller do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Studies reveal women’s research receives tougher assessment, less funding, fewer prizes and less citation than men’s.Nicole Boivin, Professor, Max Planck Institute of GeoanthropologyJanet G. Hering, Director emerita, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologySusanne Täuber, Affiliated researcher, University of AmsterdamUrsula Keller, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ZurichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1482612020-10-25T19:04:28Z2020-10-25T19:04:28ZQueensland is making election history with two women leaders, so why is the campaign focused on men?<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/remember-quexit-5-reasons-you-should-not-take-your-eyes-off-the-queensland-election-146926">Queensland election</a> is a history-making poll. For the first time in a state or federal election, two women are going head-to-head. </p>
<p>Does this mean gender equality issues are finally writ large across an election campaign? </p>
<p>Sadly, neither Labor’s Annastacia Palaszczuk, nor the Liberal National Party’s Deb Frecklington appear to be interested in highlighting the needs and perspectives of women ahead of election day on October 31. </p>
<h2>Women making political history in Queensland</h2>
<p>Labor goes into this election with a remarkably strong — and rare — record of female ministers in recent years. </p>
<p>In 2009, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/03/22/2522899.htm">Anna Bligh</a> became the first woman in Australia to win an election as premier. Six years later, Palaszczuk was the first woman to lead an opposition into government. </p>
<p>She also had the first female dominated-cabinet in Australian history - with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/16/the-palaszczuk-ministry-includes-a-majority-of-women-but-dont-expect-a-revolution">eight out of the 14</a> ministers being women in 2015. After the most recent reshuffle this year, <a href="https://cabinet.qld.gov.au/ministers.aspx">eight of Palaszczuk’s 18-member</a> cabinet were women. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-queensland-campaign-passes-the-halfway-mark-the-election-is-still-labors-to-lose-148267">As the Queensland campaign passes the halfway mark, the election is still Labor's to lose</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For the Queensland LNP, Frecklington is making history as their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/12/queensland-liberal-national-party-deb-frecklington-tim-nicholls">first female leader</a>. But she is one of <a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/members/current/list/current-shadow-ministers">just five</a> women in the LNP’s 23-member shadow ministry.</p>
<p>Despite these achievements, the <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/women-lead-queensland-election-campaign-but-remain-firmly-in-the-minority-20201015-p565kq.html">proportion</a> of women running in the 2020 election isn’t substantially different to the past. Across all 597 candidates, only 219, or 37%, are women. This is up from 32% in the 2017 election. </p>
<p>So, overall, progress is is being made, but slowly. </p>
<h2>Hard hats and hi-vis</h2>
<p>And just because both leaders are women, this does not mean “women’s issues” or even a focus on female perspectives is featuring prominently in the campaign. On the contrary. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364676/original/file-20201021-13-17f38m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364676/original/file-20201021-13-17f38m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364676/original/file-20201021-13-17f38m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364676/original/file-20201021-13-17f38m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364676/original/file-20201021-13-17f38m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364676/original/file-20201021-13-17f38m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364676/original/file-20201021-13-17f38m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk campaigning at a sand supplier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Hunt/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>COVID-19 has hurt women’s work more than men’s, leading to a so-called “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/24/pink-collar-recession-how-the-covid-19-crisis-is-eroding-womens-economic-power">pink recession</a>”. Women are more likely to be in part-time, casual or insecure work, and to work in industries most affected by lockdowns or economic downturn, such as retail and hospitality, tourism, human services, creative arts and universities.</p>
<p>Despite this, the leaders are making male-dominated industries the focus of their campaigns. </p>
<p>Both Palaszczuk and Frecklington have made frequent appearances in <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/too-much-focus-on-hard-hats-leaders-reveal-first-steps-out-of-recession-20201020-p566t6.html">hi-vis vests and hard hats</a>, talking up policies around <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-23/queensland-election-promises-lnp-billion-bridge-construction/12483870">infrastructure</a>, <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/labor-promises-second-bruce-highway-to-move-freight-off-main-artery-20201021-p56740.html">roads</a> and <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/a-turning-point-lnp-vows-to-irrigate-drought-addled-western-qld-20201018-p5665l.html">other developments</a> to boost the state’s economy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="LNP leader Deb Frecklington" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364675/original/file-20201021-17-1e0atfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364675/original/file-20201021-17-1e0atfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364675/original/file-20201021-17-1e0atfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364675/original/file-20201021-17-1e0atfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364675/original/file-20201021-17-1e0atfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364675/original/file-20201021-17-1e0atfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364675/original/file-20201021-17-1e0atfy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">LNP leader Deb Frecklington visiting a steel fabricator.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Hunt/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While hi-vis may be convenient shorthand for “jobs”, it’s lazy politics. And it doesn’t make sense in this particular election, given the extent to which <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/women-were-hit-hardest-by-coronavirus-job-losses-and-now-they-re-left-out-of-the-budget">women</a> have been affected by COVID-19. </p>
<h2>What gender issues are featuring in the campaign?</h2>
<p>There are some exceptions to the hard hat focus, however, and these are notable ones – even if they are not generating significant attention on the campaign trail. </p>
<p>The ALP has pledged <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/politics/qld-labor-promises-free-pads-tampons-ahead-of-election/news-story/9776218dd9700c31af2a36bd52f74b77">free sanitary pads</a> and tampons for 120 schools “most in need”. This would make Queensland only the second state, after Victoria, to offer a program like this. </p>
<p>On Thursday, the LNP said it would spend A$70 million to improve <a href="https://www.deb2020.com.au/lnp-delivers-more-and-cheaper-before-and-after-school-care-to-working-families/">before and after school care</a> and a further A$10 million to subsidise childcare training courses. </p>
<p>Both major parties are also taking significant domestic violence policies to the polls. </p>
<p>Following the murder of Brisbane woman <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-21/brisbane-car-fire-hannah-clarke-rowan-baxter-family-violence/11985024">Hannah Clarke</a> and her three children in February, the LNP announced a package including <a href="https://www.deb2020.com.au/lnp-plan-to-combat-domestic-violence/">laws against coercive control</a> and emergency accommodation grants. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-not-ready-to-criminalise-coercive-control-heres-why-146929">Australia is not ready to criminalise coercive control — here's why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Earlier this month, the Palaszczuk government also <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/141486-queensland-labor-becomes-latest-party-to-tackle-coercive-control/">pledged</a> to do more to tackle coercive control, including training programs for first responders and a community awareness campaign, although has stopped short of specifically promising new laws.</p>
<h2>Abortion law concerns</h2>
<p>In disturbing news for women’s advocates, Frecklington has also committed to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/17/why-queenslands-opposition-leader-wants-partys-anti-abortion-push-kept-out-of-election-sight">review</a> of the state’s abortion laws in her first term of government, with a focus on the <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/queensland-election-euthanasia-debate-takes-centre-stage/news-story/60800532c805f35542f55a76acd6338d">gestational limit</a> for terminations. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-15/qld-election-analysis-anti-abortion-lobby-lnp-policy/12763174">anti-abortion lobby are backing the LNP</a> and Moggill LNP candidate Christian Rowan has reportedly given assurances to Christian groups about repealing hard-won <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/17/queensland-parliament-votes-to-legalise-abortion">abortion laws</a>.</p>
<p>While it seems Frecklington is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/17/why-queenslands-opposition-leader-wants-partys-anti-abortion-push-kept-out-of-election-sight">attempting to distance</a> herself from the debate — saying it is not a “priority” — it is a worrying proposal for women specifically and the state more generally. </p>
<h2>Are the leaders feminists?</h2>
<p>Gender issues also got some attention in the second week of the campaign, after the leaders were questioned about their views on feminism. It wasn’t exactly a Helen Reddy “hear me roar” moment.</p>
<p>Asked whether she would describe herself as a feminist, <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/women-lead-queensland-election-campaign-but-remain-firmly-in-the-minority-20201015-p565kq.html">Palaszczuk said</a>, “if a feminist is about believing in equality, absolutely”.</p>
<p>Frecklington was even more noncommittal. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I identify as a female who wants to get Queensland working again.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Undermined from within</h2>
<p>In Australian politics, we are used to women politicians being undermined by the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10361146.2017.1374347?src=recsys">media</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/12/gillard-menu-sexist-liberal-dinner">opposition</a> and even their <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-political-tragedy-of-julia-gillard-15588">own parties</a>. </p>
<p>During this campaign, we have seen little media undermining on gender, perhaps because both leaders are women and their gender is not seen as a point of difference.</p>
<p>But we have seen further demonstration of female leaders being attacked from within. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fundraising-questions-have-interrupted-the-queensland-lnps-election-campaign-what-does-the-law-say-147992">Fundraising questions have interrupted the Queensland LNP's election campaign. What does the law say?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the early stages of the campaign, the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-13/lnp-crisis-as-deb-frecklington-referred-to-election-watchdog/12748400">ABC reported</a> Frecklington had been referred to the Electoral Commission of Queensland by her own party over fundraising concerns. The LNP denies this, and Frecklington denies any wrongdoing. </p>
<p>The episode has not dominated the campaign since it was reported in mid-October. But it will only serve to make her leadership more precarious, should the LNP lose on October 31. </p>
<p>Not that it was particularly secure to begin with. This follows <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-15/deb-frecklington-facing-qld-lnp-leadership-fight-amid-civil-war/12353990">intense speculation</a> about a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-15/lnp-support-deb-frecklington-queensland-politics/12357090">leadership spill</a> ahead of the election campaign. </p>
<h2>So far, women appear to back the ALP</h2>
<p>In the meantime, the major parties need women’s votes to win. The latest <a href="https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8548-roy-morgan-queensland-election-voting-intention-nsw-border-october-2020-202010201001">Roy Morgan Poll</a> for Queensland shows the key to the ALP’s slim lead in week three of the campaign comes via its support from women. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman wearing a mask, lining up to vote." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364678/original/file-20201021-23-1p30qtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364678/original/file-20201021-23-1p30qtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364678/original/file-20201021-23-1p30qtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364678/original/file-20201021-23-1p30qtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364678/original/file-20201021-23-1p30qtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364678/original/file-20201021-23-1p30qtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364678/original/file-20201021-23-1p30qtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women may be the deciding factor in the state election.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren England/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women favour the ALP 53.5% over LNP 46.5% on a two-party preferred basis, while men more narrowly favour the LNP 51.5% to 48.5% (overall, the ALP has its nose in front, 51% to 49%). </p>
<p>Women’s perspectives may not be dominating the campaign but they may be being crucial when it comes to the result.</p>
<p>Regardless of the election outcome, we can be sure that without either leader stepping up more strongly for women — and being supported by their parties to do so — this election will also be a historic lost opportunity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148261/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Harris Rimmer receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with the International Women's Development Agency. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elise Stephenson is affiliated with the Queensland State Government LGBTI Roundtable.</span></em></p>Neither Labor’s Annastacia Palaszczuk, nor the Liberal National Party’s Deb Frecklington appear to be interested in highlighting the needs and perspectives of women ahead of October 31.Susan Harris Rimmer, Professor and Director of the Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith Business School, Griffith UniversityElise Stephenson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1428742020-09-11T12:20:36Z2020-09-11T12:20:36ZWomen have disrupted research on bird song, and their findings show how diversity can improve all fields of science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356400/original/file-20200903-18-1mysw98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C2316%2C1535&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Female song is common among fairywrens, like this red-backed fairywren.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/XqFbHC">Paul Balfe/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Americans often idealize scientists as <a href="https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/publication/downloads/PFoS-Perceptions-Science-America.pdf">unbiased, objective observers</a>. But scientists are affected by conscious and unconscious biases, just as people in other fields are. Studies of birds’ vocal behavior clearly show how research approaches can be affected by the people who do the work.</p>
<p>For more than 150 years, dating back at least to <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Descent_of_Man_and_Selection_in_Rela/tvEEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=song">Charles Darwin’s writings on sexual selection</a>, scientists have generally considered bird song to be a male trait. The widely accepted view was that bird songs are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.53.1.37">long complex vocalizations produced by males</a> during the breeding season, whereas such vocalizations in females are <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bird_Song/sB24pLg4gywC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=catchpole+and+slater+bird+song+themes+and+variations+1995&printsec=frontcover">generally rare or abnormal</a>.</p>
<p>But over the past 20 years, research has shown that both males and females in many bird species sing, especially in the tropics. For example, our group has studied female song and male-female duets in <a href="https://ebird.org/species/ventro1">Venezuelan troupials</a>, a tropical species that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2016.00014">sings year-round to defend territories</a>. And we have studied female song in <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/overview">eastern bluebirds</a>, a temperate species in which females <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz130">sing to communicate with their mates</a> during the breeding season. </p>
<p>Recent findings have shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4379">female song is widespread</a>, and it is likely that the ancestor of all songbirds had female song. Now, rather than asking why males originally evolved song, the question has become why both sexes originally evolved song, and why females have lost song in some species.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.07.021">recently published study</a>, we reviewed 20 years of research on female bird song and found that the key people driving this recent paradigm shift were women. If fewer women had entered this field, we believe that it likely would have taken much longer to reach this new understanding of how bird song originally evolved. We see this example as a powerful demonstration of why it’s important to increase diversity in all fields of science.</p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="14" data-image="" data-title="Male and female troupials duetting in Puerto Rico" data-size="235355" data-source="Karan Odom" data-source-url="" data-license="CC BY-ND" data-license-url="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/2044/duet-pr20120403-kjo-r028-001006-pb02.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Male and female troupials duetting in Puerto Rico.
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Karan Odom</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a><span class="download"><span>230 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/2044/duet-pr20120403-kjo-r028-001006-pb02.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p>
<h2>New voices lead to new perspectives</h2>
<p>Traditionally, white men working in countries of the Northern Hemisphere have conducted much of the research on bird song. Researchers in countries such as the U.S., Canada, England and Germany have focused much of their work on migratory birds that <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/natures-music/marler/978-0-12-473070-0">breed in the north temperate zone</a>. </p>
<p>But starting in the 1990s, new research began to contradict this view. Studies pointed out the bias toward temperate zones in previous work, and indicated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(97)01241-X">in the tropics, females of many species are prolific singers</a>. Researchers began to study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1996.0022">how female birds use their songs</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-3454(03)33002-5">how females learn songs </a> and why females in some species join their mates to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-003-0741-x">sing precisely coordinated duets</a>. </p>
<p>We noticed that women had written many of the key papers on female song published in recent years and wondered whether this was a general trend. To see whether women were significantly more likely to publish about female bird song than men, we identified all papers with “female song” in the title or abstract that had been published in the last 20 years. Next we assembled a set of papers generally published in the same journals in the same years, but focused on “bird song” more broadly. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pair of Venezuelan troupials" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357524/original/file-20200910-18-1qvmclq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Male and female troupials. Both sexes are elaborately colored, and both sexes sing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Karan Odom</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For each of these papers we determined the genders of all authors, including the first author, middle authors and final author. Final authors frequently are the senior authors – for example, research group leaders.</p>
<p>Focusing on first authors, we found that 68% of female song papers were written by women, whereas only 44% of the bird song papers were written by women. Therefore, men were 24% less likely to study female song than bird song. Conversely, women were 24% more likely to study female song.</p>
<p>Middle authors on female song papers were also slightly skewed toward women. However, last authors were much more commonly men for both female song and bird song papers. In other words, the team leaders on these projects were still more likely to be men. </p>
<p>For female song studies, 58% of last authors were men. In our view, although ornithology is now a relatively gender-balanced field, more women need to be promoted into senior leadership positions, so that they can lead key decisions on research directions, funding and student projects.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ph2dJIlqTs0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Female northern cardinals sing along with males and have many different calls.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Diverse perspectives help drive scientific progress</h2>
<p>A major goal of our study was to recognize and promote the diverse perspectives of researchers with different backgrounds and identities. However, we felt it was crucial for our study to look back at least 20 years, since that was the time frame over which this key paradigm shift occurred. Many authors from that far back would be difficult to contact directly for a variety of reasons. </p>
<p>In the future, allowing authors to self-identify for studies of gender and authorship in a range of fields would likely produce more correct gender data and allow researchers to identify as nonbinary or non-gender-conforming.</p>
<p>Our case study on bird song provides dramatic evidence that who researchers are, where they are from and what experiences they have had influence the science that they do. More diverse groups of researchers may ask a broader range of questions, utilize more varied methods and tackle problems from a wider range of perspectives.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Gender is just one aspect of identity that could influence topics, conceptual approaches and specific methodologies used in a wide range of scientific disciplines. Many other factors, such as race, ethnicity, geographic location and socioeconomic standing, could also have important impacts on scientific research. </p>
<p>Recent events have vividly illustrated the effects of racial biases in areas ranging from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/us/jacob-blake-shackles-assault.html">criminal justice</a> to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/nyregion/central-park-amy-cooper-christian-racism.html">outdoor recreation</a>. Our study shows why it is important to address racial, gender and other biases to improve the outcomes of research, teaching and outreach at colleges and universities around the world.</p>
<p><em>Casey Haines, a recent undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was lead author of the study on which this article is based. Michelle Moyer, a PhD student at UMBC, helped with this work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142874/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin E. Omland receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evangeline Rose receives funding from the Maryland Ornithological Society</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karan Odom was supported by a U.S. National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (Grant No. 1612861) while working on this research. </span></em></p>For decades, scientists believed that only male birds sang. Then women entered the field and showed what their predecessors had missed.Kevin Omland, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyEvangeline Rose, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of MarylandKaran Odom, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1446782020-09-07T14:49:56Z2020-09-07T14:49:56ZReframing women in Namibia’s early history of photography<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356534/original/file-20200904-24-12pldrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Detail of an Aneliese Scherz photograph from 1930s Namibia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anneliese Scherz/Basler Afrika Bibliographien Scherz Collection</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women photographers, and black African women photographers in particular, are largely absent from early histories of the medium. </p>
<p>Even in South Africa, which has attracted more attention than other parts of the continent, few women photographers from the early and mid-1900s appear in the historical record. There are even fewer whose work has been collected and received serious treatment, like <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/constance-stuart-larrabee">Constance Stuart Larrabee</a> and <a href="https://digitalcollections.lib.uct.ac.za/anne-fischer">Anne Fisher</a>. </p>
<p>Women photographers in Namibia have languished in even greater obscurity, and scholarship that embraces this neglected history is only just emerging.</p>
<p>My new <a href="http://witspress.co.za/catalogue/photography-and-history-in-colonial-southern-africa/">book</a> <em>Photography and History in Colonial Southern Africa: Shades of Empire</em> explores ways to retrieve the histories lodged in these photographs. </p>
<h2>The photos of Anneliese Scherz</h2>
<p>One of my chapters is dedicated to the work of Anneliese Scherz. Her photography in Namibia begins in the late 1930s and reaches into the 1970s. Across central Namibia in 1938, Scherz took photographs of white farmers of German descent, impoverished Afrikaners and black farm workers. </p>
<p>At the time, South African colonial rule in <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/namibia">Namibia</a> was firmly established and the politics of racial segregation prevailed. However, on the eve of World War II the region entered a period of political turmoil. Ethnic nationalism and partisanship threatened the unity of settler society. This was exacerbated by explicit sympathy for the fascist cause and colonial revisionism among settlers of German descent. </p>
<p>Scherz’s photography needs to be placed against this backdrop and understood as an attempt to imagine what lay at the heart of white consciousness in Namibia at the time. I argue that her photographs of German farmers and itinerant Afrikaners documented the harshness of white rural life in a way that fostered the viewer’s empathetic response. In contrast, her depictions of black farm labour in fact concealed the precarity and poverty it produced. </p>
<p>In other words, to Scherz, farm workers were not poor because of an exploitative colonial economy. They were poor because deprivation and scarcity were part of what she considered “native life”. </p>
<p>Her images invite us to engage white women photographers so that we can refine our understanding of how whiteness was lodged in the ways they looked at disenfranchised indigenous people. </p>
<p>And where black women’s agency was concealed by photography, it might have to be recovered or reactivated by opening confined spaces and asking about women’s multiple photographic practices, rather than merely focusing on the photographer as author.</p>
<h2>The women photo collectors of Usakos</h2>
<p>My reading expands the frame by juxtaposing the Scherz photos with the practice of black female photographers in Namibia at the time. I look at photos taken in Usakos, a central Namibian town, from 1910 up to the late 1950s when residents were forcibly removed to townships and the location destroyed. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356538/original/file-20200904-18-gxwohm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Catalogue for an exhibition of the Usakos images.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Basler Afrika Bibliographien</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The photos have been <a href="https://baslerafrika.ch/product/usakos-photographs-beyond-ruins-the-old-location-albums-1920s-1960s/">collected</a>, <a href="https://www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/usakos/">preserved</a> and curated by four women residents of Usakos. The work provides a window on an intricate history of women’s engagements with the medium. </p>
<p>The images tell of an African urban community’s encounters with black photographers who travel from place to place. The photographers came to central Namibia from as far as Cape Town and Johannesburg, moving along the railway lines to offer their services to people who didn’t have access to photo studios. </p>
<p>There are portraits of men and women in elegant attire and snapshots of everyday domestic activities in and around the location. There are weddings, funerals and baptisms, musicians with instruments, and men’s football and women’s netball teams lined up in a row.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men stand and a woman sits between them on a chair, all in formal attire and looking at the camera unsmilingly." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356115/original/file-20200902-14-l9ury1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Ousakas portrait.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wilhelmine Katjimune Collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Historical photographs can teach us about women’s negotiation of colonialism, apartheid and forced removals. And how the Usakos collectors understand their collections as a means to remember the past, negotiate the present and imagine their futures. </p>
<h2>A question of representation</h2>
<p>There is a long history of the exposure of women’s bodies in the colonial record, as well as of the production of images of racialised and sexualised women. The record raises questions about the politics and ethics of representation in today’s knowledge production. </p>
<p>Critical examinations of the colonial photographic archive, and the knowledge regimes it engendered, have been met by a desire to acknowledge women’s agency as photographic subjects. The last decade has seen the growth of historical <a href="https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Ambivalent">studies</a> of photography produced by <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Women-and-Photography-in-Africa-Creative-Practices-and-Feminist-Challenges/Newbury-Rizzo-Thomas/p/book/9781350136564">scholars</a> based in Africa. There are wide-ranging public contestations of dominant narratives.</p>
<p>One of the key concerns in both academic and public history contexts has been to address the tension between the heightened visibility of African women in the photographic record and their concurrent silencing in historical writing. </p>
<p>This tension possibly explains why numerous women academics, artists and activists continue to turn to the archive with the aim of dismantling an aesthetic order – one that notoriously put the black female body on display and fixed colonised Africans within gendered, racial and tribal categories.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1147&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1147&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356536/original/file-20200904-24-4zqiw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1147&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wits University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This work is important, but we also need to keep in mind that there is a world of images beyond the archive. The Usakos old location photographs are an indication of how much this world of images was shaped by women.</p>
<p><em>This article is based on a chapter from the new book <a href="http://witspress.co.za/catalogue/photography-and-history-in-colonial-southern-africa/">Photography and History in Colonial Southern Africa</a> published by <a href="http://witspress.co.za">Wits University Press</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144678/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorena Rizzo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Images of white Namibian farmers and their workers and a collection of portraits by travelling black photographers form part of the early archive.Lorena Rizzo, Senior lecturer, University of BaselLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1447792020-08-26T12:22:00Z2020-08-26T12:22:00ZThe tech field failed a 25-year challenge to achieve gender equality by 2020 – culture change is key to getting on track<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354705/original/file-20200825-15-h7v84m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5499%2C3630&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The tech field has a long way to go to achieve gender parity.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/people-working-in-modern-office-royalty-free-image/878980536?adppopup=true">10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1995, pioneering computer scientist <a href="https://anitab.org/about-us/about-anita-borg/">Anita Borg</a> challenged the tech community to a moonshot: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nImg8vPUe4">equal representation of women in tech by 2020</a>. Twenty-five years later, we’re still far from that goal. In 2018, fewer than 30% of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/11/17225574/facebook-tech-diversity-women">employees in tech’s biggest companies</a> and 20% of <a href="https://research.swe.org/2016/08/tenure-tenure-track-faculty-levels/">faculty in university computer science departments</a> were women.</p>
<p>On <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Equality_Day">Women’s Equality Day</a> in 2020, it’s appropriate to revisit Borg’s moonshot challenge. Today, awareness of the gender diversity problem in tech has increased, and professional development programs have improved women’s skills and opportunities. But special programs and “<a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/features/2011/01/fix-system-not-women">fixing women</a>” by improving their skills have not been enough. By and large, the tech field doesn’t need to fix women, it needs to fix itself.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.amacad.org/person/francine-d-berman">former head</a> of a national supercomputer center and a data scientist, I know that cultural change is hard but not impossible. It requires organizations to prioritize and promote material, not symbolic, change. It requires sustained effort and shifts of power to include more diverse players. Intentional strategies to promote openness, ensure equity, diversify leadership and measure success can work. I’ve seen it happen. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3nImg8vPUe4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In 1995, Anita Borg called for a “moonshot” effort to achieve gender equality in the tech field by 2020.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Swimming upstream</h2>
<p>I loved math as a kid. I loved finding elegant solutions to abstract problems. I loved learning that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip">Mobius strips</a> have only one side and that there is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantor%27s_first_set_theory_article">more than one size of infinity</a>. I was a math major in college and eventually found a home in computer science in graduate school. </p>
<p>But as a professional, I’ve seen that tech is skewed by currents that carry men to success and hold women back. In academic computer science departments, women are usually a small minority. </p>
<p>In most organizations I have dealt with, women rarely occupy the top job. From 2001 to 2009, I led a National Science Foundation supercomputer center. Ten years after moving on from that job, I’m still the only woman to have occupied that position. </p>
<p>Several years into my term, I discovered that I was paid one-third less than others with similar positions. Successfully lobbying for pay equity with my peers took almost a year and a sincere threat to step down from a job I loved. In the work world, money implies value, and no one wants to be paid less than their peers.</p>
<h2>Changing culture takes persistence</h2>
<p>Culture impacts outcomes. During my term as a supercomputer center head, each center needed to procure the biggest, baddest machine in order to get the bragging rights – and resources – necessary to continue. Supercomputer culture in those days was hypercompetitive and focused on dominance of Supercomputing’s <a href="https://www.top500.org/">Top500 ranking</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A climate-controlled room containing banks of computer processors" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354737/original/file-20200825-20-890vmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354737/original/file-20200825-20-890vmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354737/original/file-20200825-20-890vmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354737/original/file-20200825-20-890vmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354737/original/file-20200825-20-890vmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354737/original/file-20200825-20-890vmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354737/original/file-20200825-20-890vmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supercomputer centers typically involve lots of hardware like these banks of computer processors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa_goddard/6559334541/">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this environment, women in leadership were unusual and there was more for women to prove, and quickly, if we wanted to get something done. The field’s focus on dominance was reflected in organizational culture. </p>
<p>My team and I set out to change that. Our efforts to include a broader range of styles and skill sets ultimately changed the composition of our center’s leadership and management. Improving the organizational culture also translated into a richer set of projects and collaborations. It helped us expand our focus to infrastructure and users and embrace the data revolution early on. </p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=experts">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p>
<h2>Setting the stage for cultural diversity</h2>
<p>Diverse leadership is a critical part of creating diverse cultures. Women are <a href="https://hbr.org/2013/09/women-rising-the-unseen-barriers">more likely to thrive</a> in environments where they have not only stature, but responsibility, resources, influence, opportunity and power. </p>
<p>I’ve seen this firsthand as a co-founder of the <a href="https://www.rd-alliance.org/">Research Data Alliance (RDA)</a>, an international community organization of more than 10,000 members that has developed and deployed infrastructure to facilitate data sharing and data-driven research. From the beginning, gender balance has been a major priority for RDA, and as we grew, a reality in all leadership groups in the organization. </p>
<p>RDA’s plenaries also provide a model for diverse organizational meetings in which speaker lineups are expected to include both women and men, and all-male panels, nicknamed “manels,” are strongly discouraged. Women both lead and thrive in this community.</p>
<p>Having women at the table makes a difference. As a board member of the <a href="https://sloan.org/">Alfred P. Sloan Foundation</a>, I’ve seen the organization improve the diversity of annual classes of fellows in the highly prestigious <a href="https://sloan.org/fellowships/">Sloan Research Fellows’</a> program. To date, 50 Nobel Prize winners and many professional award winners are former Sloan Research Fellows.</p>
<p>Since 2013, the accomplished community members Sloan has chosen for its Fellowship Selection Committees have been half or more women. During that time, the diversity of Sloan’s research fellowship applicant pool and awardees have increased, with no loss of quality.</p>
<h2>Calming cultural currents</h2>
<p>Culture change is a marathon, not a sprint, requiring constant vigilance, many small decisions, and often changes in who holds power. My experience as supercomputer center head, and with the Research Data Alliance, the Sloan Foundation and other groups has shown me that organizations can create positive and more diverse environments. Intentional strategies, prioritization and persistent commitment to cultural change can help turn the tide.</p>
<p>Some years ago, one of my best computer science students told me that she was not interested in a tech career because it was so hard for women to get ahead. Cultures that foster diversity can change perceptions of what jobs women can thrive in, and can attract, rather than repel, women to study and work in tech. </p>
<p>Calming the cultural currents that hold so many women back can move the tech field closer to Borg’s goal of equal representation in the future. It’s much better to be late than never.</p>
<p><em>The Sloan Foundation has provided funding to The Conversation US.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144779/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francine Berman is former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Anita Borg Institute. She currently serves as a member of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Board of Trustees. She is funded by the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>Diversifying leadership can change organizational cultures, which removes barriers to women in the tech industry and academia.Francine Berman, Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029882018-09-13T20:32:40Z2018-09-13T20:32:40ZYear 11 and 12 students in NSW will no longer learn about women’s contributions to physics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236148/original/file-20180913-133895-baz8wb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need female role models in the NSW physics syllabus to normalise women in physics and encourage their engagement and further study.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The new Higher School Certificate (HSC) physics syllabus for NSW will contain no mention of the contributions of female physicists to the field. Not teaching students about their contributions to the field denies young women role models, and denies all students important knowledge about physics. </p>
<p>An education system which simultaneously claims to <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/secretary-update/international-womens-day2">praise women in STEM</a>, yet erases them from a physics syllabus cannot be seen as thorough. This needs to be fixed before long lasting damage is done to Australia’s next generation of scientists. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-says-the-gender-gap-in-science-could-take-generations-to-fix-95150">New study says the gender gap in science could take generations to fix</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Physics has a multitude of female physicists to celebrate. These outstanding women could inspire passion in young female students, while providing all students with a broader perspective of the universe we all call home. </p>
<h2>Complete deletion, really?</h2>
<p>In 2018, NSW introduced a new <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=499263222898931;res=IELHSS">HSC physics syllabus</a>, which focuses on complex topics such as thermodynamics and quantum physics, and requires a more technical understanding of physics concepts. It focuses on the physics itself and its modern usage, rather than how we discovered and developed physics in the first place. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/stage-6-learning-areas/stage-6-science/physics">outgoing syllabus</a> includes more background and the history of the development of physics. The discoveries women have contributed to the field are taught in this syllabus, but it fails to identify a single woman by name in the 47 scientists mentioned 93 times.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1037266449872564225"}"></div></p>
<p>The <a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/stage-6-learning-areas/stage-6-science/physics-2017">new syllabus</a> has 25 scientists mentioned 56 times. But no women are referred to by name, nor are any contributions women have made to physics included.</p>
<p>This new syllabus focuses completely on male physicists and their work. Women have been and continue to be told physics is primarily a male endeavour. </p>
<h2>You can’t be what you can’t see</h2>
<p>Science is filled with interesting characters, insights and discoveries. Teaching about a scientist or their work celebrates their contributions, highlights their efforts and recognises how they influenced and developed knowledge.</p>
<p>The new syllabus fails to provide female role models. Role models <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361684313482109">are important</a> because they foster pro-science aspirations and attitudes. This is true for both women <em>and</em> men, but young girls miss out if we only provide students with male role models. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hunt-for-the-superstars-of-stem-to-engage-more-women-in-science-76854">The hunt for the Superstars of STEM to engage more women in science</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This syllabus conveys the message that female physicists aren’t significant enough to mention. This is not only incorrect, but discouraging to female students. When we focus entirely on male scientists, we devalue women and their work in this field.</p>
<h2>Remarkable female scientists</h2>
<p>There are many examples of outstanding women that could have been included in the syllabus. Each have made major contributions to their field. Students would benefit greatly from learning about these women (plus many others) and their work in physics lessons. Here are four examples of bad-arse female physicists:</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ruby Payne-Scott was an Australian radio astronomer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Hall/</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Ruby Payne-Scott</strong> </p>
<p>Australia’s own Ruby Payne-Scott was one of the first radio astronomers in the world. Payne-Scott was at the forefront of radio astronomy in the 1940s. She developed techniques that have defined the field and her work made Australia the global leader it is today. Payne-Scott even discovered <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/CH/CH9490214">three types of radiation bursts</a> coming from the sun. </p>
<p><strong>Professor Marie Curie</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marie Curie is one of the most well-known female physicists.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dual Nobel laureate, Professor Marie Curie started the field of radioactivity. Her work included the discovery of two new radioactive elements, which was only possible because of her impeccable experimental skills. Her research of radioactivity is still influencing physics. Her notebooks are still radioactive and will likely be for the next 1,500 years.</p>
<p><strong>Dr Rosalind Franklin</strong></p>
<p>Dr Rosalind Franklin’s unique approach to X-Ray crystallography was the first successful research delving into the structure of our cells. This helped us understand the double helix structure of DNA. Her work was revolutionary but <a href="https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.1570771">has been attributed to Watson and Crick</a>, who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell is an astrophysicist who discovered a new type of star.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">William Murphy/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell</strong></p>
<p>Dame <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06210-w">Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell</a> discovered an entirely new type of star called pulsars on a radio telescope she essentially made herself while she was a PhD student. These rapidly rotating neutron stars changed what astronomers thought possible and is still an active area of research. Bell-Burnell originally called them LGM for <a href="http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2006/07/jocelyn-bell-burnell-reflects-discovery-pulsars">Little Green Men</a> as she did not want to rule out the fact the source could have come from alien life forms.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-inequalities-in-science-wont-self-correct-its-time-for-action-99452">Gender inequalities in science won't self-correct: it's time for action</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Teaching our students women have had and continue to have no role in physics is not only incorrect, it’s harmful. We need equal representation to normalise women in physics and encourage their engagement and further study. A syllabus that correctly represents people in the field of physics can help <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008876/">reduce unconscious bias</a> and demonstrate to young women there’s a place for them in this field.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new physics syllabus for year 11 and 12 students in NSW contains no mention of specific women who have contributed to the field, nor their work.Kathryn Ross, Researcher at Sydney University Physics Education Research Group, University of SydneyTom Gordon, Senior Science Communicator, PhD candidate Sydney University Physics Education Research (SUPER) group, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1012742018-08-10T02:21:54Z2018-08-10T02:21:54ZWomen’s electability rises in Indonesia’s 2018 local elections<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231192/original/file-20180808-191044-1mn5ng6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C998%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One of the voting booths in Makassar, South Sulawesi, during the June 27 regional elections. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Herwin Bahar/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The third round of regional elections (<em>Pilkada</em>) in Indonesia, held on June 27 2018, showed an increase in women’s electability as local political leaders. </p>
<p>Of 94 women who ran for local government offices, 31 (33%) were elected. This is almost 2% higher than the <a href="https://theconversation.com/measuring-womens-chances-of-winning-in-indonesias-regional-elections-95294">previous year’s</a> elections. Overall, women won 31 out of 338 positions (9.2%) as local head and deputy leaders.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/measuring-womens-chances-of-winning-in-indonesias-regional-elections-95294">Measuring women's chances of winning in Indonesia's regional elections</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As the table below show, one-third of female candidates compete to become regents. The second-largest proportion is for the vice regent’s office, followed by vice mayor and mayor.</p>
<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-YD84P" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/YD84P/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important;" height="555" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>Only two women ran for governor. Another five female candidates competed for vice governor posts. This shows that women’s participation in the elections is not spread evenly across the three levels of regional governments.</p>
<p>However, the results suggest that even though only a handful of women ran for governor or vice governor, they are very effective in gaining votes. Women’s electability as governors reaches 50%.</p>
<p>This is a direct consequence of <a href="https://www.cnnindonesia.com/pilkadaserentak/nasional/20180707181820-32-312332/kpu-khofifah-emil-menang-pilgub-jatim%20-unggul-1-million-votes">Khofifah Indar Parawansa-Emil Elestianto Dardak’s victory in East Java</a>, with 53.55% of the vote and a margin of 1 million votes, for Saifullah Yusuf-Puti Guntur Soekarno. Women also won deputy governor positions with a 40% success rate.</p>
<p>Women who ran for vice mayor demonstrated a significant success rate of 37.5%. The lowest electability occurs at the level of city government, where only a quarter of female candidates won.</p>
<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-HjOis" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/HjOis/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important;" height="400" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>Aside from electability, the 2018 elections also displayed an interesting trend in terms of the backgrounds of women who were elected as local leaders.</p>
<p>The winners mainly come from the private sector, except in the vice mayor and deputy regent posts. This implies that financial strength plays a key role in local political competition.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it is crucial to observe how candidates in general categorise their career paths. For example, Khofifah Indar Parawansa has been a politician for a number of years – a member of parliament since 1999, her latest portfolio was social affairs minister – but was grouped as a candidate from the private sector category in the Election Commission data cited in this report.</p>
<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-QntYD" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QntYD/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important;" height="400" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>Other groups that are dominant are legislative members (national and local) and former mayors or deputy mayors.</p>
<p>Results from the 2018 regional election show that female mayors and vice mayors are more likely to be successful in keeping their seats compared to those who are trying to extend their posts as regents and vice regents.</p>
<p>In addition, the distribution of candidates’ backgrounds shows legislative members have a good chance of being elected as executives. The political and social capital built up while sitting in parliament can increase women’s likelihood of becoming local political leaders.</p>
<p>Of the 16 women who were elected as mayors, regents and governors, six were incumbents: Mundjidah Wahab (regent of Jombang), Ade Uu Sukaesih (mayor of Banjar), Umi Azizah (regent of Tegal), Puput Tantriana Sari (regent of Probolinggo), Iti Octavia Jayabaya (regent of Lebak) and Tatong Bara (mayor of Kotamobagu).</p>
<p>Women who were part of a political dynasty included Anne Ratna Mustika (regent of Purwakarta), the wife of the previous Purwakarta regent Dedi Mulyadi; and Erlina (the regent of Mempawah), the wife of the deputy governor of West Kalimantan, Ria Norsan.</p>
<p>Various records of the results of the 2018 regional elections show that women’s electability continues to increase even though the rate is gradual. This increase is a positive indication for women’s representation as local political leaders.</p>
<p>With the authority of regional government becoming increasingly significant in determining policies, women who become heads of local governments are expected to strengthen gender mainstreaming in numerous ways. Substantive representation like this will be the biggest test for women leaders, the results of which can then be seen in, among other things, decreasing inequality in school enrolment rates of boys and girls and proportional increases in the budget for health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella S. Prihatini tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>More women have been elected in the latest regional elections in Indonesia.Ella S. Prihatini, Endeavour scholar and PhD candidate, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1002072018-07-19T09:56:32Z2018-07-19T09:56:32ZResearch shows four in five experts cited in online news are men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228273/original/file-20180718-142423-w8trst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Who gets to speak? Who do we listen to? And whose opinions do we respect? These questions are always important, but even more so now, as the UK faces an uncertain future, and political leaders need to make some tough decisions. So it’s disappointing to learn that female voices continue to be marginalised in the nation’s news coverage. Women’s expertise is going untapped and unheard at a critical time.</p>
<p>An analysis conducted by the <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/cmcp/index.aspx">Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power</a> on behalf of the <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/giwl/index.aspx">Global Institute for Women’s Leadership</a> at King’s College London has found that four out of every five people quoted as experts in online news articles by the main UK news outlets are male. The research analysed a representative sample of all news articles published online across a seven day period by major news outlets including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sky, Daily Mail, Star, Express, The Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, Mirror, Sun, and the Telegraph.</p>
<p>The imbalance is even greater for certain fields, such as foreign politics and business and finance, where men make up almost nine out of ten expert sources. And despite all the media campaigns and focus on equal representation in recent years, these figures haven’t materially shifted since a <a href="http://cdn.agilitycms.com/who-makes-the-news/Imported/reports_2010/national/UK.pdf">similar study</a> was carried out in 2010.</p>
<p>So what’s driving this imbalance? It’s true that the UK is unfortunately still a country with a well-documented under-representation of women in leadership positions across various sectors (not least <a href="https://www.iwmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IWMF-Global-Report.pdf">news journalism</a>), and this certainly plays a part. But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512786.2016.1232173">previous research</a> has identified other factors. A tendency to rely on known contacts, reliable performers and suggestions from previous informants all militate against a widening of the expert pool.</p>
<p>And then there’s the question of who we consider to be an “expert”. Judgements about who is and isn’t credible <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512781003760519">play a large role</a> in determining who gets to be a source, and therefore have a voice, in the national conversation. But judgements about credibility are not value-free. A series of studies have shown that we find the same information to be more credible when it is presented by a man, rather than a woman. Whether it be <a href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2441841">political tweets</a>, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077699012447922">articles about sport</a> or <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1075547012472684">abstracts for scientific papers</a>, simply changing the name on the information has been shown to affect respondents’ judgement of the quality, competence or expertise of the content.</p>
<h2>Updating the address book</h2>
<p>These biases show just how hopelessly naïve it is to argue that expert sources should “just be the person with the best expertise”. This person is a chimera – for how on earth would this expertise be ranked? Any attempt to work out who they are would be influenced by biases, not only on the part of the journalist in terms of judging their credentials, but by the fact that those credentials were earned in a gender-biased world.</p>
<p>A related line of thought might concede a level of bias in the selection of experts, and yet contend that it doesn’t matter. After all, aren’t experts there to simply present the facts and give an objective assessment of reality? While I’m sure many academics would be touched by this level of faith in their pronouncements, it is far from the truth.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228246/original/file-20180718-142414-1ki0lbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228246/original/file-20180718-142414-1ki0lbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228246/original/file-20180718-142414-1ki0lbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228246/original/file-20180718-142414-1ki0lbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228246/original/file-20180718-142414-1ki0lbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228246/original/file-20180718-142414-1ki0lbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228246/original/file-20180718-142414-1ki0lbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women experts are significantly under-represented in the media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam McGhee/ Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A fascinating <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/kykl.12166">study</a> from earlier this year illustrates the point. After surveying more than 1,000 economists from 18 countries, the researchers found that female economists were far more likely than men to prefer government interventions over market solutions. They were also more likely to be in favour of increased environmental protection, to think that labour market policies were unequal, and were slightly more likely to disapprove of austerity. Such questions could hardly be less central to the future of society.</p>
<p>The differing views of female economists are not due to some inherent “redistributive gene” that is missing on the Y chromosome, but because such views rely on an analysis of certain approaches, and different life experiences will inform how we weight the associated costs and benefits. Indeed, as Sweden’s feminist government is showing, from <a href="https://www.government.se/information-material/2017/10/swedens-feminist-foreign-policy--examples-from-three-years-of-implementation/">foreign policy</a> to which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/05/sweden-gender-equality-uk-government">streets to snowplough</a> first, the answer to policy questions changes when you include the perspective of the other half of the population.</p>
<p>Journalists have a responsibility to seek out diverse voices, rather than “neutrally” hold up a mirror to society. Who we see explaining the world around us sends a strong symbolic signal about whose views we value, and what is possible for different groups of people. Surely if anything is going to challenge bias then it will be seeing female names in areas that society codes “male”. This may require extra effort from journalists to look beyond their existing networks, but with a wealth of resources – from <a href="http://thewomensroom.org.uk/findanexpert">The Women’s Room</a> to <a href="http://www.womensmediacenter.com/shesource/">SheSource</a> and more – there is no longer any excuse not to make it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100207/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The shocking lack of gender balance is not just bad for women. It’s doing the public a major disservice.Laura Jones, Research Associate at the Global Institute for Women's Leadership, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/908242018-06-21T07:13:24Z2018-06-21T07:13:24ZOn the same page? In Indonesia, some male lawmakers are sceptical of quotas for women in politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223582/original/file-20180618-85825-126oovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C997%2C559&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The road to parliament is filled with obstacles for Indonesian women. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women make up more than half of Indonesia’s population, but their representation in politics in the past decade has been meagre and unsteady. </p>
<p>To increase women’s representation in politics, Indonesia introduced a minimum quota for female political candidates in 2003. And <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-indonesia-increase-the-number-of-women-legislators-90446">parties have been nominating more women to run</a> since the 2004 elections. But, the percentage of women lawmakers is still far below the 30% expected quota. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/73438/41246">recently published paper</a>, I explored how lawmakers think about the issue of gender quotas and what they think are the roots of women’s underrepresentation in politics. </p>
<p>Using a questionnaire involving 104 representatives (54 male and 50 female), I found significant differences in how male and female lawmakers responded. They differ in their reasoning on why women struggle to win elections. They also have different opinions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the gender quota policy. </p>
<p>These distinctions matter because they offer insights into the dynamics explaining why gender quotas are not resulting in a notable increase in women’s parliamentary representation. The study suggests the implementation of a gender quota does not necessarily imply that both men and women recognise gender inequality as a problem that requires a fix. It reaffirms <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14616740802185650">previous studies</a> that the quota approach is accepted at the macro level, but heavily contested at the micro level. </p>
<h2>Women’s representation and gender quotas</h2>
<p>Women hold only 17.1% of the seats in the national parliament (House of Representatives or <em>Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat</em>/DPR). Low representation occurs at all levels of government. In <a href="http://www.kpu.go.id/koleksigambar/Buku_Pemilu_2014_Dalam_%20Angka_ACC_Upload.pdf">2014</a> women won on average 16.14% of seats in provincial parliaments and 14% of seats in city/municipal councils.</p>
<p>Since 2002, Indonesia has gradually introduced gender quotas. The country now has a number of electoral candidate quota sets regulated under the laws on political parties and general elections: </p>
<ol>
<li>parties are encouraged to have 30% women on their boards </li>
<li>parties must fill at least 30% of their candidates list with women.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>In 2009, the Indonesian Elections Commission (KPU) introduced the semi-zipper requirement – for each three candidates there should be at least one female nominee. The result was significant. </p>
<p>In the 2009 legislative elections, the percentage of female candidates increased. Almost all parties filled the 30% quota. That year, women’s electability peaked at 18.12%. </p>
<p>In 2014, the commission began enforcing sanctions on parties that failed to comply with the zipper system. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.01.008">Research</a> suggests these electoral candidate quotas, accompanied by sanctions for non-compliance, are significant enough to force adherence. This should have a positive effect on women’s general electability. But it has yet to work consistently in Indonesia. </p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Mahalnya_demokrasi_memudarnya_ideologi.html?id=AlH5ngEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Some argue</a> that the main culprit is the open-list proportional representation (PR) system, in which voters can choose a candidate from anywhere on the party’s list rather than just voting for a party. The electoral system creates fierce competition among candidates, increasing the cost of campaigning. This significantly hampers women candidates with limited access to funds. </p>
<h2>Survey participants</h2>
<p>My research draws on nine months of survey administered with help from <a href="https://twitter.com/wikidpr">WikiDPR</a>. It involves 104 respondents, or 18.57% of sitting legislators. </p>
<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-8ePJx" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/8ePJx/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important;" height="421" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>The range of ages in this study is 29 to 79. The median and mean ages are 53 and 51.53 respectively. This resembles the actual range in the DPR. Both the youngest and oldest legislators participated in this survey. </p>
<p>Participants represented 63 of 77 electoral districts, a coverage level of 81.81%. The sample also covers all 11 commissions in the parliament. </p>
<p>Most respondents (14.4%) sit in Commission 8 (religious, social, and women’s empowerment affairs), followed by Commission 5, which oversees communications, telecommunications, public works, public housing affairs, acceleration of development of disadvantaged regions (13.46%). Commission 2 (home affairs, regional autonomy, administrative reforms and agrarian affairs) and Commission 10 (education, youth, sport, tourism, arts and cultural affairs) each contribute 12.5% of the participants. </p>
<h2>Legitimacy and effectiveness of quotas</h2>
<p>Gender quotas in Indonesia are still widely accepted by legislatures. But there is a gap of about 11% between the two sexes. </p>
<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-DBsP5" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/DBsP5/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important;" height="382" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>Most female respondents view quotas as useful to improve the quality of Indonesian democracy. They don’t see the gender quota reinforcing difference between men and women. In fact, the women believed quotas had helped their electability over the years. </p>
<p>In contrast, men are not as convinced. Some 20% of them view quotas as having no impact on women’s chances to win. They suggest there are various obstacles to nominating women into parliament and that quotas alone cannot solve these issues.</p>
<p>Both men and women agree that that gender quotas have strong legitimacy rooted in the principle of equality set forth in Indonesia’s Constitution. </p>
<p>It seems that after being adopted for more than a decade, gender quotas remain the preferred approach to overcoming women’s low parliamentary representation, at least in the Indonesian case. </p>
<p>However, several factors, such as political parties, cultural barriers and women’s internal preferences, affect the affirmative action’s effectiveness. </p>
<h2>How men and women analyse women’s low representation</h2>
<p>My research found that most male legislators believe that parties’ difficulty in attracting qualified women to run for elections is the obstacle to increasing the numbers of women in politics. They believe women are prioritising family over a political career and that cultural, religious and social constraints work against female candidates as these make women less desirable to voters. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, female legislators consider social values and customs that prefer male leaders hurt women’s political nomination the most. They also view women’s lack of political training, social capital and campaign funds as obstacles for women entering politics. </p>
<p>Neither men nor women think the latter need to have more role models who can inspire them to pursue a political career.</p>
<p>Men and women differ significantly in their perception of parties’ genuine interest in fulfilling quotas. Women consider quotas are only being fulfilled as a prerequisite for a party to run; that parties are not genuine in promoting women into parliament. </p>
<p>This can be partly explained by observing how few women are being nominated as candidate number one in the candidates list. Only 5.7% of female aspirants are given the top position compared to 18.9% of male candidates. And 76% of female respondents think parties should put more women as candidate number 1 or 2 to promote an increase in female representation in parliament.</p>
<p>To overcome the disparity between women and men in political representation, it is important to observe and to note how men and women view this issue. The two sexes, at the micro level, have contesting opinions on what really hinders women’s attempts to get elected. Thus implementing gender quotas, at the macro level, might not achieve the expected results while other obstacles remain unresolved. </p>
<p>Among Indonesian lawmakers, the nation’s political representatives, my research shows there is a gender gap. While women overwhelmingly support quotas as a strategy to overcome women’s underrepresentation, some men are sceptical about its effectiveness. </p>
<p>Fortunately, both men and women legislators agree that parties need to be more transparent in their recruitment methods. They also agree that, where possible, parties should financially assist women who have a substantial opportunity to win.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90824/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella S. Prihatini tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Male and female lawmakers differ in their reasoning why women struggle in winning elections. They also have different opinions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the gender quota policy.Ella S. Prihatini, Endeavour scholar and PhD candidate, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/904462018-01-25T03:05:24Z2018-01-25T03:05:24ZHow can Indonesia increase the number of women legislators?<p>As we enter 2018, the Indonesian public is starting to discuss the country’s next year’s general election. Aside from the predictions on presidential candidates, it is also important to talk about legislative candidates who will represent the people in parliament, as well as women’s representation in the assembly.</p>
<p>Women’s representation in the legislative body is important, not only to balance out the number of males and females in parliament. It is hoped the presence of women legislators will drive women’s interest issues, such as poverty eradication, education parity, and health care, as policy priorities. </p>
<p>Women’s representation in Indonesian state parliament has continuously increased from year to year. When the first election was held in 1955, women only secured 5.06% of the seats. The figure has gradually increased to 11.4% in 1997. </p>
<p>After the end of Suharto’s regime, a number of legal reforms introduced the <a href="http://paperroom.ipsa.org/papers/paper_5065.pdf">gender quota system</a> that aimed to increase the electability of women. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/wMUEK/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<h1>Gender quota not effective</h1>
<p>However, looking at the experience of three election cycles in 2004, 2009, and 2014, the gender quota that obliges political parties to place at least 30% of women in their candidates list has yet to significantly increase women’s electability. </p>
<p>In 2004, women only managed to secure 11.24% of the seats in parliament. While in the next election, the rate increased into 18.21%. Meanwhile in 2014, <a href="https://www.antaranews.com/berita/561232/buntunya-advokasi-perempuan-berpolitik">women’s representation dropped slightly to 17%</a>. </p>
<p>In general, the number of women legislative candidates from seven competing parties continues to increase. But then why hasn’t this translated to maximum electability for women? </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/h3N3k/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<h1>Number 1 on the list</h1>
<p>In their book <a href="https://books.google.co.id/books/about/Political_Recruitment.html?id=GlAbudeTSwQC&redir_esc=y">discussing political recruitment</a> Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart offered three levels of analysis: systematic factors, party factors, and individuals. </p>
<p>The Election Law, the political party system, and the country’s legal system are all under the systematic factors. Meanwhile, party factors include ideology and internal party rules regarding nominating women as legislative candidates. </p>
<p>The last factor, the individuals, includes motivation and the candidate’s resources. </p>
<p>I will focus my analysis on how political parties nominate female legislative candidates. We can measure the trend of placing women candidates at the top of the list of parties legislative candidates and the electability of women as the top candidate. </p>
<p>Statistical analysis from <a href="http://www.kpu.go.id/index.php/pages/index/NzE0">election results data </a> shows the majority of elected legislative candidates are those who were at the top of the party’s legislative candidates list. </p>
<p>The graph below displays that list position greatly influenced a candidate’s electability. However, we should note that in the 2014 election candidates listed as number four and so on had a tenfold increase in terms of electability, from 1.6% in 2004 to 16.4%. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the electability of candidate number one decreases from 73.6% in 2004 to 62.1% in 2014. This happened due to the “open list” system, enacted in 2014. Here, the candidate’s victory is determined only by the number of votes. This system increased the chance for candidates that were nominated under big numbers in the list; a trend that has continued to go up. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/sTdoI/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<h2>How parties nominate female legislative candidates</h2>
<p>Analysis on seven political parties that competed in three general elections shows that each party has a different pattern in nominating female candidates. </p>
<p>The graph below shows two Islam-based parties, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), placed women candidates on number one with a contrasting trend. </p>
<p>PPP continuously increased the number of female candidates nominated as number one in the candidate’s list. Out of all parties, they have the highest ratio of women candidates nominated as number one. On the other hand, PKS continuously reduced the number of women candidates under number one. </p>
<p>In the 2014 general election, PPP placed women as number one nominees in 22 electoral districts (out of 77 electoral district coutrywide), meanwhile PKS only had one electoral district with a female nominee as the number one candidate. </p>
<p>Other parties, except for Golkar, have increased their allocation of women candidates nominated under number one. The Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the party of the current president Joko Widodo, had the sharpest increase of nearly 600% in 2014, compared to the 2009 election. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Eo64x/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In the 2014 election, it was clear that 90% of the female candidates elected from PPP were those nominated as number one. In other words, a lot of PPP voters supported women candidates placed in the top numbers. Meanwhile in other parties such as Golkar and Democrat, the majority of the female winners are not those nominated as number one, some of them went into the race under number seven, eight, and nine. </p>
<p>This graph maps the success rate of women candidates nominated as number one on candidate lists in the 2009 and 2014 elections. In the 2009 election, the Democrat Party, PDI-P and PKS managed to send 100% of the women candidates listed as number one to parliament. </p>
<p>However, in the next election, the “success rate” dropped for all parties, except the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB). This was caused partly by the open list system that enables all candidates to win regardless of their position on the candidate list. </p>
<p>Another aspect was that there were less women on the top of the list, such as in PKS where a woman was nominated as number one in only one electoral district. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/FNzwm/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="600"></iframe>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>Learning from the three election cycles, what can parties do to increase the number of women in Indonesia’s parliament? One thing is to continue to place women on the top of the candidate list, although with the open system, candidates placed anywhere on the list can win. </p>
<p>Additionally, some politicians and women’s rights activists have urged political parties to play a bigger role in preparing new women party cadres by providing serious political training for female legislative election candidates. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.ifes.org/sites/default/files/20110119_indonesia_electoral_survey_2.pdf">survey by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in 2010</a>
indicate that voters would like female candidates to have a number of traits. The qualities that voters look mostly look for are intelligence (35%), not corrupt (26%), and political experience (20%). This shows that to ensure they gain votes, women candidates must increase their value propositions for each of those factors. </p>
<p>In the end, increasing the number of women candidates is important to increase women’s electability in the election. It’s also important for political parties to place women at the top of their candidates list. But more importantly, parties should increase the quality of candidates so voters will be sure to vote for women candidates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90446/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella S. Prihatini tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Indonesia obliges political parties to have at least 30% of women candidates in their legislative candidates list. But then why this hasn’t significantly increase women’s electability?Ella S. Prihatini, PhD student, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.