tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/gender-quotas-24934/articlesGender quotas – The Conversation2024-03-28T15:09:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2266322024-03-28T15:09:02Z2024-03-28T15:09:02ZThe Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again – another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights<p>The Gambia’s ban on <a href="https://africlaw.com/2016/01/19/banning-female-circumcision-in-the-gambia-through-legislative-change-the-next-steps/">female genital mutilation (FGM)</a> since 2015 is <a href="https://africlaw.com/2024/03/22/threats-to-endfgm-law-in-the-gambia/#more/-3155">under threat</a>. Proposed changes before parliament could permit <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijgo.12792">medicalised</a> female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults. </p>
<p>This potential reversal has thrust the country into the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/18/move-to-overturn-fgm-ban-in-the-gambia-postponed">global spotlight</a> as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality.</p>
<p>The Gambia’s criminalisation of FGM was not the first in west Africa but it came as a surprise. The president at the time, Yahya Jammeh, declared the <a href="https://gambia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/national_policy_for_the_elimination_of_fgm.pdf">rampant cultural tradition</a> a non-religious practice that caused harm. There was some dissent within the country but human rights groups <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-9fb847c01f8e448c97f5d09b8a844cba">welcomed</a> the ban. </p>
<p>Jammeh, who was president from 1994 to 2016, also oversaw the passage of other progressive gender-related laws. The <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/domestic-violence-act-2013">Domestic Violence Act 2013</a> provided a framework for combating domestic violence in all its forms (physical, sexual, emotional, economic) and protection in particular for women and children. The <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/sexual-offences-act-2013">Sexual Offences Act 2013</a> expanded the definition of rape, broadened the circumstances in which individuals could be charged, and reduced the burden of proof in prosecutions.</p>
<p>Jammeh also <a href="https://security-legislation.gm/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Childrens-Amendment-Act-2016.pdf">outlawed</a> child marriages in 2016. This was significant in country where <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR369/FR369.pdf">one in five young people aged 15-19 (19%)</a> are married. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/development-policy/news/eu-cuts-aid-to-gambia-over-human-rights-concerns/">one of the world’s most aid-dependent countries</a>, these reforms were all central to international donor interests. And they helped to improve the country’s democratic reputation. But at the same time, they made it easy for the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/48609039">autocratic</a> leader to get away with other excesses. He also mobilised religion to manipulate beliefs and sentiments, particularly affecting girls and women. For example, Jammeh <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/05/gambia-female-government-workers-headscarves-islamic-republic">mandated</a> that female government workers wear veils or headscarves when he declared his <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353945890_2020_Religious_Tolerance_in_the_Gambia">Muslim majority</a> country an Islamic state in 2016. </p>
<p>President Adama Barrow, Jammeh’s successor, has emphasised religious tolerance and has refrained from employing religious symbolism. Unlike the state-sponsored homophobia under the Jammeh regime, Barrow has downplayed homosexuality as a <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edocman/edited_collections/queer_lawfare_in_africa/Chapter%2011.pdf">“non-issue”</a>.</p>
<p>I am a legal scholar and human rights practitioner with published research on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Q0j-E18AAAAJ&citation_for_view=Q0j-E18AAAAJ:u5HHmVD_uO8C">female genital mutilation</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Q0j-E18AAAAJ&citation_for_view=Q0j-E18AAAAJ:zYLM7Y9cAGgC">gender equality and women’s rights</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Q0j-E18AAAAJ&citation_for_view=Q0j-E18AAAAJ:_kc_bZDykSQC">governance</a> in The Gambia. It’s my view that Jammeh’s ostensible compliance with gender equality norms was selective and intended for the international gallery rather than a genuine commitment to women’s rights and democracy.</p>
<p>His tactical stance highlighted a broader trend. Autocratic African leaders often accommodate global gender norms to maintain domestic power dynamics. The result, for example, is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00104140221074277">increased women’s political participation through quotas</a> along with a conservative approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights.</p>
<p>The Gambia experience also shows that western donors and multilateral institutions need to go beyond just pushing for reforms. Once they have got the reforms they advocated for, they should have a strategy for sustaining them. Forces that were opposed to the reform often regroup to campaign for its removal. </p>
<p>At its core, female genital mutilation <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edocman/pulp_commentaries/protocol_to_ACHPR/Article_5.pdf">constitutes</a> a <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijgo.12792">violation</a> of the human rights of girls and women. These include the right to non-discrimination, to protection from physical and mental violence, and to health and life. </p>
<p>From a feminist perspective, the prevalence of FGM in numerous African nations revolves around upholding gender-specific norms and exerting control over women’s sexuality.</p>
<h2>Female genital mutilation in The Gambia</h2>
<p>Female genital cutting is a <a href="https://gambia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/national_policy_for_the_elimination_of_fgm.pdf">deeply ingrained practice</a>. It is driven by cultural beliefs and often performed by traditional healers. According to the most recent <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-FR369-DHS-Final-Reports.cfm">national survey</a>, a large majority of Gambian women aged 15-49 years (73%) have undergone female genital cutting. More alarming is an <a href="https://www.unicef.org/gambia/media/776/file/The%20Gambia%20Multiple%20Indicator%20Cluster%20Survey%202018.pdf">8% increase in the prevalence</a> of FGM among girls under the age of 14 – from 42.4% in 2010 to 50.6% in 2018. </p>
<p>Numerous health risks associated with all types of the practice have been documented by the <a href="https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation">World Health Organization</a> and <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/4/bmjgh-2017-000467#ref-5">systematic reviews</a>. These include severe pain, bleeding, infections and complications during childbirth and elevated rates of anxiety and other mental health disorders. This has led to <a href="https://eyala.blog/my-musings/repealing-the-endfgm-law-will-be-a-betrayal-of-women-and-girls-in-the-gambia-jama-jack">calls</a> for the practice to be banned in order to protect girls’ health and well-being.</p>
<p>The Gambia’s current struggle with the FGM ban reflects a complex interplay between cultural norms, religious beliefs, and the fight for gender equality. The potential repeal of the ban poses a threat to human rights of women and girls in The Gambia.</p>
<h2>Reversal of hard-won gains</h2>
<p>Though The Gambia is constitutionally secular, religion influences nearly every facet of society. Islamic fundamentalists in the country are known for attacks on religious minorities, including <a href="https://malagen.org/media-monitoring/hate-speech-alert-imam-fatty-attacks-ahmadis/">hate speech</a> against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and the <a href="https://www.voicegambia.com/2023/05/11/rising-religious-tension-in-the-country/">Christian community</a>. </p>
<p>The main fundamentalist religious actors draw inspiration from and still support the exiled former dictator Jammeh. They are at the forefront of the <a href="https://africlaw.com/2024/03/22/threats-to-endfgm-law-in-the-gambia/#more-3155.">recent pushback</a> against the anti-FGM law. They argue that the ban violates their religious and cultural freedoms as guaranteed in the <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/1997-constitution">1997 constitution</a>. </p>
<p>On 4 March 2024 a <a href="https://standard.gm/nam-to-seek-power-of-attorney-from-jammeh-to-sue-govt/">strong supporter of Jammeh</a> proposed a private member’s <a href="https://satangnabaneh.com/contesting-the-prohibition-of-female-genital-mutilation-in-the-gambia/">bill</a> in the National Assembly that seeks to overturn the ban.</p>
<p>The push to reassert traditional gender roles isn’t isolated to The Gambia. There is a global trend of rolling back progress on gender equality. This trend is characterised by attempts to limit <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/emerging-voices-series/choice-and-conscience-lessons-from-south-africa-for-a-global-debate">women’s bodily choices</a>, an <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/Gender-equality-and-gender-backlash.pdf">increase in violence</a> against them, as well as <a href="https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edited-collections/queer-lawfare-in-africa-legal-strategies-in-contexts-of-lgbtiq-criminalisation-and-politicisation">attacks</a> on LGBTQI+ communities. It reflects a broader political climate of backlash against women’s rights and gender equality as a weapon in the reversal of democratic achievements.</p>
<p>Attempts have been seen to reverse legal protections against women and girls in <a href="https://au.int/en/articles/kenyas-court-ruling-against-fgm-demonstrates-commitment-member-states-shun-practices">Kenya</a>. In Sudan, state-sanctioned violence and societal pressure is aimed at <a href="https://africanarguments.org/2019/07/against-laws-regime-sudan-women-protesters-want/">restricting</a> women’s public participation. Similarly, Tanzania previously enacted a policy barring teenage mothers from <a href="https://www.moe.go.tz/sw/nyaraka/waraka-wa-elimu-na-2-wa-mwaka-2021-kuhusu-kuingia-tena-shule-kwa-wanafunzi-wa-shule-za">attending</a> public schools, though this policy has been reversed. </p>
<p>This global context highlights how anti-rights movements, undemocratic norms and gendered politics are working together to erode women’s rights and exacerbate inequalities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Satang Nabaneh 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 potential repeal of the ban on female genital mutilation poses a threat to the well-being of girls in The Gambia.Satang Nabaneh, Director of Programs, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223872024-02-08T00:55:49Z2024-02-08T00:55:49ZEven with a 30% quota in place, Indonesian women face an uphill battle running for office<p>In the 2019 general election, Indonesians voted more women into the national parliament than ever before. </p>
<p>After the first election of the post-authoritarian period in 1999, women’s representation was a paltry 8.8%, so the rise to 20.9% in 2019 seemed worth celebrating. Indeed, women activists had worked long and hard to reach this point. </p>
<p>Disappointed with the results of the first two elections, they had successfully pushed for a candidate quota, requiring parties to nominate at least 30% women. </p>
<p>This will again be tested in next week’s election. But given the barriers women candidates in Indonesia face, is the quota enough to raise representation?</p>
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<h2>Representation better, but not enough</h2>
<p>Under Indonesia’s open list proportional representation system, parties decide on candidate placement on the list, but voters can choose any candidate. In the past three elections, the quota has meant that in every electoral district at all three levels of parliament, women had to make up at least 30% of candidates. Additionally, <a href="https://www.insideindonesia.org/editions/edition-135-elections-2019/electoral-in-equity?highlight=WyJwcmloYXRpbmkiXQ==">one in every three</a> candidates on the party list had to be female.</p>
<p>With such a strong institutional framework, it is not surprising that enthusiasm after the 2019 election was <a href="https://www.newmandala.org/why-good-women-lose-elections/">muted</a>. Given the 2014 election had seen a slight fall in women’s representation, activists were relieved. But the result was still well below the aspirational 30% target, and below the <a href="https://data.ipu.org/women-averages">international average</a> at the time of 24.3%.</p>
<p>The results were also uneven, with more than 20% of electoral districts not electing any women to parliament. At the provincial and district level, the proportion of women elected to office was <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1868103421989720">even lower</a>, at only 18% and 15% respectively; 25 district parliaments had no women at all elected to office in 2019.</p>
<p>Why do women find it hard to be elected to office in Indonesia, and is this likely to change in 2024? </p>
<h2>Barriers of patriarchy, money and name recognition</h2>
<p>In many countries, it is said that when women run, they win. The main barrier to greater representation tends to be that women <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/upshot/the-problem-for-women-is-not-winning-its-deciding-to-run.html">don’t stand for office</a>. When they do, political parties don’t nominate them, or put them in unwinnable positions.</p>
<p>The quota in Indonesia gets around this problem. It encourages women to run and forces parties to nominate them. But <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-gender/article/voting-against-women-political-patriarchy-islam-and-representation-in-indonesia/97BA1999553E22A86FF497F25E49F40B">our research</a> has revealed that women candidates in Indonesia also face significant barriers from patriarchal attitudes held by many voters about whether women should take on political leadership roles. </p>
<p>Support for women’s political leadership has even dropped over the past decade. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s electoral system allows voters to discriminate against women without having to sacrifice party choice, as they would in a majoritarian voting system like that in Australia.</p>
<p>But the challenges don’t stop there. </p>
<p>Indonesia is a new democracy and political parties receive very little public financing. Candidates are expected to raise their own funds to run their campaigns. </p>
<p>The open-list system means candidates run not just against opponents from other parties, but also against their fellow party members, making politics <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Democracy_for_Sale/g-KEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en">highly personalised</a>. This has led to a dramatic rise in the cost of elections for individual candidates, with “money politics” coming to dominate election campaigns. </p>
<p>Given that women in Indonesia face high levels of <a href="https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/economy-profiles-5932ef6d39/">economic inequality</a>, the cost of campaigns makes competing <a href="https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/campaign-costs-impeding-womens-political-representation-in-indonesia/">difficult</a>.</p>
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<p>Clientelism also shapes the kind of women candidates that parties choose and where they place them on their lists. Elite women and celebrities are more likely to be nominated as they can finance themselves. They also have the networks and name recognition that can garner votes. In 2019, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1868103421991144">some 44%</a> of the women elected to the national parliament were members of political dynasties. </p>
<p>While some of these women are no doubt capable politicians, their dominance makes it harder for women candidates to come through grassroots organisations. Parties also spend less time developing women cadres to run as candidates, preferring to reach out to such “vote getters”.</p>
<h2>What about this time around?</h2>
<p>So what are the prospects for women’s representation in the upcoming elections? </p>
<p>The barriers to women’s election have not changed and are unlikely to change in the short term. As a result, incremental progress is the best that can be hoped for. </p>
<p>Several women politicians were instrumental in the passage of the <a href="https://www.kompas.id/baca/ilmu-pengetahuan-teknologi/2022/05/08/dari-senayan-mereka-perjuangkan-ruu-tpks">Anti-Sexual Violence bill</a> that passed last year. It’s possible that this increased visibility will give women a bump. </p>
<p>On the other hand, gender issues have not been central to the presidential or legislative campaigns so are <a href="https://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/insights/where-are-the-women-gender-perspectives-in-indonesias-2024-presidential-race">unlikely</a> to be uppermost in voters’ minds.</p>
<p>In fact, we may have reason to be more pessimistic. A seemingly minor change to the regulations on quota implementation means that for the first time in three elections, the requirement for a 30% candidate quota <a href="https://www.datatalk.asia/story/detail/68/women-face-tough-path-to-become-legislators.html">will not be applied</a> in every electoral district party list, but instead for the total number of women candidates of each party.</p>
<p>The changes date back to a <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesia-s-push-for-more-women-candidates-in-general-elections-faces-setback">controversial regulation</a> issued by the Indonesian Electoral Commission (KPU) in April 2023. The regulation allowed rounding down when assessing the number of women a party has on a candidate list. For example, in electoral districts with eight seats, 30% is 2.4 candidates. Previously, a party would have had to field three women candidates. Now, fractions can be rounded down if under 0.5, so in our example, parties are only required to field two women candidates.</p>
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<p>A coalition of democracy and gender activists appealed against this regulation to the Supreme Court, and they won. But the electoral commission has indicated it will not enforce the court’s decision in this election. Democracy activists say that this means almost 18% of party lists <a href="https://www.kompas.id/baca/polhuk/2023/11/09/17-parpol-tak-penuhi-jumlah-minimal-30-persen-caleg-perempuan">do not meet</a> the requirement for 30% women candidates.</p>
<p>It could be that these changes will have little impact. After all, we know that most candidates are elected from the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app5.299">first position</a> on the list. </p>
<p>However, it sets a worrying precedent for women’s representation going forward. <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-gender/article/voting-against-women-political-patriarchy-islam-and-representation-in-indonesia/97BA1999553E22A86FF497F25E49F40B">Our research</a> shows the 30% candidate quota for women is widely supported in Indonesia. Yet, it has effectively been watered down without public discussion and against the advice of the Supreme Court. </p>
<p>The actions of the electoral commission, apparently at the direction of a <a href="https://www.kompas.id/baca/polhuk/2023/05/17/komisi-ii-dpr-tolak-usulan-kpu-soal-penghitungan-keterwakilan-perempuan">male-dominated parliamentary commission</a>, underline again how the foundational institutions of Indonesian democracy are being eroded by the political elite.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally White receives funding from the Australian Research Council Discovery Project "Political Representation in Indonesia". </span></em></p>As the country prepares to go to the polls on February 14, will the low representation of women in parliament improve? Given the systemic barriers in place, probably not.Sally White, Research fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2177022024-01-30T10:09:59Z2024-01-30T10:09:59ZBurundi’s quota for women in politics has had mixed results, but that’s no reason to scrap it<p>Since 2005, Burundi has <a href="https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org/IssueLibrary/BURUNDI_Constitution.pdf#page=23">set quotas</a> to ensure that the country’s three ethnic groups (Hutu, Tutsi and Twa), as well as women, are represented in its parliament, central government and municipal administrations. Its constitution states that women should make up at least <a href="https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org/IssueLibrary/BURUNDI_Constitution.pdf#page=23">30% of these institutions</a>. </p>
<p>The senate, Burundi’s highest chamber of parliament, recently started a <a href="https://constitutionnet.org/news/review-constitutionalized-ethnic-quotas-burundi-turning-point">process of evaluating</a> ethnic quotas in political institutions. This <a href="https://www.voaafrica.com/a/burundi--ethnic-quota-system-under-senate-evaluation/7210281.html">process</a> is expected to lead to recommendations on whether quotas should continue to be used. Regrettably, the evaluation lacks methodological rigour and transparency.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=fr&user=hAOjiu8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">researchers</a> with a focus on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=fr&user=9Gwdmm8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">gender representation</a> in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/search?q=Stef%20Vandeginste">politics</a>, we believe this is a missed opportunity. Gender and ethnic quotas have been adopted in Burundi as a forward-looking solution to sustainable peace. A decision about removing them should be based on whether they have met (or can meet) their goals. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/00020397231203021">recent paper</a>, we examined whether gender quotas foster Burundian women’s political representation. </p>
<p>We drew on data covering the period between October 2001 and June 2020 to determine three things:</p>
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<li><p>whether Burundian political actors abide by the gender quotas</p></li>
<li><p>the relative importance of ministerial portfolios allocated to women </p></li>
<li><p>whether these gender quotas have had an effect on government positions where they aren’t mandated. </p></li>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/political-representation-ethnicity-trumps-gender-in-burundi-and-rwanda-104146">Political representation: ethnicity trumps gender in Burundi and Rwanda</a>
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<p>We found that gender quotas have gradually resulted in women being assigned to prominent ministerial portfolios. The impact of this, however, has been mixed. </p>
<p>Women have remained confined to typically “feminine”, care-giving ministerial portfolios, such as health and education, over nearly two decades. They have been excluded from portfolios such as defence, security and foreign affairs. Their representation as senior advisers to the president or as CEOs of parastatals has remained marginal. </p>
<p>Our research illustrates that embedding gender quotas in the constitution can fast-track representation. But it doesn’t necessarily spiral beyond the targeted positions and institutions. This implies that any policy targeting an increase in women’s representation needs to take into account the broader political setting. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13537113.2022.2047248">formal mechanisms</a> to enforce gender quotas in government and parliament in Burundi are in place, they are absent in other important and sought-after positions, such as parastatal CEO or provincial governor.</p>
<h2>Meeting the gender quota</h2>
<p>Gender quotas have been consistently respected in Burundi since 2005. </p>
<p>The country has one of the highest shares of women in parliament. It ranks <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2023.pdf#page=18">41st</a> out of 145 countries in the 2023 global political empowerment metric. </p>
<p>This is mostly because gender quotas are compatible with clientelistic politics. Most women positions are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00020397231203021#page=4">allocated</a> to people related to key regime figures. This has led to the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00020397231203021">increasing assignment</a> of women to key portfolios like justice, health and education. </p>
<p>In theory, one might <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/CBA8C55CF243B6364C5DCE5D0D0AAAC6/S1743923X15000434a.pdf/div-class-title-rules-of-ministerial-recruitment-div.pdf">expect</a> that gender quotas would affect both the supply and demand side of women political elites, triggering an upsurge in women’s representation. </p>
<p>Burundi’s cabinet ministers, of whom 30% are women, nominate individuals to head departments under their jurisdiction. The pool of qualified candidates for such positions has increased as more women take on political responsibilities. Ideally, this should facilitate the nomination of women, even when there are no quotas.</p>
<p>But the gender quotas in Burundi have <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/burundi/burundian-women-want-greater-say-running-country">fallen short</a> of spilling over into quota-free positions. Women are still under-represented as senior advisers to the president, permanent secretaries in ministries or CEOs of parastatals.</p>
<p>Our interviews with political elites and women civil society activists revealed two ways women are sidelined.</p>
<p>First, women are not fully embedded in the formal and informal structures that decide who to appoint where and when. </p>
<p>For instance, women are not in the ruling party’s main decision-making body, <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/9789004355910/B9789004355910_031.xml">Conseil des Sage</a> (council of the wise). They are also not part of the ruling party’s Cercle des Généraux (circle of generals). This is a group of former army and police generals who enjoy a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13698249.2017.1381819">de facto veto right</a> to any important decisions. Equally important, women aren’t appointed as provincial and municipal party executive secretaries. These are the career brokers and connectors between grassroots ruling party structures, the party’s leadership and the president.</p>
<p>Second, the ruling party has increasingly <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13698249.2016.1205561">relied on coercion</a> to maintain its dominance in politics since 2005. It relies heavily on hardliners, most of whom are former combatants in Imbonerakure, the party’s youth league, or Abahumure, party veterans. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13698249.2016.1205561">paramilitary power configuration</a> that has prevailed in Burundi since the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Nkurunziza">ruling party’s accession to power</a>, the ability to wage violence has become a valued “skill set”. This is a comparative disadvantage for women, leading to their under-representation in appointed positions where gender quotas don’t apply.</p>
<h2>Opportunistic use of quotas</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00020397231203021#page=11">Our research found</a> that women made important gains in high-value ministerial positions, in cabinet positions and in provincial governor positions in the 2015-2020 legislature. Their representation in high-visibility ministries increased, growing their political role. </p>
<p>On the surface of it, it may appear to be due to the gender quota policy. However, this would have taken a longer time to produce the desired effects. In our view, the 2015-2020 legislature resulted from a <a href="https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=hrbregionalcoverage-spring2016#page=2">chaotic and contested electoral process</a> in 2015 that was marred by massive human rights violations. </p>
<p>This election prompted key donors, such as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/mar/15/eu-suspends-aid-to-burundi-government">European Union</a>, to withdraw support to the government. We see what resulted as an <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/2CB1F142F6235323B08B506601376DE9/S0017257X2200032Xa.pdf/div-class-title-the-appointment-of-women-to-authoritarian-cabinets-in-africa-div.pdf">opportunistic use</a> of gender quotas as a window dressing strategy. It was an effort to sanitise a regime that had become an international pariah. </p>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>Gender quotas have the potential to increase women’s representation in decision-making positions. However, to lead to sustainable change, governments need to take into account informal political practices. These include the role played by multiple layers of clientelistic networks in accessing key political positions. Women’s integration in political parties’ formal and informal structures would better level the playing field.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217702/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>Any state policy looking to increase women’s representation must take into account formal and informal political practices.Reginas Ndayiragije, Associate researcher, University of AntwerpPetra Meier, Professor of Politics, University of AntwerpStef Vandeginste, Associate Professor, University of AntwerpLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1978952023-01-22T19:02:07Z2023-01-22T19:02:07ZWhen it comes to finding Australia’s future leaders, both the Liberals and Labor have a women problem: new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505040/original/file-20230118-26-tikvps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=908%2C90%2C6611%2C4873&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>The Liberal Party’s recently published <a href="http://cdn.liberal.org.au/2022/2022_election_review.pdf">review</a> of the 2022 federal election defeat does not mince words: the party has a problem with women.</p>
<p>The party has struggled to connect with women voters in recent elections, especially from the 18-34 age group. Moreover, just nine of the party’s 42 MPs in the House of Representatives and ten of its 26 senators are women. There have not been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-22/liberal-election-review-recommends-party-changes/101800030">so few Liberal women elected to parliament</a> since 1993. </p>
<p>And this is at a time when, overall, there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-new-parliament-will-have-record-numbers-of-women-will-this-finally-make-it-a-safe-place-to-work-181598">more women in parliament</a> than ever.</p>
<p>To address the issue, the Liberals’ election review says the party must begin “broadening the membership base with young women, and retaining them”. Doing so, the authors argue, will help to “ensure there is a much larger number of high-quality female candidates” in future elections.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6765.12560?af=R">our research</a> on the youth wings of political parties in Australia, Italy and Spain, however, this will be no easy task. </p>
<p>Moreover, it is not just the Liberal Party that has a problem attracting young women to its ranks, but also Labor. Our <a href="https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-6765.12560">study</a> indicates that both of their youth wings, the Young Liberals and Young Labor, have far fewer women members than men. In addition, the proportion of women members in both youth wings who would like to stand as candidates is far lower than that of men.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sussan-ley-says-she-is-listening-to-women-who-rejected-the-liberals-but-will-she-hear-what-they-are-saying-184448">Sussan Ley says she is listening to women who rejected the Liberals. But will she hear what they are saying?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What our research looked at</h2>
<p>Our findings are based on surveys we conducted of six youth wings – three from the centre-left (Young Labor in Australia, Young Democrats in Italy, Socialist Youth in Spain) and three from the centre-right (Young Liberals in Australia, Forza Italia Youth in Italy, New Generations in Spain).</p>
<p>Youth wings are a key part of the political career pipeline in parliamentary democracies like Australia. Take New South Wales, for example. John Howard and Gladys Berejiklian were former presidents of the NSW Young Liberals, while Paul Keating and Anthony Albanese were former presidents of NSW Young Labor. </p>
<p>Several recent prime ministers and government ministers in Italy and Spain have similar political backgrounds.</p>
<p>In total, we surveyed almost 2,000 youth wing members in the three countries, with around 750 respondents from Australia. Ours is the first published academic study of youth wing members in this country.</p>
<p>As the figure below shows, men far outnumber women among our respondents in all six youth wings. This is markedly the case in the two Australian organisations, with women accounting for less than a quarter of the Young Liberals respondents and less than a third of Young Labor ones.</p>
<p>The major Australian parties have long been reluctant to release reliable data about their organisations, so we do not know for certain if our respondents perfectly mirror the full youth wing memberships. However, our results certainly suggest that if the Liberals want to achieve gender parity among their younger members, they have a long way to go.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505028/original/file-20230118-18-syhk8t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505028/original/file-20230118-18-syhk8t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505028/original/file-20230118-18-syhk8t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505028/original/file-20230118-18-syhk8t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505028/original/file-20230118-18-syhk8t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505028/original/file-20230118-18-syhk8t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505028/original/file-20230118-18-syhk8t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gender make-up of youth wing survey respondents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>Fewer young women wanting to stand for election</h2>
<p>What about the desire to stand for election? To understand the electoral ambitions of youth wing members, we asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “In the future, I would like to stand as a candidate for the senior party.” </p>
<p>Here, the largest gender gaps are in Australia.</p>
<p>As we can see from the figure below, two-thirds of men in Young Labor say they would like to run for public office one day, but only one-third of women agree. We see a similar 30-point gap in the Young Liberals, with almost three-quarters of men expressing a desire to stand and less than half of women saying likewise.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505029/original/file-20230118-13-pmbqda.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505029/original/file-20230118-13-pmbqda.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505029/original/file-20230118-13-pmbqda.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505029/original/file-20230118-13-pmbqda.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505029/original/file-20230118-13-pmbqda.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505029/original/file-20230118-13-pmbqda.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505029/original/file-20230118-13-pmbqda.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gender make-up of respondents who agreed with the statement, ‘In the future, I would like to stand as a candidate for the senior party.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Surprisingly, despite Labor’s implementation of candidate gender quotas - which have facilitated the election of <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Members/Members_Photos?party=287">36 women MPs</a> (out of the party’s 77 total) in the current house - Young Labor women were the least likely of all women in our survey to express a desire to stand for election. They are over ten percentage points behind their counterparts in the Young Liberals, and more than 20 behind young women in the Italian and Spanish parties.</p>
<p>From interviews we’ve conducted with women and men from Young Labor and Young Liberal leadership teams over the past four years, these findings seem to be due to a mixture of factors. They range from the excessively adversarial “boy’s club” culture in both party youth wings to the tendency of men in the senior parties to mentor young men rather than women for electoral careers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-liberal-post-mortem-urges-party-to-address-flight-of-female-vote-but-not-by-quotas-197015">Grattan on Friday: Liberal post-mortem urges party to address flight of female vote – but not by quotas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Other political career ambitions</h2>
<p>Our results may make depressing reading for Australian political observers. However, when we asked youth wing members about a non-electoral type of ambition – the desire to work for the senior party in the future – we got a very different picture.</p>
<p>As the figure below illustrates, the political ambition gender gap almost entirely disappears among Young Labor members and narrows considerably among Young Liberals.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505035/original/file-20230118-16-2u3uty.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505035/original/file-20230118-16-2u3uty.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505035/original/file-20230118-16-2u3uty.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505035/original/file-20230118-16-2u3uty.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505035/original/file-20230118-16-2u3uty.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505035/original/file-20230118-16-2u3uty.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505035/original/file-20230118-16-2u3uty.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gender make-up of respondents who expressed a desire to work in the senior party.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>In short, our findings suggest it’s not that women in Australian youth wings necessarily lack political ambition. Rather, they may prefer to pursue behind-the-scenes careers, such as party officials and advisers, than stand as candidates at elections. </p>
<p>While we do find some similar patterns in Spain, the shift in the Australian results from electoral to non-electoral ambition is by far the most striking.</p>
<h2>Where to go from here</h2>
<p>So, what does all this mean for Australia’s major political parties and the women in them? To be sure, while the Liberals have evident problems in terms of attracting women members and candidates, Labor cannot rest on its laurels, either.</p>
<p>Both parties have serious imbalances in terms of the number of young women joining their youth wings compared to men, as well as in the proportion of young women compared to young men who aspire to stand as candidates one day.</p>
<p>Remarkably, despite all its good intentions, the Liberal Party review of the 2022 election does not mention the Young Liberals even once. This is a serious omission. If parties wish to improve their candidate pools of tomorrow, it’s vital they concentrate their efforts on the youth wings of today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197895/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duncan McDonnell receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sofia Ammassari 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>New research shows fewer women are joining the Liberals and Labor youth wings – and fewer want to stand as future candidates, as well.Duncan McDonnell, Professor of Politics, Griffith UniversitySofia Ammassari, PhD researcher, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1967282022-12-16T01:21:36Z2022-12-16T01:21:36ZPolitics with Michelle Grattan: Albanese flags new progress in China relationship ‘in coming weeks’<p>In this, our last podcast for 2022, we talk with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. We spoke to each of them on the day the parliament was back to pass the energy package. </p>
<p>Albanese, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping during the recent summit season, reveals he anticipates a further positive development in China’s relationship with Australia within weeks. </p>
<p>Asked whether he expects some relaxation of China’s trade restrictions on Australia any time soon, he says: “I’m hopeful that any of the barriers to normal economic activity are removed and that we have stronger economic relations.</p>
<p>"China is our major economic partner and I think in coming weeks you will see further measures and activities which indicate a much-improved relationship, which is in the interests of both of our countries, but importantly as well is in the interests of peace and security in the region.”</p>
<p>Pressed on whether he’s indicating a likely loosening of restrictions on our exports, Albanese says: “I’m hoping that there’ll be further indications of an improvement in the relationship […] and we’ll see how that plays out over the next coming weeks.”</p>
<p>On the 2023 referendum for the Voice to Parliament, Albanese is “absolutely confident” its passage would make Closing the Gap more attainable. </p>
<p>“That is the objective. […] We know that where Indigenous Australians feel a sense of ownership over decisions, where they’re consulted about programs that have a direct impact on them, then you get better outcomes. And we see that in practical ways through the rangers’ program, through justice reinvestment programs.</p>
<p>"We have tried doing things from Canberra or from state capitals, seeking to make decisions on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The successful programs have been ones that have directly consulted them and had their input.”</p>
<p>Carrying the referendum would also improve “the way that Australia is perceived internationally”. </p>
<p>In the Albanese interview we also canvass:</p>
<ul>
<li>Julian Assange</li>
<li>energy policy</li>
<li>COVID changes</li>
<li>the 2023 budget</li>
<li>Labor’s challenge in “heartland” seats.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Peter Dutton: Coalition won’t be ‘small target’ at next election</h2>
<p>Dutton’s main task since the election has been holding together an opposition demoralised by defeat. But as he oversees policy development for the 2025 election will be adopt a “small target” strategy, as Albanese did? </p>
<p>“At the next election we will have a very significant offering of policy, which will distinguish us quite markedly from the Labor Party,” Dutton says.</p>
<p>“I’ve been in the parliament for 21 years. I have a good sense of balance and proportion, and there does need to be a balance of risk-taking. There needs to be an element of the government getting it wrong. There needs to be an opportunity for us to get the policies right. </p>
<p>"And I want to bring that experience to bear in the next election campaign. And I believe that, as a result of that, we won’t be small target, but we’re not going to be silly about policies. I mean, you went from one extreme under Bill Shorten in 2019 to the other under Anthony Albanese in 2022. So we have a balance to strike and I’ll be making those judgment calls as we get closer to the next election.”</p>
<p>The Liberals are always saying they need more women candidates but what are they actually going to do about getting them?</p>
<p>Dutton says (in an unspoken comparison with his predecessor): “I don’t have a problem with women and I’m not perceived to. I have a very significant track record and I’m happy to be compared against the prime minister or anybody else.”</p>
<p>Pushed on quotas, he says: “The Liberal Party doesn’t have a culture of imposing quotas. I want to see more women. I’ve made that very clear to the state presidents, I have made it very clear to preselection bodies. But in the Liberal Party our branch members have the say as to who they want as their local candidate. And generally that is somebody who has worked very hard on campaigns in the local electorate over a long period of time.” </p>
<p>In the Dutton interview we also canvass:</p>
<ul>
<li>cost of living</li>
<li>the Liberal Party’s stance on the Voice</li>
<li>Josh Frydenberg’s future</li>
<li>Scott Morrison</li>
<li>participation in the NSW state election.</li>
</ul>
<h2>PM Official transcript:</h2>
<p>E&OE TRANSCRIPT
PODCAST INTERVIEW
POLITICS WITH MICHELLE GRATTAN
FRIDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2022</p>
<p>SUBJECTS: Priorities and plan for 2023; Energy Price Relief plan; relationship with business; Australia’s relationship with China; trade; Julian Assange; Voice to Parliament; 2023 Budget; Brittany Higgins; 2022 Federal election.</p>
<p>MICHELLE GRATTAN, HOST: Anthony Albanese, thanks for being with us today. Could we start with your priorities for 2023, just the main three or four priorities?</p>
<p>ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: A big priority will be implementing the reforms that were put in place. So, Cheaper Child Care comes in on July 1, the National Reconstruction Fund will be established, creating Jobs and Skills Australia, the legislation has been passed for Cheaper Medicines. So, all of those measures, getting the implementation part of that right. But secondly, in the second half of the year, of course, we’ll have the referendum on constitutional change to recognise a Voice to our National Parliament for Indigenous people.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, the energy legislation is passing Parliament today. But wouldn’t it have been simpler, less complicated, to just have imposed a super profits tax? Yes, that would have involved a broken promise, but people would have probably accepted that in the extraordinary circumstances we’re in?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, it would have been simpler. And certainly, all matters were considered. But we think we’ve got the balance right here. A temporary price cap of $12 for gas and $125 for coal will ensure that the worst impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and these global price spikes that we’re seeing impacting households and businesses can be alleviated. And that combined with support for households who are most in need, I think, presents a package that received the support of state and territory governments and will receive the support of the Parliament today.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, the energy policy and your changes to industrial relations have strained the relationship with business in these early days of the Government. Are you concerned about that?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: We have good relations with the business community. And I note that while the industrial relations changes were being debated in the Parliament, I attended the Australian Industry Group, I had an hour of questions after I addressed their dinner function at their national conference. And I received one question about the industrial relations legislation and eight questions about other matters. I also addressed the Australian Chamber of Commerce, in the Great Hall here in Parliament House, literally the night before the industrial relations changes, were going through the Parliament. So, I’m very confident that we’ll continue to have a constructive relationship. I met with APPEA yesterday, the major energy companies, we had constructive dialogue. Constructive dialogue doesn’t mean you always agree. It does mean, though, that the door is always open and you’re prepared to listen and prepared to act where you can reach agreement. And that is what my Government will be characterised by going forward.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, you’ve obviously had a successful debut as Prime Minister on the international stage. Notably, this time has seen a thaw in the relationship with China, which is also part of China’s wider international policy as well. Do you expect that we will see some relaxation of China’s trade restrictions on Australia anytime soon?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m hopeful that any of the barriers to normal economic activity are removed and that we have stronger economic relations. China’s our major economic partner. And I think in coming weeks, you will see further measures and activities which indicate a much improved relationship, which is in the interests of both of our countries, but importantly as well, is in the interests of peace and security in the region.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: So, are you indicating there you think something might happen on trade in the next few weeks?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m hoping that there’ll be further indications of an improvement in the relationship.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: On the trade field?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’ll see how that plays out over the next coming weeks.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: You made some strong comments recently on the question of Julian Assange saying it was really time to draw a line under this. Are there any signs of progress? Or were you just stating a position of principle?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, I have raised the issue with the US Administration and raised the issue on behalf of Australia. They are consistent, my comments that I made as Prime Minister in the Parliament, are consistent with the comments I made as the Leader of the Labor Party from Opposition. I do not see what constructive purpose is served from the ongoing incarceration of Julian Assange. I do believe that enough is enough and that this issue should be brought to a close. And I’ll continue to argue constructively through diplomatic means to achieve that objective.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: But are you hopeful?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, I am certainly cognisant of how complex and difficult these issues are. So, I don’t want to do anything other than continue to act diplomatically, to put the view on behalf of Australia to our friends in the United States, that many Australians care about this issue. And certainly, my argument is, it is difficult to see, no matter what views people have about Julian Assange, and I certainly am not arguing the merits of his activity. What I say, though, is that at a time when Chelsea Manning, of course, is able to participate freely in US society. Now, the Assange saga has gone on for a long period of time. And it is time it be brought to a close.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, you mentioned the Voice referendum, of course, as one of the big things for next year. Are you confident that if the Voice is passed, it will in fact make closing the gap more attainable? And in what way do you think it will do that?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: I am absolutely confident that is the objective. The Voice is about recognising if we’re going to make a practical difference going forward, we know that where Indigenous Australians feel a sense of ownership over decisions, where they’re consulted about programs that have a direct impact on them, then you get better outcomes. And we see that in practical ways, through the rangers program, through justice reinvestment programs, through wherever Indigenous people are actually involved in the decision making you get better practical outcomes. We are now 122 years old as a Federation. We have tried doing things from Canberra or from state capitals, seeking to make decisions on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The successful programs have been ones that have directly consulted them and had their input. And that is what the objective is here is to make a difference, as well as, of course, to make a difference for all Australians, to be able to be proud of the fact that we share this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth. And the third improvement will, of course, be the way that Australia is perceived internationally will be much more positive if this referendum is successful as just a step on the path to reconciliation.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: We have, of course, had elected bodies before going right back to Gough Whitlam’s time. How will this one be different in its effectiveness?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, this body will encourage that direct consultation where matters affect Indigenous people, be it their education, health, housing, incarceration rates and justice issues. All of these issues are ones that we need to make progress on. And I’m very confident, as well, that the right recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our national birth certificate, our Constitution, will be an important step in showing respect for First Nations people, but also in lifting up the whole nation. I think it is an opportunity for a moment of national unity which we should seize. The Indigenous people have made a very gracious offer, really. This is not a big ask. This is a gracious offer of a hand outstretched which should be met by non-Indigenous Australians. And we should walk forward together in the journey of Reconciliation. That’s what’s on the table. That’s what can be seized with a referendum being successful in the second half of next year.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: When will you announce the precise date? Or don’t you know that yet?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: We’ll continue to consult on those issues. I also want to see as broad as possible support. I want to see that broad support politically. We already have support from the major business organisations, from the trade union movement, from organisations, be they the National Basketball Association, the Australian Football League, NRL, Cricket Australia, major sporting organisations. We have support from major cultural organisations as well. And I want to see as broad possible support. I deliberately am being inclusive. I’m not trying to be prescriptive for those who say, ‘We want every bit of detail’. It’s not my proposal. It’s not the Government’s proposal. It needs to be the Australian people’s proposal which is then adopted, which is why we are prepared to consult continually, even with those who say that they’ve made a decision, like the National Party. My door is open for consultation and for trying to get as broad support as possible.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, the Government won’t be funding the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns. But will you be travelling the country campaign-style to sell the ‘yes’ case in the weeks immediately before the vote?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: I certainly will be campaigning very strongly for a ‘yes’ vote. I think it is important at the moment for Australia. And I already, of course, recommit in speeches that I give at the beginning when I do the Acknowledgement of Country. I consistently will reaffirm the view of the importance of recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution with a Voice to Parliament.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, before we get to the Voice vote, of course, we come to the Budget. And Budget preparation has already begun with the Expenditure Review Committee meeting. What are your early priorities for this Budget? Will it be addressing cost of living pressures? And how much will inflation fighting be at the centre of this Budget?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, we need to do both. We need to look at the macroeconomic measures, including the inflationary pressure that has arisen out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is a global phenomenon that we’re dealing with. The higher energy prices leading to higher inflation rates. Inflation can be seen as a tax on the poor. It impacts those people who can least afford to pay higher prices. And that is why it’s an equity issue as well. So, the issues are linked. So, we have been very careful, for example, in how we have framed the Energy Price Relief, to do it in a way which is providing that cost of living benefit for people and at the same time doing it in a way which is non-inflationary. So, we could have gone down the road of cash payments. That’s something that former Government undoubtedly would have done. But we chose not to do that. Because by reducing people’s power bills, rather than paying cash and the bills staying the same, you have a deflationary impact compared with the other option.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Do you think we could see this Budget in balance or nearly in balance?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: I think that wasn’t the indication at the time that we brought down the Budget in October.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: But there is a lot of talk about it since.</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, we inherited a trillion dollars of debt. We inherited a Budget with red ink as far as the eye could see. And we did that in a context of a Government that we replaced, that didn’t have a plan for fiscal policy. We know that the Budget that was introduced earlier this year in March had a whole lot of payments which assisted to add to inflationary pressures. That all ran out, of course, as soon as people had voted after the election. So, we will have a responsible Budget that will be framed to put that downward pressure on inflation. But we have inherited structural problems with the Budget. There’s no question about that. And that is something which, over a period of time, we need to be mindful of as we frame not just this Budget, but the ones beyond.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: So, in that context, do you agree that at some point, this term or next term, there will have to be tax reform?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, we are examining the Budget in a careful way. There are, of course, some tax changes envisaged for the Budget that come in 2024. They kick in at a modest amount, contrary to some of the commentary of $45,000. But, of course, we haven’t changed our position on those measures.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: But you might?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, we haven’t changed our position on those matters. What we have set about doing is making sure that we’ve restrained Budget spending. We got rid of some of the waste and rorts that were in the Budget. We’ll continue to search for savings. But we’ll also be responsible. I think one of the best things that we did in the Budget in October for the economy, certainly not necessarily for politics, but for the economy, was to put back 99 per cent of the revenue gains over the two years went to the Budget bottom line. That compares with what occurred under the former Government, where they spent a large portion of any revenue gains that were coming in. We will frame the Budget. There’s a considerable time to do it. We’ve been prioritising, of course, the immediate energy crisis resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, a year ago, of course, we had another wave of COVID. This Christmas, COVID is still killing quite a lot of people each week. Yet, under changes the Government has just announced, people will need a doctor’s referral for a PCR test. What do you say to critics who believe that we’re treating COVID too casually these days?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: If you look at the measures that were actually put in place by the Government, they are about targeting support for the most vulnerable in the community, additional support for PPL, additional support for those in aged care, targeting that support on the basis of health advice. And what we are moving towards, as well as making sure that those people who do need assistance, we agreed just last week to extend, for example, the support for people working in areas like disability care and aged care to continue to provide that additional support for them should they contract COVID. We know that COVID remains very much a real issue. And I was reminded of that, obviously, last week, when I contracted COVID for the second time. We will continue to act on the basis of best advice. But we couldn’t continue to have, forever, a situation where people shut down our economic activities. That was occurring. People do want to go and participate in work, but also participate in activities, like going to the football and going to concerts. And people are engaging. People do need to take advice, of course, and they should do so.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: On another related but different front, the Government’s also under criticism for cutting back the number of psychology consultations under Medicare. What’s your response to that?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, we’re making sure that people who need this support can get it. And we’re continuing to do that. We want to make sure that those who most need support, because there was evidence there as well that what was happening is that some people were getting additional consultations while others couldn’t get access to any at all. We need to deal with these issues in a way that ensures that those people who most need support, I realise that this is a difficult issue. All of these issues are difficult. But we continue to take advice. And we continue to make sure that support is available. We, in recent times, have extended considerable additional support, running into the billions of dollars, to deal with these ongoing issues.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Now, I know that you’ve declined to comment on various recent developments in relation to Brittany Higgins. But is it not a legitimate question for taxpayers to want to know how much of their money has been agreed to be given to Ms Higgins in a settlement this week?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: I have no intention of commenting on those matters. I was not involved in any of those deliberations. They were legal matters dealt with appropriately under the law. And the issue was settled. But I wasn’t a party to any of those decisions.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: Recently the post-mortem on Labor’s election performance was released. And while, of course, that performance was very positive in its outcome, and indeed its conduct, there were some red flags raised. And one of those was that the Labor vote in heartland seats, especially in Melbourne, but also to some extent in Sydney, was in danger of eroding. Are you concerned about that? And what’s your strategy for dealing with it?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Well, we want to get more votes across the board. That is our intention, whether they be in seats that historically have been held by the Labor Party, or whether it be in the changed political environment where we’ve seen us hold a seat like Higgins that we have never held that area since Federation. So, we achieved our objective, which was to have a majority Labor Government. I’ll be working each and every day in the lead-up to the 2025 election to make sure that we secure a majority going forward.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: The bells are ringing, so can I just ask you, in one line, what are you doing for Christmas?</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: I will be at Bill Crews’ Exodus Foundation at Ashfield. I go every year to help. It’s a wonderful day. Helping to feed literally a couple of thousand people who are homeless, some of whom might just have nowhere to go in terms of family. And I find it incredibly rewarding. And I think Bill Crews does a wonderful job. And I’m very much looking forward to that.</p>
<p>GRATTAN: All the best to you, and not forgetting Toto.</p>
<p>PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much, Michelle. Toto will, for sure, get a very nice present. But I think Toto is a bit spoiled every day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196728/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan 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>In this podcast, Michelle chats with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1942592022-11-10T01:31:16Z2022-11-10T01:31:16ZPolitics with Michelle Grattan: Karen Andrews on the Medibank hack, visa scams, and winning back women voters<p>Karen Andrews is the former home affairs minister and now shadows that portfolio, which includes cyber-security.</p>
<p>With Australians shocked by hackers starting to post Medibank data on the dark web, in this podcast Andrews calls on the health insurer to provide more information. </p>
<p>“There are some very serious questions that need to be put to Medibank about what it actually did.”</p>
<p>“They have sustained incredible reputational damage. The only way that I can see forward for them to be able to improve their public standing is to be very clear and open about what happened, why it happened, and what they are doing to assist their customers.” </p>
<p>On this week’s revelations of extensive visa scams, Andrews says: “I’m not aware of those specific issues that are being played out in the media now having been raised specifically by the department [when she was minister]”.</p>
<p>“There will always be individuals out there who will seek to take advantage of Australia’s visa system […] It’s not acceptable and I’m not excusing it and the role of the Home Affairs Department is to do what it can to try and be ahead of the game […] I can say that I would give all the support that I possibly could to there being a proper review of what has happened and how it could possibly be fixed.”</p>
<p>Andrews takes an uncompromising line on the government’s repatriation of ISIS brides and their children. “I think it’s an appalling decision that’s been abysmally handled.” </p>
<p>“I am sympathetic to the children, particularly those that were taken there at a very young age and those that have been born there, because they’ve come into some pretty ordinary circumstances. But there is a level of parental responsibility in there, and they will have to live with the consequences of the actions that their parents took.”</p>
<p>Looking to the opposition’s task of trying to win back female voters, Andrews says, “Without a doubt women left the Liberal Party in droves at the last election. </p>
<p>"In hindsight and even at the time I think I was of the view that we weren’t listening enough to women and the issues that were important to them. </p>
<p>"I actually find it personally offensive that every time someone talks about what’s important to women, it invariably goes to childcare. And yes, that is important to some women at some points in their life, but that’s not the only issue.”</p>
<p>The idea of gender quotas has been a contentious topic for the Liberal Party. Andrews says, “quotas are a difficult issue for us […] I think we need to consider quotas. Absolutely. But maybe the quotas in the first instance need to be so that we have more women standing for pre-selections. So […] we have to have equal numbers of males and females in a pre-selection process.” </p>
<p>She says it is vital to recapture what have become “teal” seats. </p>
<p>“For the Coalition to win, we need to win the best part of 20 seats, which is a large number of seats. We cannot do it, I don’t believe, without winning back the majority of the teal seats that we lost at the last election […]</p>
<p>"Some of those [teals] are quite closely aligned with the values of the Liberal Party, which means that their constituencies are aligned with the principles of the Liberal Party. </p>
<p>Now that’s going to be a difficult thing to achieve in the short term, but we have to; we have to make sure that we are regaining those teal seats, that we are winning seats off Labor and that we are in a position that we can form government at the next election”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194259/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan 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>With Australians shocked by hackers starting to post Medibank data on the dark web, in this podcast Andrews calls on the health insurer to provide more informationMichelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1738022022-02-23T13:36:07Z2022-02-23T13:36:07ZUS counties with more civic engagement tend to have more women on local company boards of directors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445793/original/file-20220210-18404-1jb33e0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=242%2C1085%2C5150%2C3531&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women still have a long way to go to reach parity in the boardroom.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/black-chairwoman-concept-vector-illustration-royalty-free-illustration/1299804743">Wanlee Prachyapanaprai/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>U.S. counties where people are more likely to vote and engage in professional and social associations tend to have more women on the boards of local corporations, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12418">our new peer-reviewed study</a>. Moreover, we found that women in these communities are more likely to be appointed as chairs of influential board committees.</p>
<p>To reach these conclusions, we studied nearly 3,000 publicly listed U.S. companies, representing more than 90% of stock market equity. For each company, we collected financial data from 2000 to 2018 on company size, growth, risk and performance, as well as details on the composition of their board of directors, such as their size and the percentage of female members. </p>
<p>Our data showed that while the overall share of women on corporate boards is very low, there is considerable variation across the U.S. In 2018, a quarter of companies in our database didn’t have a single female board member, and just under 100 had at least as many women as men on boards.</p>
<p>Prior studies have suggested that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.043">regional policies</a> or <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2192918">barriers</a> might explain the differences. We hypothesized that a concept sociologists call “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialcapital.asp">social capital</a>” might be a factor. Broadly speaking, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialcapital.asp">social capital</a> refers to how people in a society work together to achieve common goals, which in turn <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53187-2.00010-3">can build trust</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0297.00077">improve local governance</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-3561-8">address social problems</a> like poverty.</p>
<p>So for each company in our database, we also pinpointed the U.S. county in which it has a headquarters. Then, for each county, we collected data on population growth, percentage of women in the workforce, median household income and age, and religiosity and average level of education of local residents.</p>
<p>To measure social capital, we collected <a href="https://aese.psu.edu/nercrd/community/social-capital-resources">county-level data</a> on voter turnout, U.S. census response rates and a gauge of how many residents are likely members of nonprofit and social organizations such as churches, business associations and even bowling teams. Counties with greater turnout and membership levels got higher social capital scores.</p>
<p>Consistent with our predictions, we found that companies located in counties with more social capital also tended to have more women on corporate boards. Moreover, businesses in counties that scored among the top 20% in terms of social capital were 1.5 times more likely to have at least one woman on their boards than those in the bottom fifth. </p>
<p><iframe id="qv4CV" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/qv4CV/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>We also found that companies in high-capital counties were more likely to put women in charge of key decision-making committees, such as ones that oversee audits, compensation and executive and board nominations.</p>
<p><iframe id="wv695" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/wv695/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Female participation in labor markets saw tremendous growth in the 20th century. </p>
<p>In the U.S., for example, the percentage of women in the workforce <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/female-labor-supply#female-participation-in-labor-markets-grew-remarkably-in-the-20th-century">went from 20%</a> at the start of the century to over 60% toward the end. It’s a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/women-boards?sref=Hjm5biAW">little lower today</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, women experienced growing representation on corporate boards, from <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/women-boards?sref=Hjm5biAW">virtually none</a> in the early 1900s to about 17% in 2018, according to our data. Still, there’s clearly a long way to go to achieve gender parity in corporate boardrooms – a <a href="https://doi-org.proxy.shh.fi/10.1016/bs.hecg.2017.11.007">key pillar of power and influence</a> in America. </p>
<p>While some countries – and U.S. states – have introduced <a href="https://theconversation.com/targets-and-quotas-a-two-pronged-approach-to-increase-board-diversity-12553">gender diversity targets or quotas</a> to increase the share of women on corporate boards, our findings suggest there may be other ways to achieve the same result. That is, policymakers and others keen to put more women in corporate board seats might consider focusing some of their efforts on encouraging more civic participation at the local level. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Social capital helps explain some of the variation in the share of women who sit on corporate boards, but there’s still much researchers do not know about why one company has more women than another – within a county, for example.</p>
<p>In addition, more research could be done on social capital and how it affects other corporate governance mechanisms, such as CEO compensation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173802/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 organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A study of 3,000 companies found a correlation between local ‘social capital’ – which measures such variables as voter turnout and census response rates – and more women on corporate boards.Siri Terjesen, Associate Dean, Research and External Relations; Executive Director, Madden Center for Value Creation; Phil Smith Professor of Entrepreneurship, Florida Atlantic UniversityHanna Silvola, Associate Professor of Accounting, Hanken School of EconomicsMansoor Afzali, Assistant Professor of Accounting, Hanken School of EconomicsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1756612022-01-27T15:09:47Z2022-01-27T15:09:47ZWhy The Gambia should fast-track gender quotas for women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442685/original/file-20220126-19-gyuv41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Supporters of incumbent president Adama Barrow’s National Peoples Party (NPP) during a campaign rally in Banjul in November 2021.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Guy Peterson/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women have <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/gambia/gambia-s-women-demand-seat-political-table">historically</a> been poorly represented in positions of power and decision-making in The Gambia. Out of 58 National Assembly members, only six are women lawmakers and only three of these are elected. Women make up more than half of the Gambian population, yet they account for <a href="http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm">only 10% of parliamentarians</a>, including the speaker.</p>
<p>This poor representation is just as evident in <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202108090284.html">the political parties</a>. None of the 18 <a href="https://iec.gm/political-parties/registered-parties/">registered political parties</a> is led by a woman. A few have women serving as deputy party leaders. But for the most part, women are assigned token positions that lack the necessary power and authority. They are deployed as mobilisers, campaigners and cheerleaders. </p>
<p>Little wonder then that during the December 4, 2021 elections, only one woman, Marie Sock, filed her nomination for the presidency. Even then her application was <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202111100022.html">rejected</a> by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as she failed to declare her assets. She also did not have the <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/electoral-laws">legally required number</a> of registered voters to support her nomination.</p>
<p>This left the field open to a contest between six male candidates in which Adama Barrow <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/6/the-gambias-barrow-wins-second-term-opposition-reject-results">secured his second term</a>. </p>
<p>Adama Barrow was voted into office in December 2016, <a href="https://constitutionnet.org/news/new-gambia-and-remaking-constitution">ending 22 years of autocratic rule</a> under Yahya Jammeh. In the democratic transition that followed, Barrow pledged a <a href="https://crc220.org/">reformed constitution</a> and transitional justice for victims of Jammeh’s brutal dictatorship. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/latest-news/publication-constitutional-developments-in-2020-gambia">constitution-making process is stalled</a>. The proposed Constitution Promulgation Bill of 2020 was <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202009230283.html">rejected</a> by the National Assembly owing to <a href="https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/2020-posts/2020/9/29/attempts-at-constitutional-reform-in-the-gambia-whither-the-draft-constitution">political party disagreements</a>. </p>
<p>The draft constitution outlined several provisions to accelerate substantive equality between men and women. Among its transformative provisions was a section that explicitly forbids discriminatory treatment based on gender. </p>
<p>Section 55 further provided equal treatment between men and women. This included equal political, economic and social opportunities. Section 74 set out general principles for the electoral system. This included fair representation of all genders in elective public bodies. The draft constitution also provided a quota system that reserves 14 seats in parliament for women.</p>
<p>The failure to pass the bill represents a loss in the momentum for gender reforms. </p>
<p>But, in my view, there is still an opportunity to address the issue of women’s representation in politics. This is in the form of a <a href="https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/women-seek-16-parliament-reservation-seats">private member bill</a> which seeks to increase women’s representation in the National Assembly.</p>
<p>The bill presents a timely opportunity to rectify imbalances in political representation by guaranteeing a number of seats for women. Arguments against it might be that it’s only a temporary measure. But, I would argue, temporary measures such as legislative gender quotas can increase women’s access to political participation. </p>
<p>It’s true that over the past few decades the principle of equality between women and men has become increasingly <a href="https://constitutions.unwomen.org/en">constitutionalised</a>. These include gender-specific constitutional provisions on women’s rights, the right to reproductive healthcare, access to education, protection from violence.</p>
<p>But a number of <a href="https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/recommendations/General%20recommendation%2025%20(English).pdf">temporary special measures</a> have also been put in place. One is the quota system. </p>
<h2>Support for quotas</h2>
<p>Gambians are ready for change.</p>
<p>A nationwide <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331260768_'Women's_Political_Participation_and_Representation_in_The_Gambia_One_step_forward_or_two_back">study</a> on women’s political participation and representation showed that 89% of all respondents supported the introduction of the quota system.</p>
<p>In 2018, a <a href="https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/D%C3%A9p%C3%AAches/ab_r7_dispatchno338_gambias_draft_constitution_reflects_citizen_preferences.pdf">survey</a> by Afrobarometer – the pan-African research network – showed overwhelming support (85%) in the country for constitutional change that would mandate a quota system for women’s representation in the National Assembly.</p>
<p>But this support has not yet been translated into the statute books.</p>
<p>Gender rights in The Gambia are governed by the <a href="https://www.lawhubgambia.com/1997-constitution">1997 constitution</a> and other relevant laws. These laws include the <a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/MONOGRAPH/90619/115464/F-1335047347/GMB90619.pdf">Women’s Act 2010</a> which has general provisions to support women’s political participation and representation. </p>
<p>The Gambia is also one of few countries in Africa that has <a href="https://www.hhrjournal.org/2019/12/the-gambias-political-transition-to-democracy-is-abortion-reform-possible/">enacted</a> specific legislation to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331260847_The_impact_of_the_African_Charter_and_the_Maputo_Protocol_in_The_Gambia">domesticate</a> African and international norms and standards that recognise the human rights of women and girls. </p>
<p>But the legal framework in its present form is not comprehensive in securing a substantive right for women in the political realm. Take section 15 of the Women’s Act. It provides a general obligation to adopt temporary special measures. But it does not make a definitive prescription such as electoral gender quotas.</p>
<p>In addition, existing laws are grossly inadequate given the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331260768_'Women's_Political_Participation_and_Representation_in_The_Gambia_One_step_forward_or_two_back'?_sg=WRVtUl1YUavXBZSSNsLQEjiyRFEUtNBOxlLPqKAqiTQKdOhGY-h2p_s0n-zQKA265YaXx99x8J8B9PivTjbP17OHETYsPlsPy-CU54Cm.6wvKJV6BgmNiDlJocFXUEfaJvYbcl6MujA4VelILKp3f9NzI5ObDTfnj7n_KB6zvxsRZ7IKzA2cOTHsC4IBCYw">socio-cultural barriers</a> that are well entrenched in society against women. </p>
<h2>An alternative route</h2>
<p>The private member bill before parliament presents an opportunity to embrace reform. The bill proposes increasing the total number of seats in The Gambia’s National Assembly from 58 to 71, reserving 16 seats for women assembly members. Fourteen would be elected from each region; people with disabilities will elect one woman from among them, and the president would appoint one. </p>
<p>In my view the private member bill effort would be beneficial for advancing women’s rights. </p>
<p>However, a key question has arisen as to what will be the modalities for electing the women parliamentarians. It would be helpful to draw from other countries with a quota system to address this. For example, the <a href="https://ulii.org/akn/ug/act/statute/1995/constitution/eng%402018-01-05">revised 1995 Constitution of Uganda</a> institutionalised the quota system by providing for a number of reserved seats in the national parliament equal to the number of districts in the country. Each district elects a female parliamentary representative. </p>
<p>In this case, reserved seats are organised as <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/recruitment-mechanisms-for-reserved-seats-for-women-in-parliament-and-switches-to-nonquota-seats-a-comparative-study-of-tanzania-and-uganda/4ADE9AFC34E95A7F163588EF62629F88">single-member “women’s districts” constituencies</a>, designed as first-past-the-post districts. In essence, a one-woman representative is elected by universal suffrage in each district – which may consist of multiple counties (constituencies) – indirectly contested “female candidate only” elections.</p>
<p>Equally, in the case of The Gambia, it is proposed that parliamentarians for the female-reserved seats be elected and not appointed to enhance the legitimacy of these parliamentary seats. Some have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sp/article-abstract/15/3/345/1616342">argued</a> that this may promote a static view of “women” as a group and push for a parallel process that affects equal voting rights. But in this case this is necessary as a time-limited positive measure that is intended to provide opportunities for a historically and systematically disadvantaged group.</p>
<p><em>A longer version of this article was <a href="https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/spotlight-on-africa/2022/1/25/womens-political-participation-in-the-gambia-gender-quotas-as-fast-track-to-equality">published</a> by International Association of Constitutional Law.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175661/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Satang Nabaneh 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>Temporary measures such as legislative gender quotas can increase women’s access to political participation.Satang Nabaneh, Director of Programs, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1679772021-09-28T20:12:33Z2021-09-28T20:12:33ZWhy are there so few women MPs? New research shows how parties discriminate against women candidates<p>Australian women have long been under-represented in parliament. Although our country was the first in the world to give women the right to stand for election, we currently <a href="https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=9&year=2021">rank</a> 56th in the world for female representation, just behind Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Germany and Suriname.</p>
<p>By comparison, New Zealand is sixth.</p>
<p>So why, in 2021, do we have a situation where less than one-third of MPs in the House of Representatives are women? </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pa/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pa/gsab042/6327506">newly published research</a>, we investigated whether the low numbers were due to discrimination of female candidates by voters or political parties. We found that while Australian voters used to preference men over women at the polls, they don’t tend to any more. Parties, on the other hand, do.</p>
<p>There are several ways in which parties can impede women getting elected. One is simply not to put them forward as candidates. Another slightly more subtle way is by preselecting them to stand for unsafe or marginal seats. </p>
<p>With this approach, you get to tick a box and maybe meet a quota, but you’re not making a genuine attempt to create real change.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-missing-women-of-australian-politics-research-shows-the-toll-of-harassment-abuse-and-stalking-168567">The missing women of Australian politics — research shows the toll of harassment, abuse and stalking</a>
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<h2>More women candidates, but fewer in safe seats</h2>
<p>Australian voters have a history of preferring male candidates over female ones. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2010.00695.x">Studies in the past</a> have shown that women candidates of the major parties in Australia in the 1990s and the early 2000s obtained proportionately fewer votes than men. </p>
<p>We wanted to see if this had changed in the 21st century.</p>
<p>In our study, we looked at all federal House elections since 2001 to see how many candidates were women, whether they were running for safe seats, and if voters tended to support them less than men. We used the same definition of an unsafe or marginal seat as the <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/footer/glossary.htm">Australian Electoral Commission</a>.</p>
<p>Our research included data from 2001–19 on all 7,271 House candidates, of whom 2,101 were women.</p>
<p>In terms of the raw numbers, we found that Labor has increased its proportion of women candidates over the past two decades, reaching a high of 45% at the 2019 election. This placed it ahead of all other parties, including, for the first time, the Greens (42.4% in 2019). </p>
<p>The Liberals also fielded their largest percentage of female candidates in 2019 at 33%.</p>
<p><iframe id="GqZMo" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/GqZMo/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>While Labor has done particularly well in terms of how many women it has put forward, it has less to brag about when it comes to the seats these women are contesting. </p>
<p>In fact, Labor has stood women in more unsafe seats than men at each lower House election since 2001. In 2019, 19.1% of women standing for the ALP were in unsafe seats, compared to 10.8% of men.</p>
<p>The Liberals had a smaller percentage of women in unsafe seats than men in two elections (2004, 2010), but a higher percentage in the other four. In 2019, 13.9% of women standing for the Liberals were in unsafe seats, compared to 11% of men.</p>
<p><iframe id="u1ov4" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/u1ov4/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Voters tend not to discriminate against women</h2>
<p>While major parties are continuing to discriminate against women in this way (and others), we find a different story with voters. </p>
<p>Across all House seats, female Labor candidates have actually performed substantially better with voters than male candidates at four elections (2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013) and worse in just two (2001 and 2019).</p>
<p>As for female Liberals candidates, it’s more mixed. They performed better than male candidates in 2001 and 2010, but not in the three subsequent elections. </p>
<p>That’s still a much rosier picture than for female Nationals candidates, who have always done worse than their male counterparts.</p>
<p>When we ran further statistical checks, we discovered that, if everything else that might affect vote numbers is held constant (such as the marginality of the seat, number of other candidates, incumbency, and so on), female Labor candidates receive around 1,400 more votes per seat than male Labor candidates in the 2001-19 period. </p>
<p>In those same conditions, with all else held constant, Liberal voters don’t tend to favour women over men (or vice versa), and the same is true of the Greens.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-can-do-more-to-attract-and-keep-women-in-parliament-here-are-some-ideas-110174">Australia can do more to attract and keep women in parliament – here are some ideas</a>
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<h2>What can parties do to address this?</h2>
<p>So, what do our findings mean for Australia’s parties if they really want to increase the number of women in parliament? </p>
<p>First, quotas work. Only Labor has used enforceable quotas to try to increase the number of women among its candidate base — and it has succeeded. </p>
<p>Similar binding quotas would not only boost the number of female candidates put forward by the Coalition parties and the Greens, but would also likely have an impact on the numbers of women eventually elected to parliament.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/julia-banks-new-book-is-part-of-a-50-year-tradition-of-female-mps-using-memoirs-to-fight-for-equality-163888">Julia Banks' new book is part of a 50-year tradition of female MPs using memoirs to fight for equality</a>
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<p>But Labor cannot rest on its laurels. Our results show it needs to build on its quota system by standing more women in winnable seats. If it does not, it leaves itself open to accusations of box-ticking.</p>
<p>Fielding more women in seats they can genuinely win is in the interests not only of political parties, but of democracy in Australia. </p>
<p>For reasons of representation, women should account for more seats than they currently do. Moreover, there are benefits for the country’s political culture: <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-gender/article/abs/gendered-debate-do-men-and-women-communicate-differently-in-the-house-of-commons/51DAFDDB037D093C4992D669DA816755">research</a> has shown that women in parliament are often more collegial and more inclined to find bipartisan solutions.</p>
<p>In short, given that Australian voters no longer tend to preference men over women when it comes to candidates, it is surely not in the interests of the major parties to continue to do so, either.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167977/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ferran Martinez i Coma receives funding from Australian Research Council Discovery Project, Grant number DP190101978. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duncan McDonnell receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Parties strive for gender equality in preselecting candidates. But if they select more women than men in marginal seats, this isn’t true equality — it’s ticking a box.Ferran Martinez i Coma, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Griffith UniversityDuncan McDonnell, Professor, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1473482020-10-02T05:59:19Z2020-10-02T05:59:19ZWe discovered a missing gene fragment that’s shedding new light on how males develop<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361307/original/file-20201002-14-1d9hcq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=61%2C88%2C5827%2C1677&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>It’s one of the most important genes in biology: “Sry”, the gene that makes males male. Development of the sexes is a crucial step in sexual reproduction and is essential for the survival of almost all animal species.</p>
<p>Today in the journal <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6512/121">Science</a>, my international collaborators and I report the surprise discovery of an entirely new part of the Sry gene in mice — a part we had no idea existed.</p>
<p>I co-discovered Sry <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2374589/">in 1990</a>. It is the gene on the Y (male) chromosome that leads to the development of male characteristics in mice, humans and most other mammals. Since then, Sry has been the subject of intense study worldwide because of its fundamental role in mammalian biology. </p>
<p>We have come to understand, in some detail, how Sry acts to trigger a cascade of gene activity that results in the formation of testes, instead of ovaries, in the embryo. Testes then stimulate the formation of other male characteristics.</p>
<p>But it’s clear we don’t have all the answers just yet. Our results published today take us one step further in the right direction.</p>
<h2>Hidden in plain sight</h2>
<p>For 30 years, we have understood the Sry gene is made up of one “exon”, a segment of a gene used to code for amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. This can be compared to a computer file consisting of one contiguous block of data, on a hard disk.</p>
<p>Our newest research reveals there’s actually a second exon in mouse Sry. This is like finding a whole new separate block of previously hidden data. </p>
<p>The mouse genome, like the human genome, has been extensively characterised due to the availability of advanced <a href="https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/DNA-Sequencing-Fact-Sheet">DNA sequencing</a> and related technologies. Researchers <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30124169/">commonly assume</a> all the genes and all the parts of the genes have already been discovered.</p>
<p>But earlier this year, scientists in Japan uncovered what looked like a new piece of the Sry gene in mice. New sequencing approaches revealed what appeared to be two versions of Sry: a short, single-exon form and a longer, two-exon form. They called this two-exon version “Sry-T”. </p>
<p>They collaborated with my group at the University of Queensland and removed the new exon using <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/crispr-gene-editing">CRISPR</a>, a gene editing tool that lets researchers alter DNA precisely. Together we discovered this prevented Sry from functioning: XY mice (which would normally develop as males) developed as females instead. </p>
<p>Conversely, adding Sry-T to fertilised XX mouse eggs (which would normally develop as females) resulted in males. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two mice hang from a wooden bar." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361300/original/file-20201002-20-bnwrzk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On the left, an XY mouse lacking Sry-T that developed as female. On the right, an XX mouse carrying the Sry-T gene that developed as male.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Makoto Tachibana, Osaka University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Implications for human sex determination</h2>
<p>Importantly, although human Sry does not have the added exon, our discovery may reveal new functions that might be shared between mouse and human Sry. </p>
<p>The DNA sequence of the new exon in Sry-T may point us towards discovering some of the genes and proteins that interact with Sry, something that has been elusive up till now. </p>
<p>And interactions we find in mice may also occur in humans. Studying what human Sry interacts with may help explain some cases of differences in human sex development, otherwise known as <a href="http://www.dsdgenetics.org/index.php">“intersex” development</a>. This is a common but poorly understood group of <em>mostly</em> genetic conditions that arise in humans. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Symbols used to indicate 'male', 'female' and 'intersex'." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361320/original/file-20201002-21-f70nsk.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">Intersex refers to people who are born with genetic, hormonal or physical sex characteristics that are not typically ‘male’ or ‘female’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Currently, we don’t know the genetics behind a large proportion of intersex conditions. This is partly because we don’t yet know all the genes involved in the human sex development pathway.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-genes-the-y-chromosome-and-the-future-of-men-32893">Sex, genes, the Y chromosome and the future of men</a>
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<h2>Towards a better understanding of male sex development</h2>
<p>Scientifically, this discovery is a bit like discovering a new cell type in the body, or a new asteroid in the Kuiper belt. As with many scientific discoveries, it challenges what we thought we knew and raises many questions. </p>
<p>What is the function of the new exon in Sry-T? </p>
<p>Currently, we only have part of the answer. It turns out the first exon of Sry, the one we already knew about, contains “instability sequences” at its end. These are sequences that cause proteins to fray and degrade. </p>
<p>An important function of the newly discovered second exon is to mask the instability sequences, seal the end of the Sry protein and prevent it from degrading. In other words, this second exon is crucial to the development of male babies. </p>
<p>What’s more, this protection mechanism represents an unusual and intriguing evolutionary mechanism that has acted to help stop vulnerable Y-chromosome genes from literally falling apart.</p>
<p>But it’s early days yet. The challenge now is to understand whether there are more functions hidden within the newly discovered exon. </p>
<p>If so, this information may provide some of the missing links that have stood in the way of our full understanding of how Sry works at a molecular level and of how males and females come to be.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-education-about-gender-and-sexuality-does-belong-in-the-classroom-102902">Why education about gender and sexuality does belong in the classroom</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147348/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Koopman is Emeritus Professor of Developmental Biology at the University of Queensland. He has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.</span></em></p>A new finding in mice rewrites the textbook explanation of the male sex-determining gene, Sry. It might also help us better understand how males and females come to be.Peter Koopman, Professorial Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1447962020-09-23T19:59:29Z2020-09-23T19:59:29ZIt’s a man’s (pandemic) world: how policies compound the pain for women in the age of COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359291/original/file-20200922-16-1d32i13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=221%2C0%2C3497%2C2000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 times have brought sober realisations about deep shifts in Australian society. Encroaching steadily over the past half-century, these have been largely submerged from daily view, until now. </p>
<p>Decades of cumulative attacks on the public sector have made privatisation and contracting out an unthinking government reflex. This includes areas the pandemic has revealed as highly unsuitable, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-the-role-of-profit-is-the-elephant-in-the-aged-care-room-145118">aged care</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-victorias-privatised-quarantine-arrangements-were-destined-to-fail-143169">quarantine security</a>.</p>
<p>Workplace deregulation has gone hand in hand with an enormous rise in casualisation. The pandemic has highlighted how many workers stitch together <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-19/workplace-coronavirus-transmission-in-victoria-in-aged-care/12470704">jobs at multiple workplaces</a> to earn enough to survive, multiplying the chances of community COVID-19 transmission. </p>
<p>Denied the paid sick leave enjoyed by people in permanent jobs, <a href="https://theconversation.com/far-too-many-victorians-are-going-to-work-while-sick-far-too-many-have-no-choice-143600">casuals have to keep working</a>, healthy or not. Precarity has turned out to be flexibility’s flipside, with unequivocally bad consequences for public health.</p>
<h2>Women are more affected</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/19/natasha-stott-despoja-urges-coalition-to-apply-gender-lens-to-pandemic-recovery">pandemic’s gendered impact</a> has been especially stark. Under pressure, dynamics many people thought were in deep retreat visibly sprang back into action. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-30/stark-statistics-reveal-precarious-position-of-women/12404274">More likely to occupy low-paid, precarious jobs than men</a>, women suffered first and disproportionately from pandemic job losses.</p>
<p>During lockdown, domestic violence — mostly committed by men against women — <a href="http://www.broadagenda.com.au/home/an-end-to-domestic-violence-start-with-gender-equality/">has spiked</a>, and is <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/covid-19-recession-is-trapping-women-in-violent-households-20200912-p55uyn.html">even more difficult to escape than usual</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-domestic-terrorism-how-to-stop-family-violence-under-lockdown-135056">Coronavirus and 'domestic terrorism': how to stop family violence under lockdown</a>
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<p>Women perform the vast share of lockdown-driven homeschooling, <a href="https://theconversation.com/return-of-the-1950s-housewife-how-to-stop-coronavirus-lockdown-reinforcing-sexist-gender-roles-134851">compounding their pre-pandemic</a> burden of an unfairly large share of domestic labour generally. </p>
<p>The Morrison government provided free childcare early in the emergency, giving many families their first experience of relief from worry around this fraught aspect of family life. But it was snatched away again in the government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/she-wont-be-right-mate-how-the-government-shaped-a-blokey-lockdown-followed-by-a-blokey-recovery-140336">first act of pandemic policy rollback</a>. This doubly impacted on women as workers as well as parents, given the overwhelming bulk of childcare employees are female.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359241/original/file-20200922-16-pmqwgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359241/original/file-20200922-16-pmqwgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359241/original/file-20200922-16-pmqwgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359241/original/file-20200922-16-pmqwgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359241/original/file-20200922-16-pmqwgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359241/original/file-20200922-16-pmqwgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359241/original/file-20200922-16-pmqwgn.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">
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<span class="caption">Women have borne the brunt of homeschooling during the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Daniel Pockett</span></span>
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<p>In contrast, many businesses received massive handouts with, it emerged later, highly variable flow-on to the workers the handouts were supposed to keep in their jobs. With little accountability attached to the government assistance, some employers <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/ato-investigates-employers-accused-of-rorting-jobkeeper-20200611-p551pm.html">were accused of outright rorting it</a>. The contrast with tight accountability provisions attached to government welfare for individuals who need help is stark.</p>
<p>Further, the Morrison government’s positive job initiatives, such as they are, favour men, with <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/scott-morrison-is-betting-on-a-shovel-led-recovery-but-the-jobs-bonanza-is-elsewhere-20200605-p54zz9.html">job-creation plans</a> focused on male-dominated industries.</p>
<h2>Good morning, ma'am, is your husband home?</h2>
<p>That this approach is based on, and reinforces, the idea of men as primary breadwinners is barely disguised. This is despite the fact women can be – and are in large numbers – primary breadwinners too and deserve the same opportunities.</p>
<p>Even the government’s tax cut bring-forward mooted for the October budget is heavily gendered: <a href="https://www.tai.org.au/content/early-income-tax-cuts-men-gain-more-twice-much-women">men are set to get</a> more than twice the benefit women receive on average from the tax cuts, according to Australia Institute modelling.</p>
<p>One unequivocal boon of the pandemic has been the widespread, <a href="http://www.broadagenda.com.au/home/we-need-a-gender-lens-on-public-policy-more-than-ever/">high-quality analysis and reporting</a> of its gendered impacts. </p>
<p>Equally striking has been the expectation among many of these analyses’ authors that their findings would make the Morrison government change course, on the assumption that either the government did not realise its policies’ gendered impacts or because it would be shamed into adjusting them once these were revealed.</p>
<p>If you want to understand a government’s priorities, look at where it puts its money. The Morrison government is not just indifferent to the gendered impacts of COVID-19. The pattern of its <a href="http://www.broadagenda.com.au/home/dear-covid-committee-senators-a-late-night-missive/">pandemic policy decision-making</a> suggests an active if not explicit “men first, women and children second” approach.</p>
<p>This is disappointing but not unexpected, given the male dominance of the Liberal and National parties’ federal parliamentary ranks: <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members">73.2% of Morrison government MPs are men</a>. Let that sink in for a moment. Only one in four federal Coalition MPs is a woman.</p>
<p>Around <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/ministry-list-060220_0.pdf">the Morrison government cabinet table</a> the picture is the same: 73.9% of LNP cabinet ministers are men. There are just six women in the 23-person cabinet.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359236/original/file-20200922-24-1cgnhi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359236/original/file-20200922-24-1cgnhi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359236/original/file-20200922-24-1cgnhi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359236/original/file-20200922-24-1cgnhi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359236/original/file-20200922-24-1cgnhi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359236/original/file-20200922-24-1cgnhi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359236/original/file-20200922-24-1cgnhi4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Foreign Minister Marise Payne are two of just six female ministers in the Morrison government’s 23-person cabinet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Rick Rycroft</span></span>
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<p>In the House of Representatives, from which the prime minister is drawn and where policy must initially be fought for and won to have the chance of being turned into law, 80% of Morrison government MPs are men. Again, it is worth pausing to reflect on this: four out of every five lower house LNP politicians is a man.</p>
<h2>A ‘men first’ approach to the pandemic</h2>
<p>It is not such a surprise, then, that the government pursues “men first” policies. </p>
<p>While some – perhaps many – LNP women may support this stance, a reasonable assumption is that fairer shares of parliamentary LNP seats for women would redress this skewed approach at least somewhat. </p>
<p>Anyone supporting fair shares for men and women in life’s burdens and benefits would surely support fair shares for men and women in terms of parliamentary power. </p>
<p>The Australian Labor Party long ago faced up to and solved this problem with an initially controversial, now unremarked upon, preselection quota system for winnable seats.</p>
<p>Today men and women are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/labor-s-first-casualties-in-defeat-are-its-women-20190528-p51s54.html">almost equally represented</a> in the federal Labor caucus: a bare majority (52.1%) of federal Labor MPs are men.</p>
<p>In contrast, the Liberal Party in 2016 adopted a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-06/liberal-partys-watershed-plan-to-attract-more-females/7819332">ten-year plan without quotas</a> to increase its female representation in federal parliament. It has visibly failed.</p>
<p>The problem has been compounded by the retirement from politics of senior female Liberal ministers like Julie Bishop and Kelly O’Dwyer <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-liberal-party-is-failing-women-miserably-compared-to-other-democracies-and-needs-quotas-110172">at the 2019 election</a>, as well as the loss of emerging talent such as businesswoman Julia Banks <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/stuck-in-time-julia-banks-is-back-to-combat-political-sexism-20200528-p54xg6.html">who resigned from the party</a> in disgust at its sexist culture.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quotas-are-not-pretty-but-they-work-liberal-women-should-insist-on-them-103517">Quotas are not pretty but they work – Liberal women should insist on them</a>
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<h2>More than just numbers</h2>
<p>Longtime activist for women in politics, Ruth McGowan, says the extra pressures arising from the pandemic <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/will-the-pandemic-help-or-hinder-an-australian-womens-wave-in-politics/">could well discourage women</a> who might otherwise have considered a run from doing so. Women’s burgeoning domestic labour burden during the pandemic is likely to <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6867720/why-the-covidload-will-stop-women-entering-politics/">literally keep women in the home</a> and away from the House of Representatives, McGowan suggests. To the extent this could further depress women’s share of Coalition seats in parliament, this is very bad news.</p>
<p>A senior cabinet member, Environment Minister Sussan Ley, last year <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/marise-payne-says-female-mps-quotas-for-liberals-should-be-part-of-debate-20190104-p50pos.html">called on</a> the Liberal Party to introduce quotas for women. Her cabinet colleague, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, said “all options [should be] on the table”, adding she was as yet undecided about quotas. Others, such as Victorian Liberal senator Jane Hume, support a “Liberal alternative” to quotas to address the party’s skewed representation.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359242/original/file-20200922-22-nkbisy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359242/original/file-20200922-22-nkbisy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359242/original/file-20200922-22-nkbisy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359242/original/file-20200922-22-nkbisy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359242/original/file-20200922-22-nkbisy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359242/original/file-20200922-22-nkbisy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359242/original/file-20200922-22-nkbisy.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">
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<span class="caption">Environment Minister Sussan Ley has called for the NSW Liberal Party to embrace gender quotas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Mick Tsikas</span></span>
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<p>The gendered nature and impact of the Morrison government’s pandemic policy responses makes the domination of men within the coalition cabinet and party room a matter of national significance. </p>
<p>The Liberal and National parties’ preselection processes are broken and need fixing. The fact that only one in four coalition MPs in the Morrison government’s cabinet and party room is a woman is proof.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-woman-problem-no-the-liberals-have-a-man-problem-and-they-need-to-fix-it-102339">A 'woman problem'? No, the Liberals have a 'man problem', and they need to fix it</a>
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<p>Until the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-woman-problem-no-the-liberals-have-a-man-problem-and-they-need-to-fix-it-102339">structural sexism</a> within the Liberal and National parties’ ranks is fixed, the Coalition’s “men first” policies will likely continue. </p>
<p>Women and children need the Morrison government’s “senior six” female cabinet ministers to person up and get their parties to <a href="https://theconversation.com/quotas-are-not-pretty-but-they-work-liberal-women-should-insist-on-them-103517">adopt quotas for women in winnable Liberal and National party seats</a>. It’s the only thing proven to work and it’s way past time the problem was fixed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wallace has received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Only one in four members of the Morrison government are women, so it’s little wonder their ideas for COVID recovery has all been “men first”.Chris Wallace, Associate Professor, 50/50 By 2030 Foundation, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1226542019-08-30T09:09:37Z2019-08-30T09:09:37ZVenice International Film Festival is paying lip service to its pledge on gender transparency<p>Things are really bad for women filmmakers at the 76th Venice International Film Festival with its poor record on female representation. Of the 21 films in competition, only two are directed by women. The appointment of the female Argentinian director, <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/news/lucrecia-martel-venice-film-festival-jury-president-argentina-director-1203251250/">Lucrecia Martel</a>, as jury president is a step in the right direction but she cannot solve the issue alone – especially when some of her views on female-only quotas <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/28/jury-members-clash-over-roman-polanski-as-venice-film-festival-opens">appear to be ignored by the men in charge</a>.</p>
<p>In part, the entertainment media are to blame. It was widely reported that Venice had <a href="https://variety.com/2018/film/spotlight/venice-film-festival-signs-gender-parity-pledge-1202922995/">signed up to the gender parity pledge</a>, known as <a href="https://site.5050by2020.com/">5050 by 2020</a> – but only a few reported that this was a modified version, and no report so far has scrutinised how and if the pledges are being met.</p>
<p>Also, there has been a huge outcry about the under-representation of women directors. But then it stops and things move on to the usual reporting on the great films in competition – by men. </p>
<h2>A modified pledge</h2>
<p>Overall, Venice’s record on women is dismal. The Golden Lion award has been given <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls020806626/">70 times so far</a> – but while 62 male directors have won it (some twice), only four women have. Among the 11 Italians who have won the Golden Lion, not one was female.</p>
<p>Last year, the festival only included <a href="https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/one-female-director-in-competition-at-venice-film-festival-37154478.html">one female-made film in competition</a> (Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale). Controversy ensued, so the festival reluctantly followed in the footsteps of Cannes and signed up to the gender parity pledge – but not before amending it. </p>
<p>The original pledge called for full <a href="https://variety.com/2018/film/news/venice-film-festival-sign-gender-parity-protocol-pledge-1202921620/">statistics-based transparency</a> on the submissions, for dissection of the gender bias in programming, and for instituting strategies that would lead to the dismantling of male-dominated power structures. But Venice <a href="https://www.screendaily.com/news/venice-film-festival-chiefs-signs-gender-parity-pledge-call-it-a-step-forward/5132174.article?referrer=RSS">amended all three pledges</a> and only committed to general talk of “transparency” related to film selection, programmers and management.</p>
<p>Speaking at the time, <a href="https://www.screendaily.com/news/venice-film-festival-chiefs-signs-gender-parity-pledge-call-it-a-step-forward/5132174.article?referrer=RSS">festival president Paolo Baratta</a> said there were “fundamental differences to be taken into account” and as such the Venice version of the pledge uses wording that suggests the festival needs to continue its practices, implying that it is already making efforts to reach gender parity and that fundamentally the problem is not with the event itself. “We are ahead, what we have been doing up to now is a starting point,” he commented.</p>
<p>Looking at the state of things a year later, it does not appear that even the amended pledges have really been kept. Unchanged from last year, the festival is still governed exclusively by men. Assisted by three male board members, the president and general director have been in position since 2008 and the <a href="https://www.screendaily.com/features/alberto-barbera-talks-venice-logistics-vr-and-his-future-as-artistic-director/5142321.article">artistic director, Alberto Barbera,</a> since 2012.</p>
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<p>According to Barbera, this is not a problem as <a href="https://variety.com/2018/film/spotlight/venice-film-festival-signs-gender-parity-pledge-1202922995/">75% of its employees are women</a>. The festival seems to believe it has done a lot to improve gender balance. </p>
<p>As to the pledge for transparency on selection committees, nothing is available on the festival website on this matter. Unlike other festivals that regularly publish information on their selectors or have profiles available online (Rotterdam, Berlinale, Locarno), Venice only lists regulations and gives generic email contacts. No names. All it says <a href="https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2019/regulations">regarding selection</a> of the films submitted is that the festival director will be “assisted by his staff of experts, as well as by a group of correspondents and international consultants”.</p>
<p>The festival also pledged to hold a “gender seminar”. After an extensive search, one finds an event on “<a href="http://veniceproductionbridge.org/programme/seminar-gender-equality-and-inclusivity-and-film-industry">gender equality and inclusivity</a>” scheduled in September. But there is no information on who is on it – just sponsors. If the festival is serious about the seminar, it could have commissioned participants and reports in advance and publicised accordingly. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cannes-is-not-a-film-festival-its-a-club-for-insiders-96651">Cannes is not a film festival – it's a club for insiders</a>
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<p>The worst is, of course, the absence of female-made films. Two out of 21 titles in competition are by women. Compare that to seven out of 16 films in competition at <a href="https://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/festivalprofil/dates/index.html">Berlinale in 2019</a>. According to the pledge, there was meant to be “transparency about film selection”. Barbera apparently believes he has met it by disclosing that about <a href="https://www.screendaily.com/venice-director-alberto-barbera-responds-bullishly-to-provocative-competition-selection/5141532.article">24% of submitted films</a> were by female directors.</p>
<p>But he did not explain why and how this 24% has shrunk down to 12% in the final competition cut. Had the gender distribution of the submission been replicated, about five films by women would have ended up in competition. As things stand, three extra slots have gone to films directed by men. There is no particular transparency here.</p>
<p>Barbera, as the only identifiable selector, is seemingly opposed to any quotas for women. “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/28/jury-members-clash-over-roman-polanski-as-venice-film-festival-opens">The quality of individual films</a>” is the only possible criterion. Plus, women should not feel left out – some of the films in competition, he pointed out, “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/26/venice-film-festival-gender-disparity-roman-polanski-nate-parker">reveal a new sensibility geared toward the feminine universe</a>” – even if they are directed by men. Why would women directors bother making films when men already address “the female condition”?</p>
<h2>An exclusive club…for men</h2>
<p>The Venice International Film Festival is nowhere near to accepting change. Change would mean destroying its own model, built on male privilege in the world of cinema and perfected over nearly 80 years of existence, operating like <a href="https://theconversation.com/cannes-is-not-a-film-festival-its-a-club-for-insiders-96651">an exclusive club</a>. Programming for its main competition is not done through a submission process, which it runs but does not rely on.</p>
<p>It is done by working with a cohort of “auteurs” who happen to be predominantly male. Of the <a href="https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2019/venezia-76-competition">19 male directors in competition</a>, all but four are known entities. At least 15 of them already have Venice pedigree and include Todd Phillips (Joker), Roman Polanski (An Officer and a Spy), Stephen Soderbergh (The Laundromat) and Yonfan (No. 7 Cherry Lane). Their films have featured at various strands of the festival and one (Roy Anderson) is a past winner of the Golden Lion.</p>
<p>Some of the others were nominated or received secondary other awards. Quite a few of these directors are famous worldwide, in Europe or in their respective countries. Their films spell “quality” by default – as the “quality” Barbera means is somehow a characteristic of their personality. Some – like Roman Polanski – possess the “quality” of keeping the world media’s attention on the festival, through notoriety. </p>
<p>Venice cannot possibly say it is transparent with such a selection process. Yes, it formally welcomes submissions by women and it does have women on staff. But the true programming for the festival is done by male selectors schmoozing with the established “auteurs” who the festival continuously works with. The only thing I wonder is why women directors bother submitting their films in the first place?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122654/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dina Iordanova’s research into Italian film festivals has been funded, in part, under a collaborative grant of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.</span></em></p>Pledges on gender parity are not worth the paper they are written on if selection processes remain secret.Dina Iordanova, Professor of Global CInema and Creative Cultures, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1213652019-08-05T20:01:52Z2019-08-05T20:01:52ZWhy a code of conduct may not be enough to change the boys’ club culture in the Liberal Party<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286910/original/file-20190805-36381-k9lo5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There has been sustained criticism of the Liberal Party for its under-representation of women in parliament.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, two former Liberal Party staffers, <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/why-victims-of-sexual-harassment-in-politics-are-still-forced-to-suffer-in-silence/">Dhanya Mani</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/completely-disempowered-liberal-staffers-speak-up-after-alleged-sexual-assaults-20190729-p52bnw.html">Chelsea Potter</a>, made claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault against two Liberal party staff members. </p>
<p>It highlighted again how hostile political life can be for women and the fact the Liberals lack any mechanism to manage sexual harassment and assault claims. In response, the party’s federal council <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/national-code-of-conduct-for-liberals-to-tackle-bro-culture-20190802-p52d9w">has decided to introduce a new code of conduct</a>, likely by the end of the year. </p>
<p>But the Liberals’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-woman-problem-no-the-liberals-have-a-man-problem-and-they-need-to-fix-it-102339">“woman” problems</a> go deeper than this. There has been sustained criticism of the party for its <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-liberal-party-is-failing-women-miserably-compared-to-other-democracies-and-needs-quotas-110172">under-representation of women</a> in parliament and claims of a bullying culture dominated by a “boys’ club.”</p>
<p>Will a code of conduct help to change this culture? And how well do these kinds of codes actually work?</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286896/original/file-20190805-36358-17135jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286896/original/file-20190805-36358-17135jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286896/original/file-20190805-36358-17135jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286896/original/file-20190805-36358-17135jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286896/original/file-20190805-36358-17135jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286896/original/file-20190805-36358-17135jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286896/original/file-20190805-36358-17135jg.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">
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<span class="caption">Dhanya Mani’s request for the Liberal Party to investigate an alleged sexual assault by a fellow staffer never went anywhere. ‘No one seemed to care about my life, or my career,’ she says.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied by Women's Agenda</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>A problem across the political spectrum</h2>
<p>Decades of research have shown how legislatures continue to be hostile work environments for women. In Australia, research by Marian Sawer and Marian Simms, for instance, has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0032318713488316">catalogued multiple instances of sexism and sexual harassment</a> in the Australian federal parliament. </p>
<p>The Liberal Party is hardly the only political organisation to be confronted with this issue. Virtually all major Australian political parties have faced scandals relating to sexual harassment in recent years. </p>
<p>The Nationals were criticised last year for their <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dismayed-eight-month-investigation-into-barnaby-joyce-sexual-harassment-claims-ends-with-no-verdict-20180907-p502e9.html">handling</a> of a complaint against Barnaby Joyce. In the Labor party, former NSW leader Luke Foley <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/08/abc-journalist-ashleigh-raper-details-allegations-against-luke-foley">resigned</a> after allegations that he inappropriately touched an ABC journalist. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quotas-are-not-pretty-but-they-work-liberal-women-should-insist-on-them-103517">Quotas are not pretty but they work – Liberal women should insist on them</a>
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<p>The Greens have been wracked by internal infighting over allegations of sexual harassment, resulting in the <a href="https://greens.org.au/sites/default/files/2018-06/AustralianGreensSexualHarassmentPolicy20180324.pdf">development of both formal and informal complaints processes</a>. </p>
<p>The varied nature of these cases alone shows just how complex – and all too common – the problem remains.</p>
<p>Sexual harassment of women in politics is not limited to Australia, either, as the
“<a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/leaked-spreadsheet-reveals-sexual-harassment-claims-against-36-mps-a3670961.html">sex-pest</a>” scandal in the UK and recent sexual misconduct allegations against <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/report-into-sexual-misconduct-allegations-against-2-mps-finds-new-complaints-source-1.2285073">two MPs in Canada</a> have demonstrated.</p>
<p>Given the prevalence of sexual harassment scandals, what is the most effective way for legislatures and political parties to respond? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286899/original/file-20190805-36363-tmx25h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286899/original/file-20190805-36363-tmx25h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286899/original/file-20190805-36363-tmx25h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286899/original/file-20190805-36363-tmx25h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286899/original/file-20190805-36363-tmx25h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286899/original/file-20190805-36363-tmx25h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286899/original/file-20190805-36363-tmx25h.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">
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<span class="caption">Luke Foley denied the allegations against him, but quit as Labor leader nonetheless.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Himbrechts/AAP</span></span>
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<h2>The role of the parties</h2>
<p>Organisationally, political parties straddle ambiguous ground. Parties are professional organisations that employ small numbers of staff and are subject to regulations and rules. Yet, they are also civic institutions that rely on volunteer labour. Their budgets fluctuate wildly from feast to famine. Further, political staff are paid for by the taxpayer, but they are not considered public servants. </p>
<p>As such, it is not always clear what recourse is available to party members who want to file a complaint for sexual harassment. For the most part, they are entirely reliant on whatever processes have been put in place by the parties. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/party-leaders-need-to-address-federal-parliaments-intolerable-workplace-culture-phelps-102552">Party leaders need to address federal parliament's intolerable workplace culture: Phelps</a>
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<p>Perhaps it’s this complexity, as well as the fact that countless organisations seek to cover up bad behaviour, that has led so <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/absolutely-horrific-liberals-react-to-sexual-assault-allegations-20190731-p52cd7.html">many</a> in the Liberal Party to argue these matters should be referred to police.</p>
<p>It raises the issue of what responsibilities and obligations the parties have when it comes to managing sexual harassment complaints. </p>
<p>This is not an abstract question. There are implications for how safe people feel in their workplaces and within their civic institutions. It also has implications for which MPs are selected and elected to represent us.</p>
<h2>How Canada’s code of conduct works</h2>
<p>Canada has been a pioneer in this regard. In 2015, the country was the first with a Westminster-style government to adopt a legislative-wide code of conduct to govern all non-criminal sexual harassment between MPs, regardless of party. </p>
<p>Following the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-mps-scott-andrews-massimo-pacetti-suspended-from-caucus-amid-harassment-allegations-1.2824396">claims of sexual harassment</a> against the Liberal MPs Massimo Pacetti and Scott Andrews, the Canadian House of Commons <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/StandingOrders/Appa2-e.htm">adopted the code</a> in June 2015. It includes a series of measures aimed at preventing sexual harassment, as well as a specific rule that prohibits one MP from sexually harassing another. When a claim is made, the code spells out a seven-step resolution process.</p>
<p>Research by Canadian political scientists Cheryl N. Collier and Tracy Raney identifies some <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-political-science-revue-canadienne-de-science-politique/article/canadas-membertomember-code-of-conduct-on-sexual-harassment-in-the-house-of-commons-progress-or-regress/E38F86F4FAA6E6EC85DFB313B86DBA60">issues with the code of conduct</a> that could be useful to consider for those seeking to implement a similar code in Australia. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"958478293497344001"}"></div></p>
<p>One is the distinction between criminal and non-criminal sexual harassment. The Canadian code specifically addresses non-criminal actions. If a criminal offence has occurred, the matter will only be referred to the “appropriate law enforcement agency” if the complainant agrees.</p>
<p>But this distinction between non-criminal and criminal is blurry. Confusion over where criminal behaviour begins may prevent victims from using the code if they are unsure how to categorise their specific experience. </p>
<p>This is especially relevant given the recent cases of Mani and Potter in Australia. They were advised to go to the police when they made an internal party complaint. They have strongly argued, as has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/liberal-veteran-warns-pm-over-sexual-assault-scandal/11369014">Liberal party veteran Kathryn Greiner</a>, that such advice allows the party to sidestep responsibility for its culture.</p>
<h2>Problems with the Canadian model</h2>
<p>The Canadian code of conduct also delegates responsibility to party whips to facilitate conversation, mediation, investigation and resolution of complaints. Whips are elected offices, held by politicians. Their main job is to ensure party discipline, which might conflict with addressing claims of sexual harassment. </p>
<p>This may result in quick and quiet resolutions to ensure that minimal damage is done to the party. If the code is simply used to keep people quiet, this would do little to bring about a meaningful resolution process.</p>
<p>Further, the adoption of a code of conduct that emphasises confidentiality raises issues about what is in the public interest. This could mean the public will never know if an MP has been found to have sexually harassed someone. And this information, many would argue, is intrinsically in the public interest.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-ensure-more-women-run-for-public-office-91636">How to ensure more women run for public office</a>
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</em>
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<p>A final important lesson from the Canadian code of conduct relates to parliamentary privileges. Importantly, it does not cover speeches inside the House of Commons, meaning that MPs can use any language they want without fear of reprisal. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-parliament-should-care-about-its-reputation-even-if-leyonhjelm-doesnt-value-his-99225">David Leyonhjelm’s use of a sexist slur</a> against Sarah Hanson-Young in the Australian Senate last year shows, this freedom of speech can create a sexist and toxic working environment for women.</p>
<p>This incident, as well as previous scandals, has shone a light on the fact that political parties, just like other civic institutions, need to think about how they will respond to abuse perpetrated within their organisations. </p>
<p>However, as the Canadian example demonstrates, adopting a set of rules is not enough if there aren’t transparent pathways toward a resolution.</p>
<h2>Strong leadership is also critical</h2>
<p>This lies at the heart of Mani and Potter’s advocacy for rules that extend beyond the individual parties and would cover the behaviour of all MPs. To that end, they are trying to create a <a href="https://changingourheadline.com/">forum</a> for women to share their stories and organise. </p>
<p>It also helps explain why these cases have so quickly been linked to the ongoing <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sexual-assault-allegations-being-hijacked-by-quota-push-says-liberal-party-vp-20190801-p52cxk.html">debate</a> about <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/hybrid-quota-model-and-elizabeth-broderick-among-liberals-suggestions-to-fix-culture-20190731-p52cj8.html">gender quotas</a> within the Liberal Party. The aim is to change the norms of acceptable behaviour within the party, not just deal with individual complaints of harassment when they happen.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286901/original/file-20190805-36381-1xf4chq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286901/original/file-20190805-36381-1xf4chq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286901/original/file-20190805-36381-1xf4chq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286901/original/file-20190805-36381-1xf4chq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286901/original/file-20190805-36381-1xf4chq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286901/original/file-20190805-36381-1xf4chq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286901/original/file-20190805-36381-1xf4chq.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">
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<span class="caption">Just 23% of the Coalition’s MPs are women, compared to 47% for Labor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>We already know it’s hard for women in political life. While a code of conduct is a step in the right direction, it is unlikely to change the internal culture of the Liberal Party, or any other party. </p>
<p>What’s needed is strong leadership and sustained public pressure that makes it is harder for political parties to turn a blind eye to sexual harassment and assault. </p>
<p>After all, it’s difficult to know how many budding careers have come to an end because of this kind of behaviour across the political spectrum. As Mani herself <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/why-victims-of-sexual-harassment-in-politics-are-still-forced-to-suffer-in-silence/">put it</a>, when describing the party response to her allegations:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was told ‘You do realise you could ruin his life and he could lose his job, don’t you?’ No one seemed to care about my life, or my career.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121365/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>What’s needed is strong leadership and sustained public pressure that makes it is harder for political parties to turn a blind eye to sexual harassment and assault.Marija Taflaga, Lecturer, School of Political Science and International Relations, Australian National UniversityKatrine Beauregard, Lecturer, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1199702019-07-10T11:32:43Z2019-07-10T11:32:43ZMusic festivals: how to get more women on stage (and it’s not just 50/50 quotas)<p>By all accounts, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jun/30/kylie-at-glastonbury-2019-review">Kylie Minogue was fabulous at Glastonbury</a> this year. What she wasn’t though – <a href="https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife/glastonbury-2019-tickets-lineup-poster-2649862">contrary to promotional material</a> – was a headline act. Unlike Stormzy, The Killers and The Cure, who all topped the bill on successive nights on the main Pyramid Stage, Kylie appeared in much less prominent spots on the festival line-up – similar to Janet Jackson, who had also been promoted as a headliner.</p>
<p>This controversy aside, Emily Eavis deserves credit for her efforts in getting <a href="https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/glastonbury-2019-women/">women into 42% of slots</a> across a four-day festival – a considerable increase since 2015 when women occupied only 14% of the line-up.</p>
<p>The push towards gender balanced line-ups, or so-called “50/50” pledges, is led by the <a href="https://keychange.eu/">PRS Keychange initiative </a> which calls for equal numbers of male and female performers at high profile festivals and music events by 2022. Some 250 music organisations have already signed up and Primavera Sound, held in Barcelona in May 2019, was the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-48484558">first music festival to achieve a 50/50 gender balance</a>.</p>
<p>But the move is controversial – which may seem surprising when we know that high-profile role models are an important part of the psychology of inspiring women to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1037/gpr0000059">enter male-dominated occupations</a>. Actively recruiting women into visible public positions should be welcomed by all, surely?</p>
<p>The problems begin when we look more closely at what happens when quotas are used to address gender inequality. The argument is that without legislation requiring organisations to appoint a set number of individuals from the minority group, change will not happen fast enough. The 2011 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/women-on-boards-5-year-summary-davies-review">Davies Report</a>, commissioned by the UK Government, calculated it would take 70 years for men and women to achieve equality on company boards if the status quo wasn’t challenged. </p>
<p>Yet these quotas can result in women’s recruitment to less influential positions. In countries where gender quotas for company boards are already mandatory, it is not uncommon <a href="https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.550590.de/diw_econ_bull_2017-01-1.pdf">to find women in non-executive positions where their power is limited</a> – impression management rather than real change. We can see this happening at Glastonbury, too. </p>
<h2>Entrenched advantage</h2>
<p>Another criticism of diversity quotas is an assumption that choosing people because of their gender – whether to perform at a festival, or lead a company – means ability and talent matter less than getting enough of the underrepresented group to meet the target. This “tick box” view has damaging effects for everyone.</p>
<p>Men feel aggrieved that they may have lost out unfairly, while women feel they have only been chosen because of their sex, and not their talent. </p>
<p>But filling quotas does not have to be at the expense of ensuring a top quality bill, providing there are sufficient numbers of men and women in the talent pools you’re drawing from. You set the barrier high, then choose equal numbers of men and women who can jump it. </p>
<p>We can apply this approach to ethnicity, sexuality, age – and any number of individual characteristics, too. There is also an argument that, if we are serious about addressing inequality, then the dominant group will (and should) necessarily lose its entrenched advantage.</p>
<h2>Filling the talent pool</h2>
<p>But this is where it gets interesting. Because in music, as with many other creative and tech industries, the talent pools are far from equally sized. A recent report from the <a href="https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/aii">Annenberg Inclusion Initiative</a> studied 700 popular music songs released in the US between 2012 and 2016. Women made up 21.7% of artists, 12.3% of songwriters and only a tiny 2.1% of producers, suggesting that as creative roles become more techie, already low female participation rates fall sharply.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1088&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1088&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283302/original/file-20190709-44505-123rhdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1088&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Quite a line-up: Glastonbury 2019.</span>
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<p>This is especially so in electronic music, which is the field I’m currently researching. Accurate figures on the numbers of female producers are hard to come by, but <a href="http://www.carosnatch.com/women-in-electronic-music-female-music-producers/">estimates sit between 5% and 10%</a> of producers released by labels. I undertook a gender analysis of the tracks in the <a href="https://www.beatport.com/top-100">Beatport Top 100</a> one Sunday in May to test this. Sure enough, 91% of them were made by men. And of the nine tracks with women listed as an artist, it appeared only five of them were written and/or produced by a woman as opposed to “just” featuring a female vocalist. These are tiny proportions.</p>
<p>Driven by the digital revolution in music production, writing and producing the music that you play, not just performing it – is a vital part of being a credible artist. From <a href="https://inthekeyofshe.org/">my research</a>, it is clear this is fast becoming the most important criteria in electronic scenes. Without your own catalogue of releases, you’ll struggle to get booked to play the mid-range festivals that are the grassroots of the industry.</p>
<p>It is these events that produce the next generation of A-listers that headline the major festivals. So even if women are great DJs and put on an amazing show, if they are not writing and producing their own music they will lack the reputational capital they need to be taken seriously and our pipeline of future female talent runs dry.</p>
<p>So 50/50 line-ups do provide a great opportunity for female artists, offering role models to inspire girls and women to pursue musical careers. But they also risk reinforcing difference through the divisive nature of quotas. That is not to say we should abandon the idea, but we also need longer term solutions to break down stereotypes about music/technology. </p>
<p>Initiatives such as Toolroom’s <a href="https://www.toolroomrecords.com/news/wearelistening-2/">#WeAreListening</a> project, Hospital Records’ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/635444013546242/?ref=pages_profile_groups_tab&source_id=773275239513448">Women in Drum and Bass Facebook group</a>, the <a href="https://www.shesaid.so/she-grows">SheSaid.So</a> mentoring network as well as educational projects such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-sound-addressing-the-music-industrys-gender-gap-85132">Women in Sound on Sound</a> are all examples of programmes that give women a leg up in music production so that they can compete for the top slots. </p>
<p>Offering safe spaces to learn, connect with other women for support, to network and get noticed: these are things that will create sustainable change for a more inclusive music industry of the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Warren receives funding through a Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust (2019-2021). She is affiliated with the Association for Electronic Music, SheSaidSo and DJ artist collective SISU. </span></em></p>Why 50/50 festival line-ups are not an easy solution to gender inequality.Samantha Warren, Professor in Organisation Studies and HRM, and Departmental Research Lead, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1133872019-03-14T13:14:09Z2019-03-14T13:14:09ZNew dictionary provides nuanced insights into the language of African politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263655/original/file-20190313-123519-md28kt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Ghana, "skirt-and-blouse voting" means to vote for different parties for presidential and legislative positions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every country has its own political language. These terms and phrases that have developed over time give distinctive meanings that may not be fully understood by outsiders. Unless we learn them, we may miss critical information about how politics really works.</p>
<p>Our new <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836?rskey=S2GlUD&result=1">dictionary of African politics</a> reveals the witty and insightful political terminology that people in different African countries use to speak truth to power and discuss everyday developments. It shows the importance of language for understanding politics and the varied experience of different nations.</p>
<p>The dictionary serves three key purposes. First, it provides clear and concise overviews of hundreds of key personalities, events and institutions from the colonial period to the present day. These range from Sudanese President <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-18?rskey=uTavSU&result=6">Omar al-Bashir</a> to former South African leader <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-369?rskey=1JOzOD&result=1">Jacob Zuma</a>, through the late Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Laureate <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-207?rskey=niJ4CK&result=1">Wangari Mathaai</a>, and <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-380?rskey=eqpWgn&result=1">Aja Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang</a>, a leading gender activist and the vice president of Gambia. </p>
<p>Second, it explains a rich set of theoretical terms that emerged out of the research on Africa over the last 70 years. These include <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-241?rskey=jM8Mmk&result=2">neo-patrimonialism</a> and <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-126?rskey=DB6e4C&result=3">extraversion</a>, which have become important for global debates about power and the way it’s exercised. </p>
<p>Third - and much more significantly - it allows for a better understanding of the contributions that the continent has made to the practice and understanding of everyday politics. It also makes it possible to share the perceptive and shrewd ways that people speak truth to power in various countries: this is the real reason that the world needs a new dictionary of African politics.</p>
<h2>Crowd-sourcing</h2>
<p>To access this wealth of <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-191?rskey=UBSFIz&result=1">“kona”</a> knowledge (street corner wisdom in Kiswahili), we crowd sourced suggestions for the most relevant and insightful terms using social media. The hundreds of responses we received mean that the dictionary is packed full of fascinating terms from across the continent. These come from a variety of languages including Kiswahili, Chibemba, Kikuyu, Wolof, isiZulu and isiXhosa. There are also Africanised versions of English, French and Portuguese words.</p>
<p>An illustrative example is the wealth of English vocabulary that has emerged from the interaction between local political norms and democratic institutions. This includes the Kenyan model of <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-238?rskey=EdksMo&result=1">“negotiated democracy”</a> – the sharing of political positions between different communities in advance of an election to avoid conflict.</p>
<p>Another is the Nigerian practice of <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-367?rskey=wb49fF&result=11">“zoning”</a>, which was set up to try and ensure that the presidency of Africa’s most populous country alternates between northerners and southerners. That way, no community is permanently excluded from power.</p>
<p>Clothing-related expressions have also emerged in countries like Kenya and Ghana to show voting behaviours. <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-331?rskey=btv8Ex&result=1">“Three-piece suit voting”</a> refers to supporting the same party for all elected positions. On the contrary, <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-307?rskey=9fm46D&result=10">“skirt-and-blouse voting”</a> means to vote for different parties for presidential and legislative elections. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263591/original/file-20190313-123545-1uk04ol.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263591/original/file-20190313-123545-1uk04ol.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263591/original/file-20190313-123545-1uk04ol.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263591/original/file-20190313-123545-1uk04ol.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263591/original/file-20190313-123545-1uk04ol.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263591/original/file-20190313-123545-1uk04ol.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263591/original/file-20190313-123545-1uk04ol.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>A series of evocative expressions describe a politician’s move from one party to another – usually from the opposition to the governing party following an inducement. Terms such as floor-crossing or <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-92?rskey=fi4a30&result=2">cross-carpeting</a> are inspired by the parliament’s settings, or nomadic traditions - examples are <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-335?rskey=8YEWOD&result=8">transhumance</a> and <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-247?rskey=fi4a30&result=1">“nomadisme politique”</a>.</p>
<h2>Ingenuity and humour</h2>
<p>The ingredients that shape these terms are decades, if not centuries old. They thus provide an insight into a collective memory that goes back to well before colonial rule. But, language also evolves to keep up with the times. In French, for example, <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-154?rskey=UDYlO6&result=1">glissement</a> means to slide. But, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the word recently took on a whole new meaning. This, as former President Joseph Kabila repeatedly postponed scheduled elections that would see him stand down. Congolese citizens started using the term to refer to the act of deliberately “sliding” past the official election date to retain power indefinitely. </p>
<p>Similarly, in Francophone Africa the term <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-22?rskey=OVO2zc&result=1">“alternance”</a>, used as the demand for a transfer of power, shows a passionate commitment to the liberal-democratic norm of putting limits on the number of terms a president may serve. This has no equivalent in Europe and North America.</p>
<p>While the use of words such as glissement hint at the world-weary cynicism many ordinary people feel towards their leaders, other terms revel in the joy of wordplay. One of our favourites is <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-354?rskey=9XpuIj&result=6">“Watermelon politics”</a>. It refers to an individual that professes to support one political party but in reality belongs to another. </p>
<p>It was coined in Zambia, where activists from the opposition <a href="http://www.lusakavoice.com/2016/08/11/watermelon-campaign-can-history-repeat-itself/">United Party of National Development</a>, (whose colour was then red), pretended to support the governing party, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/patrioticfrontzambia/">Patriotic Front</a>, (whose colour was green), to avoid reprisals. They were thus depicted as “green on the outside, but red on the inside”. </p>
<p>Such expressions show the ingenuity and humour with which citizens evade despotism and exercise their democratic rights. They also show how much researchers and journalists miss when they don’t pay attention to African ideas and concepts. Thus, the best reason to read this dictionary is to learn about the political ingenuity of African citizens and to gain insights into local political ideas and frames of reference.</p>
<p>The dictionary is also about much more than that. It includes one of the most thorough timelines of African political events ever compiled, with direct links to entries that put critical events into context. It also provides useful overviews of the topics that are of most interest to students. These range from from <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-162?rskey=x1r3cO&result=26">HIV/Aids</a> to <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-151?rskey=Yl2bUJ&result=1">gender quotas</a>, and from the anti-<a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-30?rskey=pwVNsB&result=6">apartheid</a> struggle to the Rwandan <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780191828836.001.0001/acref-9780191828836-e-153?rskey=05849U&result=17">genocide</a>. </p>
<p>Our hope is that it does justice to the efforts of the many people who took time to send in the suggestions that have enriched it, and that everyone who takes a look learns something new.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nic Cheeseman and the other authors of this piece wrote the dictionary referred to in this piece for Oxford University Press.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eloïse Bertrand and Sa'eed Husaini 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>A dictionary of African politics reveals the witty and insightful political terminology that people in different African countries use.Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy, University of BirminghamEloïse Bertrand, PhD Student in Politics and International Studies, University of WarwickSa'eed Husaini, DPhil Candidate, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1101582019-01-20T18:55:12Z2019-01-20T18:55:12ZLiberals lose yet another high-profile woman, yet still no action on gender<p>Liberal women must surely be asking why their party is so clear-eyed when facilitating the departure of competent women, and yet so mealy-mouthed about recruiting and promoting them.</p>
<p>Prominent among Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s comments on Kelly O’Dwyer’s retirement to pursue family life, was to say he <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/kelly-odwyer-reveals-heartbreaking-reason-why-shes-leaving-politics/news-story/b00a502beaec61badbef174d77b797cd">supported his minister’s decision</a>, and indeed supported all such choices by women.</p>
<p>Such clarity has been conspicuously absent from the Liberal Party’s leadership since its now widely accepted “women” problem came to the fore in 2018 amid claims of bullying, implied career threats, ingrained gender bias, and other generally oafish behaviour.</p>
<p>Even more opaque has been the Liberal Party’s puzzling refusal to broach any corrective action to address a powerful internal preference for men, when selecting candidates in winnable seats. This, despite a miserable return of just 13 female MPs of its 76 in the lower house after the 2016 election.</p>
<p>It is even worse now, and voters are on to it.</p>
<h2>Not the first such departure</h2>
<p>O’Dwyer is the second female Liberal from Victoria to call it quits in six months after her friend, the talented rookie backbencher Julia Banks, spectacularly called time on the party in the wake of Malcolm Turnbull’s brutal ouster.</p>
<p>Banks went to the cross bench to form a quartet of competent female moderates with past ties or sympathies to the centre-right – Banks, Kerryn Phelps, Rebekha Sharkie, and Cathy McGowan.</p>
<p>There have been other high-profile departures this term also on family grounds with two frontbenchers on the Labor side – former minister Kate Ellis, and rising star Tim Hammond – both bowing out.</p>
<p>That federal politics is hard on families and relationships is hardly news, but the slew of resignations / defections underscores how little has been done to change things.</p>
<h2>And poignant, given her portfolio</h2>
<p>In any event, O’Dwyer’s retreat is arguably the most pointed given the current debate, her particular government portfolio, her hard-won ministerial seniority, and her party’s woes.</p>
<p>It makes Liberal retention of her previously safe Melbourne seat of Higgins somewhere between problematic and unlikely.</p>
<p>On the social media platform Twitter where cynicism and vitriol flows freely from people hiding behind false identities, her departure has been met with some appallingly personal abuse, exaggerated outrage, and claims she was merely a rat leaving a sinking ship.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1086764357831151616"}"></div></p>
<p>It is true that retaining the seat would have been no certainty even with O’Dwyer still as the candidate, especially given Victoria’s recent anti-conservative tendencies in state election races, but with a new candidate, the Liberal jewel is undoubtedly more vulnerable.</p>
<p>Feminists will be aggrieved to see another senior woman go but they might also be quietly disappointed in her stated reasons. </p>
<p>In contradistinction to some of her predecessors, O’Dwyer, did substantive work as minister for women, and unlike some, gave the impression of actually believing in the mission.</p>
<p>She also garnered respect from across the aisle and within the press gallery as a person of warmth and humility – stand-out qualities on Capital Hill.</p>
<h2>It is a portfolio she believed in</h2>
<p>O'Dwyer created enemies however on her party’s increasingly reactionary right flank by outlining the challenges for women – especially in politics – acknowledging the Liberal Party’s poor image in some quarters. </p>
<p>She was even reputed to have told colleagues they were seen as a bunch of <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/minister-kelly-o-dwyer-lashes-homophobic-anti-women-liberals-in-her-party">“homophobic, anti-women, climate change deniers”</a>.</p>
<p>Her introduction of a women’s economic security statement last year was another material achievement resisted by some as political correctness.</p>
<p>But in declaring her job’s incompatibility with family life, there was an unmistakable note of resignation, even defeat in O’Dwyer’s “choice”. And coming from the minister most directly involved in remediating that problem for women, her resignation cannot help but reinforce the message that politics may well be no place for women.</p>
<p>Morrison’s superficially virtuous support for the choices for women, was no help either - typical of much conservative sophistry around this whole issue.</p>
<h2>Morrison isn’t helping</h2>
<p>Masquerading as a pro-choice feminist while endorsing a senior colleague’s decision to give up her career for child-rearing and home duties takes some chutzpah.</p>
<p>An alternative approach might have been to lament her departure as symptomatic of a flawed representational system, acknowledge the failure of politics to renovate its male paradigm, and vow to change the culture in material ways.</p>
<p>It might even be called leadership.</p>
<p>For a government laced with longstanding (if undeclared) quotas for ministerial selection – think ratios in the ministry applied to the number of Libs to Nats, House to Senate, moderates to conservatives, and even between states – the blind spot over women’s under-representation and the philosophical objection to corrective action (quotas) is all the more bizarre.</p>
<p>It is a mark of how far conservative Liberals have drifted from contemporary public attitudes and even their own philosophy that some would countenance re-nationalising of energy assets and building new coal-fired power stations before correcting a clear market imperfection within their own organisation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-julie-bishop-will-be-open-to-post-politics-offers-102279">View from The Hill: Julie Bishop will be open to post-politics offers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And with speculation that Julie Bishop could also withdraw from the 2019 field, the situation facing Morrison’s Liberals threatens to deepen.</p>
<p>Through all of this, voters’ views come second.</p>
<p>Not so long ago, Bishop was easily the most popular alternative to Malcolm Turnbull in voter land but such unrivalled public support was good for just 11 votes in the party room.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Kenny 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 Prime Minister’s reaction to Kelly O'Dwyer’s decision says much about the Coalition’s attitude to women.Mark Kenny, Senior Fellow, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1101592019-01-20T11:08:33Z2019-01-20T11:08:33ZView from The Hill: O'Dwyer’s decision turns the spotlight onto Bishop<p>The political down time over summer can be something of a respite for
an embattled government. But for Scott Morrison, it has just brought
more setbacks. The weekend announcement by cabinet minister Kelly
O'Dwyer that she will leave parliament at the election is the latest
and most serious.</p>
<p>O'Dwyer says she wants to see more of her two young children, and
would like to have a third, which involves medical challenges.</p>
<p>Her decision is understandable. The first woman to have a baby while a
federal cabinet minister has been juggling an enormous load.</p>
<p>But with the general expectation that the Morrison government is
headed for opposition, many people will think (rightly or wrongly)
that O'Dwyer was also influenced by the likelihood she faced the grind
of opposition, which is a lot less satisfying than the burden of
office.</p>
<h2>Bad timing for the minister for women</h2>
<p>Her insistence at Saturday’s joint news conference with Morrison
that he will win the election won’t convince anyone.</p>
<p>If the Liberals didn’t have their acute “woman problem”, O'Dwyer’s
jumping ship wouldn’t be such a concern. She’s been a competent
minister, not an outstanding performer. She was not in “future leader”
lists.</p>
<p>But it’s altogether another matter to have your minister for women
bailing out when there has been a huge argument about the dearth of
females in Coalition ranks, damaging allegations of bullying within
the Liberal party, and high profile Victorian backbencher Julia Banks
deserting to the crossbench.</p>
<p>All in all, the Liberal party is presenting a very poor face to women
voters. It was O'Dwyer herself who told colleagues last year that the
Liberals were widely regarded as “homophobic, anti-women,
climate-change deniers”.</p>
<h2>Anti-women climate-change deniers?</h2>
<p>An effort earlier this month to have assistant ministers Sarah
Henderson and Linda Reynolds talk up the Liberals’ credentials on women looked like the gimmick it was.</p>
<p>O'Dwyer says she has “no doubt” her successor as the Higgins candidate will be a woman. Morrison also says he thinks there will be a female replacement.</p>
<p>But this just highlights how the Liberal party’s failure to bring
enough women through the ranks now forces it into unfortunate corners.</p>
<p>The candidate will be chosen by a local preselection. As one
journalist quipped at the news conference, is the situation that blokes needn’t apply?</p>
<p>And what if a man happened to win? Remember Morrison’s experience in the Wentworth byelection, where he wanted a woman and the preselectors gave him Dave Sharma? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-wentworth-preselectors-rebuff-to-morrison-caps-week-of-mayhem-103216">Grattan on Friday: Wentworth preselectors' rebuff to Morrison caps week of mayhem</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<p>Sharma was generally considered a good candidate - and Morrison is happy for him to have his second try against independent Kerryn Phelps at the general election.</p>
<p>Assuming, however, that Higgins preselectors heed the gender call,
it seems they will have some strong female contenders to choose from.</p>
<p>Paediatrician Katie Allen, who contested the state election, has
flagged she will run; Victorian senator Jane Hume is considering a
tilt.</p>
<p>There is inevitable speculation about whether former Abbott chief-
of-staff Peta Credlin might chance her arm for preselection.</p>
<p>But her hard-edged political stance would be a risk in an electorate
where the Greens have been strong – savvy Liberals point out a climate
sceptic wouldn’t play well there. And it would be embarrassing for her
if she ran for preselection and was defeated.</p>
<p>O'Dwyer rejects the suggestion she was swayed by the possibility she
might lose Higgins. Some Liberals were pessimistic about the seat
after the party’s drubbing in the Victorian election, and Labor was
ahead in two-party terms in a poll it commissioned late last year.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/minister-for-women-kelly-odwyer-says-liberals-were-subject-to-threats-in-leadership-battle-102608">Minister for Women Kelly O'Dwyer says Liberals were 'subject to threats' in leadership battle</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the government has a 10% margin in two-party terms against Labor, and despite the polling the ALP doesn’t expect to win the seat. (In 2016 the Greens finished second.)</p>
<p>O'Dwyer, who is also minister for jobs and industrial relations,
remains in her positions and in cabinet until the election.
Understandably Morrison would not want a reshuffle. But having a lame
duck minister in the important IR portfolio is less than optimal.</p>
<h2>Attention turns to Bishop</h2>
<p>Inevitably O'Dwyer’s announcement has turned attention onto the future
of former deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop. Bishop has said she is
contesting the election but there is continuing speculation she might
withdraw.</p>
<p>While she has previously left open the possibility of running for the
opposition leadership this makes no sense.</p>
<p>Now in her early 60s, her chances of ever becoming PM would be
virtually nil if Labor won with a good majority and was set for two
terms. That’s if she had the numbers to get the leadership in the
first place.</p>
<p>It is assumed Bishop has said she’s staying so she stymies any replacement
she doesn’t want (such as attorney-general Christian Porter whose own
seat is at risk) and can secure a candidate she favours.</p>
<p>Even though she’s a backbencher now, it would be a another blow for
the Liberals if Bishop does decide to retire at the election.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/julie-bishop-goes-to-backbench-marise-payne-becomes-new-foreign-minister-102172">Julie Bishop goes to backbench, Marise Payne becomes new foreign minister</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>She was humiliated when she received only a handful of votes in the
August leadership ballot. Her treatment left her deeply angry,
especially because none of her Western Australian colleagues supported
her.</p>
<p>But out in the community she is very popular and many voters still
can’t understand why, when there was a change of prime minister, she
was not the one chosen.</p>
<p>If Bishop were to walk away, she would be making a rational decision.
But it would send another powerful negative vibe to voters about
the Liberal party and women.</p>
<hr>
<p>UPDATE: Jane Hume, interviewed on the ABC on Monday morning, has
ruled out running for the Higgins preselection.</p>
<p>UPDATE: In reply to queries to her office, Bishop said on Monday: “I am pre-selected as the member for Curtin and it is my intention to run”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan 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 minister for women’s decision to walk away is appalling timing, and the government’s most popular woman might follow suit.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1035172018-09-20T20:15:13Z2018-09-20T20:15:13ZQuotas are not pretty but they work – Liberal women should insist on them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237260/original/file-20180920-10508-v1ophr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Liberal women such as those in the Morrison ministry, pictured here, should organise to achieve structural change - the only kind that ever sticks.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is an historic moment for Liberal Party women. Individual complaints of sexist bullying invariably end with the lone complainant being isolated and getting crunched.</p>
<p>But since the Liberal leadership spill, several women have spoken out and two MPs, Julia Banks and Ann Sudmalis, have foreshadowed their exit from parliamentary politics over it. This post-#LibSpill moment holds immense promise – but only if the collective momentum is seized and built upon. </p>
<p>From Prime Minister Scott Morrison down, <a href="https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/prime-minister-scott-morrison-100-percent-sure-no-liberal-bullies-in-parliament-ng-b88964116z">Liberal Party men are pushing back</a> against women pressing for cultural change within the party. They don’t want to share power for ideological reasons: conservative men like women to know their place, and that place is not in the House of Representatives or the Senate. This ethos is intensifying as <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/the-religious-minority-seizing-power-in-the-liberal-party-20180601-p4ziyq.html">fringe</a> and <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/liberal/wa-liberal-senate-candidate-trish-botha-ng-b88861653z">evangelical Christians</a> make ever deeper inroads into Liberal Party branches and preselection processes. </p>
<p>Respected Liberal women like former Liberal Party vice-president Tricia Worth and former Liberal senator Sue Boyce have <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/what-must-the-liberals-do-to-fix-their-gender-problem/10280600">poured scorn on the internal party mechanisms</a> proposed so far to deal with the problem. They point out the implausibility, for example, of making a bullying complaint to Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger who <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/michael-kroger-hoses-down-liberal-bullying-claims/news-story/ffcfe7e6177be840d375c573aa94d31b">denies such bullying exists</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-woman-problem-no-the-liberals-have-a-man-problem-and-they-need-to-fix-it-102339">A 'woman problem'? No, the Liberals have a 'man problem', and they need to fix it</a>
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<p>Liberal Party women face an immediate choice. They can be cowed by the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/liberals-need-to-tackle-party-s-gender-imbalance-20180913-p503n0.html">“quota girl”</a> sledge of hostile male colleagues, and other unsupportive comments by these men’s female enablers such as NSW Liberal Senator <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/i-dont-want-to-be-known-as-the-quota-girl/ar-BBNtF4l?li=AAgfIYZ">Concetta Fierravanti-Wells</a>.</p>
<p>Alternatively, Liberal women can organise to achieve structural change – the only kind that ever sticks – arguing that if it’s good enough for “quota boys” like Senator Abetz and Michael McCormack, quotas are all right by them too.</p>
<p>Practical politics runs on quotas. They are the tool of last resort when dominant powers refuse to share power fairly or could refuse to in the future. They work.</p>
<p>The most striking example of a quota in Australian politics is that underpinning Federation. The Australian colonies would not agree to federate without agreement to an upper house in which each state, even the smallest, was represented by the same number of senators as the biggest. </p>
<p>That’s why NSW, with a <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0">population of 7.9 million, and Tasmania, with a population of 524,000</a>, both send 12 senators to Canberra every election. This makes the ranking Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz arguably the biggest beneficiary of quotas currently in the federal parliament.</p>
<p>There are 76 senators. Would anyone seriously suggest that on merit Eric Abetz would make the list of the top 76 Australians elected as senators in Australia’s upper house if they were elected in a single nationwide ballot? The state-based quota system established at Federation ensures he gets there.</p>
<p>The next most striking example is the quota agreement that enables Australia’s two main conservative parties to form government in coalition, since each usually returns too few MPs at federal elections to govern in its own right.</p>
<p>The National Party’s price for supporting the Liberals in forming government is a quota of ministerial positions reserved for National Party MPs, along with the deputy prime ministership. This quota arrangement today underpins the cabinet position and deputy prime ministership of National Party leader Michael McCormack. Does anyone really believe that without this quota McCormack would have naturally risen to become Australia’s second most senior politician? Of course not.</p>
<p>The third most striking example of quotas in Australian politics is their use by the Australian Labor Party to normalise the presence of women in progressive parliamentary politics. Attempts to establish quotas in the early 1980s, backed by then Labor opposition leader Bill Hayden, foundered when ALP conference delegates, including many women, voted them down on factional lines. It was not until 1994 that an <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-quotas-in-politics-the-absence-of-women-isnt-merit-based-45297">enforceable formula</a> guaranteeing women preselection in one-third of winnable seats was established.</p>
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<p>In her memoir <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/29197860?q&versionId=35524555+219955140">Catching the Waves</a>, Hawke Government cabinet minister Susan Ryan wrote: </p>
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<p>These rules are bitterly resented by many men in the Party, and when they favour a woman from the wrong faction they upset some women as well.</p>
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<p>Quotas are “a blunt tool”, Ryan readily conceded, but she supported them after experience showed nothing else could “change the gender balance among Labor members of parliament”. It worked. Labor now has a critical mass of women in caucus making a big contribution, their presence normalised and unremarked on except by misogynistic conservatives across the aisle.</p>
<p>People don’t have to like quotas. But no reasonable person can fail to accept that they are a regular part of political life, not the intrusive tool of progressive pinot noir drinkers pushing their own political barrows. Hundreds of examples beyond Australia’s shores could be cited, but here are just a few.</p>
<p>The United States has a quota of two senators from every state in its upper house, the inspiration for Australia’s state senate quotas. Conservative German chancellor Angela Merkel legislated <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/mar/06/germany-gender-quota-legislation-boardroom-law-women">board quotas for women</a> when German business proved intractable in voluntarily improving board diversity. Singapore set <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/09/17/singapore/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e7fa79c5c0eb">racial quotas in public housing</a>, reflecting the ethnic makeup of the country’s population, in the interests of racial harmony.</p>
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<p>Quotas, in short, are management tools to ensure power-sharing where it would not otherwise occur in the interests of a greater good – and they’re used by progressives and conservatives alike. No-one could accuse Angela Merkel or the Singaporean government of being subversive left-wing entities. It has been estimated that half the countries in the world <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1314/ElectoralQuotas">use some kind of gender quota in their electoral system</a> and there is extensive evidence that they work.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-morrisons-challenge-with-women-goes-beyond-simple-numbers-103467">View from The Hill: Morrison's challenge with women goes beyond simple numbers</a>
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<p>There is high level support from Labor for Liberal women to tackle the problem and succeed in the interests of improving Australia’s political culture overall. Labor Senate leader, Penny Wong, <a href="http://www.pennywong.com.au/speeches/senators-statements-a-more-equal-and-representative-parliament-the-senate-canberra/">told parliament this week</a> that the under-representation of women in the Liberal party room is “not only bad for women, and bad for the Liberal Party, it is bad for democracy”. She urged Liberals to walk the same difficult road to establishing quotas that so successfully fixed what had also been a chronic problem for Labor.</p>
<p>Failure to push on to embrace and establish quotas will see the current burst of bravery by Liberal women dissipate, and the male oligopoly in the Coalition party room become even more entrenched.</p>
<p>Advocates could impress on internal opponents that the only winner from the current extreme and worsening masculinist culture in the Liberal Party will be Labor, whose caucus since quotas for women in winnable seats were adopted has increasingly reflected the communities it represents – something voters very much like and ultimately reward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103517/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wallace receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>The Liberal Party is at a crossroad in its history. It must take bold steps to ensure better representation in its ranks by introducing gender quotas.Chris Wallace, ARC DECRA Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029052018-09-11T20:13:59Z2018-09-11T20:13:59ZShe’ll be right: why conservative voters fail to see gender as an obstacle to political success<p>When Julie Bishop called out that it was “not acceptable” for her party to add to Australia’s political gender gap, it marked a watershed moment for conservative politics.</p>
<p>Her <a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/women-of-the-future/the-weekly/julie-bishop-speech-51014">speech</a> at a Women’s Weekly forum last week marked the first time Bishop, a party heavyweight, had publicly acknowledged the party’s role in the under-representation of women in Australian politics. </p>
<p>Women make up 50.7% of the Australian population, yet just under a third of the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2016/August/The_gender_composition_of_the_45th_parliament">federal parliament</a>. About one in five federal Coalition MPs is female.</p>
<p>Bishop’s comments followed a string of Liberal women exposing the party’s discriminatory culture which many women find so unwelcoming. The most explosive was first-term Liberal Julia Banks’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/29/liberal-mp-julia-banks-to-quit-parliament-next-election-citing-bullying-and-intimidation">decision</a> to quit parliament because of alleged bullying from “within my own party”. </p>
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<p>Despite this, our latest research shows there is little public appetite on the conservative side of Australian politics for embracing gender quotas. </p>
<p>University of Melbourne colleagues Leah Ruppanner, Jenny Lewis and I undertook a survey of 2,100 voting-age Australians in June this year. We found that conservative voters generally fail to see how being female can impede political success. Left-of-centre voters list gender as the main obstacle to success. </p>
<p>This study suggests the Coalition parties have little incentive to introduce gender quotas when their voters do not see any reason for them.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-woman-problem-no-the-liberals-have-a-man-problem-and-they-need-to-fix-it-102339">A 'woman problem'? No, the Liberals have a 'man problem', and they need to fix it</a>
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<p>To test voters’ attitudes about female politicians, we used identical vignettes about a hypothetical politician, then invited a representative sample of Australians to rate that politician’s likelihood for success. The only differences in our vignettes was that half the respondents (1,050) answered questions about a male politician, while the other half responded to questions about a female. As the survey unfolded, additional identical information was posed about the hypothetical politician’s professional and personal traits, but not their party identity. </p>
<p>Overall, we found Australians on all sides of politics supported the idea of more women in parliament. But, through the hypothetical scenarios, we found strong political party divides in internalised attitudes towards female politicians </p>
<p>Liberal and National voters favoured our male candidate more than those who voted Labor or Greens. This fits with <a href="https://www.rci.rutgers.edu/%7Esearch1/pdf/Eagley_Role_Conguity_Theory.pdf">previous studies</a> that find “desirable” traits for leadership are typically linked to men. </p>
<p>Our findings are consistent with the different paths Australian political parties have taken to improve female representation in politics. Labor has instituted strict quotas to increase <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1314/ElectoralQuotas">female representation</a> since the 1990s. The Coalition favours voluntary targets and remains <a href="https://theconversation.com/liberals-deride-quotas-for-women-mps-but-how-are-they-going-to-make-targets-work-62727">opposed to mandatory quotas</a>.</p>
<p>The key argument against quotas has long been that there is simply no need for them. According to former prime minister <a href="https://www.afr.com/leadership/liberal-party-will-never-have-quotas-for-women-malcolm-turnbull-20131010-jyb0y">Malcolm Turnbull</a>, the Coalition has a “completely different culture” from Labor. In 2013 he said:</p>
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<p>You can’t say to people, ‘every second prime minister has to be a woman’, you have to let parties choose candidates based on their quality. </p>
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<p>This cultural difference appears to extend within the Liberal Party itself. When Banks resigned, some male party colleagues such as <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/julia-banks-not-re-contesting-seat-at-next-federal-election/10177360">Craig Kelly</a> failed to see this bullying environment as an issue – and adopted a “toughen up” stance. ANU <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240592736_The_Representation_of_Women_in_Australia_Meaning_and_Make-Believe">Professor Marian Sawer</a> calls this off-putting approach “gladiatorial politics”.</p>
<p>As a result, the Coalition is languishing far behind Labor on female representation. Overall, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2016/August/The_gender_composition_of_the_45th_parliament">a fifth</a> of federal Coalition MPs are women. That’s a long way behind Labor’s 48%, which has doubled since quotas were introduced.</p>
<p>The results indicate that conservative voters reflect the Coalition’s support for meritocratic or individualistic principles, a common argument used against quotas. Yet they fail to see how “meritocracy” is heavily skewed towards men, ignoring structural impediments that hinder women such as equal access to political networks, financial participation, a lack of mentors, and behind-the-scenes practices of political parties and preselections.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding maverick Coalition women like Judith Troeth, Sharman Stone, Judi Moylan and Sue Boyce, Liberals and Nationals deny Australian politics has a gender problem made worse by their parties’ attitudes towards women. </p>
<p>For this reason, Julie Bishop’s high-profile turnaround is significant because it directly links Australia’s low world ranking in female political representation to her party. She said: </p>
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<p>It’s not acceptable for our party to contribute to the fall in Australia’s ratings from 15th in the world in terms of female parliamentary representation in 1999 to 50th today.</p>
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<p>Some male Coalition MPs seem to understand the problem. Bishop’s view has been partly upheld by male MPs like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/sep/08/coalition-mps-admit-gender-equality-issue-but-reject-setting-quotasv">Greg Hunt</a>, who told Channel Nine news: “I don’t think we’ll be at the right place until we have parity.” Moderate Liberal <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/peter-van-onselen/laundys-quick-fix-for-a-major-coalition-problem/news-story/059a4664d4cc30153b01f3c7de7da552">Craig Laundy</a> has also flagged using quotas as a short-term intervention. </p>
<p>While new Prime Minister Scott Morrison has notionally increased the number of women in his <a href="https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/5607714/morrison-announces-new-ministry-line-up/">ministry</a> from five (under Turnbull) to six, three-quarters of his full ministry is male. This suggests a significant problem for conservative women entering politics. The sudden removal of Bishop as deputy Liberal leader adds damage to the Coalition’s image of having a problem with women. </p>
<p>Non-partisan, philanthropically supported programs such as the University of Melbourne’s <a href="https://government.unimelb.edu.au/engagement/pathways-to-politics-program-for-women">Pathways to Politics</a> program attempt to address the pipeline issue by teaching women from all sides of politics the skills to become politicians.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-liberals-have-a-serious-women-problem-and-its-time-they-took-action-to-change-it-96643">The Liberals have a serious women problem – and it's time they took action to change it</a>
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<p>Our study suggests the representation gap is unlikely to narrow unless the Liberal Party shows leadership to its voters, or vice versa, and heeds Bishop’s advice that “there’s a lot to be done” beyond reliance on the flawed and failed argument of “merit”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Carson is a guest lecturer for the University of Melbourne's Pathways to Politics program and previously worked as its academic coordinator.
Our study was funded with grants from the Melbourne School of Government and the University of Melbourne's Policy Lab and Arts Faculty.</span></em></p>New research shows that conservative voters generally fail to see how being female can impede political success, while left-of-centre voters list gender as the main obstacle to success.Andrea Carson, Incoming Associate Professor at LaTrobe University. Former Lecturer, Political Science, School of Social and Political Sciences; Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1023392018-08-29T20:18:42Z2018-08-29T20:18:42ZA ‘woman problem’? No, the Liberals have a ‘man problem’, and they need to fix it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234037/original/file-20180829-195313-ypn6l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Liberal Party room is dominated – and increasingly so over the past generation – by male MPs who anoint leaders in their own image.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Politics isn’t rational. Prejudice trumps performance. Politics is run by thugs. These are three reasonable conclusions from the snubbing of electorally popular Julie Bishop in last week’s Liberal leadership ballot, and Bishop-ally Julia Banks’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/liberal-mp-julia-banks-to-quit-at-election-calling-out-bullying-102340">decision not to stand</a> at the next election to protest bullying during the leadership campaign.</p>
<p>Why did it happen? Does politics have to work this way? </p>
<p>There are four facets to why Bishop, far away the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-hard-right-terminated-turnbull-only-to-see-scott-morrison-become-pm-102036">most likely to maximise</a> the Liberal vote at the next federal election, is not now prime minister.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-turnbull-government-is-all-but-finished-and-the-liberals-will-now-need-to-work-out-who-they-are-101894">The Turnbull government is all but finished, and the Liberals will now need to work out who they are</a>
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<p>Firstly, there is not so much a “woman problem” as a “man problem” on the conservative side of politics in Australia. The Liberal Party room is dominated – and increasingly so over the past generation – by male MPs who anoint leaders in their own image.</p>
<p>Last week they looked at Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison and Bishop and chose the one who is, if you average out the demographics of current Liberal MPs, their identikit picture. This reinforces the collective power of men in the Liberal party room, maximises their comfort level and is, until exposed to political reality in the form of a general election, an approach easily sold on the inside as “common sense”. </p>
<p>Secondly, the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/im-no-feminist-julie-bishop-20141029-11dn7m.html">reluctance of Liberal women</a> to name and organise around the liberal feminism they actually practice, psychologically undercuts their power and keeps them in a prone position.</p>
<p>They need to name and unashamedly organise around the set of ideas that can end the present male Liberal monoculture in a way consistent with their political philosophy: that is, liberal feminism. Every time Bishop and those like her shy from declaring themselves liberal feminists, they pull the rug from under not only
their own feet, but also from under the feet of every other Liberal woman around them. It’s time they staked out their philosophical ground.</p>
<p>Thirdly, Liberal women have to stake out their organisational ground too. They have yet to apply obvious lessons from overseas examples of how to organise and achieve change. As a British Conservative Party opposition frontbencher in 2005, the now British prime minister Theresa May established “Women2Win” to get more Tory women into parliament: the number of female Conservative Party MPs in Britain <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/suffragettes-centenary-women-vote-tories-theresa-may-women2win-female-mps-a8197551.html">has since nearly quadrupled</a>. Where is the Australian equivalent? Only Liberal women can make it happen.</p>
<p>And fourthly, in Australia, because of its particularly brutal gender politics, quotas <em>have</em> to be part of the answer. The long-held, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-quotas-in-politics-the-absence-of-women-isnt-merit-based-45297">empirically unarguable view</a> of experts like ANU political scientist Marian Sawer is that the Liberals’ refusal to adopt Labor-style minimum quotas for women’s pre-selection in winnable seats is dragging women’s parliamentary representation here backwards.</p>
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<p>Australia has moved from 15th place in the world in terms of women’s overall parliamentary representation in 1999 to <a href="http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm">50th place in 2018</a> - an astonishing regression entirely down to the fall in female conservative MPs. Liberal women should accept the findings of sustained research in this area and make quotas central to their bargaining agenda.</p>
<p>Globally, the most successful conservative politician of the 21st century, by a very long margin, is a woman: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-angela-merkel-has-become-and-remains-one-of-the-worlds-most-successful-political-leaders-80389">German Chancellor Angela Merkel</a>. If you want to see someone dispatch a thug, watch <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/11/nato-summit-donald-trump-says-germany-is-captive-of-russians">Merkel deal with US President Donald Trump</a>. The British Conservative Party has already had two women prime ministers: Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. There won’t be a female Liberal prime minister here until Liberal women themselves organise with moderate allies to boost their numbers and normalise their presence in the party room. </p>
<p>Nor is this just an internal Liberal Party problem. It’s in the interests of all Australian voters for the Liberals’ “man problem” to be fixed since the consequences of being hostage to it, as we are now seeing, are so bad. </p>
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<p>Like a river dying from lack of water, increased party political involvement overall has to underpin change like this. More <a href="https://griffithreview.com/articles/need-greed-or-deeds/">“occasional politicians”, as Max Weber described them</a>, are needed and fewer political apparatchiks. More doing your civic duty by joining a political party and voting in preselections rather than leaving these crucial choices to the sad, mad and self-seeking. It means reasonable people not folding and leaving in the face of pressure from the thugs, but rather binding together and seeing the thugs off.</p>
<p>Politics can, and has been, more rational. Prejudice doesn’t have to, and hasn’t always, trumped performance. Politics doesn’t have to be run by thugs. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/balmain-basket-weavers-strike-again-tearing-the-liberal-party-apart-102044">'Balmain basket weavers' strike again, tearing the Liberal Party apart</a>
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<p>When the histories are written, the Liberal “moderates” appeasement of the party’s thuggish right-wing, both in policy and personnel, will be revealed as central to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall and the party room’s failure to elect Bishop his successor. </p>
<p>Early this year, the numbers were there for moderate NSW Liberals to defeat the preselections of key right-wingers Tony Abbott in Warringah, Craig Kelly in Hughes and Angus Taylor in Hume. Internal discussions occurred over whether to do so. Turnbull and every key moderate squibbed the chance.</p>
<p>You can’t beat thugs through appeasement. You’ve got to get rid of them. Cleaning up the Liberals right-wing is the challenge for a future leader – a real leader.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102339/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wallace receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Other conservatives parties in the Western world have done better on female representation than the Liberals - the party needs a gender quota and to rid itself of its right-wing thugs.Chris Wallace, ARC DECRA Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1021032018-08-29T20:17:12Z2018-08-29T20:17:12ZGender quotas and targets would speed up progress on gender equity in academia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233767/original/file-20180828-75981-1q31i51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Men outnumber women in top-paying academic jobs and university leadership.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recently, the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-22/university-advertises-women-only-engineering-positions/10151496">University of Adelaide</a> used a special exemption under the <a href="https://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/the-law/equal-opportunity-act">Equal Opportunity Act</a> to advertise eight academic positions in the faculty of engineering, computer and mathematical sciences for women only. This raises questions about why a university might take this approach. </p>
<p>While Australia has had gender equality legislation for 30 years, there has been very slow progress towards addressing the gender equity issues plaguing the sector. To illustrate, women are still <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/uni-participation-quality/Equity-and-Participation/Women-in-universities/Universities-Australia-Executive-Women-Group#.W4Sp5yQza70">under-represented at senior levels</a>. Only 27% of full professors (the main recruitment pool for top jobs) are women, and only 32% of Vice-Chancellors in public universities. </p>
<p>One of the principal reasons women don’t reach leadership roles is women are concentrated in fewer disciplines. Women’s academic employment in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) disciplines is particularly <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/OCS_Women_in_STEM_datasheet.pdf">low at 17%</a>. This under-representation of women in STEM and higher education leadership is a result of multiple barriers to women’s career progression. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1033886669827493889"}"></div></p>
<p>Posting job openings in male-dominated fields to specifically target women is one of the most direct and immediate measures to bring about change. </p>
<h2>Does selective recruitment work against the merit principle?</h2>
<p>One of the concerns raised when employment targets are implemented is that women will be appointed unfairly over more qualified male candidates. But the intention of selective recruitment is to address the problem that qualified women are discouraged and excluded from academic employment. </p>
<p>The corporatisation of higher education has led to the growth of contract and casual positions in academia. This often results in little prospect of career progression. While these conditions impact all academics, women work in academia under different conditions to men. </p>
<p>For example, women are <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/57321/90918_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">more likely</a> to be employed as sessional workers, at lower pay levels and have interrupted career development. Women are effectively held back or slowed down in many ways men are not, making the long-term goal of academic tenure and progression illusive. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rate-my-professors-gender-37370">Rate my professor’s gender?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>So, despite being <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/australias-universities/key-facts-and-data#.W4SuRyQza70">over-represented</a> overall at undergraduate and entry level in academia, women are still underrepresented in STEM disciplines and at senior academic levels. The disciplinary culture of STEM favours men who have an uninterrupted focus on research for decades. It also doesn’t make these careers attractive to younger men, and particularly to younger women, who <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1073638.pdf">value work-life balance</a>. </p>
<p>The implementation of targets is designed to address these barriers and expand the potential academic talent pool.</p>
<h2>Barriers to women getting into and staying in academia</h2>
<p>Women in academic leadership roles have often successfully negotiated with and navigated gendered leadership cultures at the cost of expending considerable energy to fit in to this masculinist culture. Not surprisingly, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07294360.2013.864611">study</a> found younger academic women examined then dismissed leadership careers in higher education. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"785347240692809728"}"></div></p>
<p>Two studies examined the careers of women in middle management in universities. The first <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07294360.2013.864615">study</a>, conducted in Canada, questioned if these positions were a ladder to leadership or a revolving door taking women back to the ranks from whence they came. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-female-academics-give-up-on-becoming-professors-6563">Why do female academics give up on becoming professors?</a>
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<p>The other <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1360080X.2013.812179">study</a>, conducted in Australia, found the managers and colleagues of mid-career women academics were commonly unsupportive or even actively discriminatory or hostile. A 2004 Australian <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09513550410554760">case study</a> found these women were subject to bullying from senior managers. </p>
<p>This has made academic careers, particularly in STEM, either unattractive or unsustainable for many of the next generation of women leaders. </p>
<h2>Do quotas work?</h2>
<p>Evidence suggests quotas in higher education do work. </p>
<p>For example, in Austria national legislation was introduced to require university bodies such as the senate and all commissions appointed by the senate to meet a <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=oGuADAAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=austria+40%25+gender+quota+university&source=bl&ots=ygD-XVWmVI&sig=oWrQpkPysI8Rmslih4ey2ki9kE0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZrKLQ6o7dAhXXzmEKHfAtBSo4ChDoATAEegQIBhAB#v=onepage&q=austria%2040%25%20gender%20quota%20university&f=false">quota of 40%</a> female members. By 2016 all but one of the university councils had fulfilled this quota. The quota was <a href="https://blogs.eui.eu/genderquotas/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/04/Executive-summary-Austria-Gresch-Sauer-2.pdf">raised to 50%</a> in 2014.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233997/original/file-20180829-86153-cv02ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233997/original/file-20180829-86153-cv02ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233997/original/file-20180829-86153-cv02ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233997/original/file-20180829-86153-cv02ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233997/original/file-20180829-86153-cv02ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233997/original/file-20180829-86153-cv02ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233997/original/file-20180829-86153-cv02ci.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">
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<span class="caption">Research from Austria shows gender quotas in academia do work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Do anti-discrimination laws support or prevent this?</h2>
<p>Cross-national structures such as the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/">OECD</a> and EU, driven by market logic, are <a href="http://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-markets/women-in-economics-the-unknown-cost-of-gender-imbalance-2018.htm">concerned</a> about the <a href="http://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/policy-areas/economic-and-financial-affairs/economic-benefits-gender-equality">loss to society</a> when highly educated women are excluded or marginalised. </p>
<p>This concern is shared by the professions. For example, the engineering profession notes women’s higher attrition in engineering is a <a href="http://www.aced.edu.au/downloads/ACED%20Engineering%20Stats%2031%20Jan%202017.pdf">cost</a> that should be addressed. </p>
<p>Linking commitment on getting more women into leadership roles to funding appears to be one of the most effective ways of increasing women’s representation in academia. This has been demonstrated by <a href="https://www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/">Athena SWAN Charter</a> in the UK. This <a href="https://www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/2018-statistics/">aligns science funding</a> with an institution’s performance in improving gender representation, especially at senior levels. The program has become a catalyst for institutional change, and is now being implemented in some <a href="http://www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/the-athena-swan-accreditation-framework/">Australian</a> universities. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sexism-in-science-one-step-back-two-steps-forward-41229">Sexism in science: one step back, two steps forward</a>
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<p>Similarly, the <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/">Australian National Health and Medical Research Council</a> (NHMRC) introduced a <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/media/releases/2015/nhmrc-announces-new-gender-equity-policy">gender equity policy</a> requiring institutions to submit gender equity policies that include a strategy to address the under-representation of women in senior positions.</p>
<p>These strategies take time to yield results, but the implementation of targets and affirmative action in recruitment will directly speed up progress on gender equity. The alternative is to allow the same inequalities to prevail for another 30 years. This will cost us economically, and means we would only be using half of Australia’s potential pool of talent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Pyke receives funding from government research grants. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate White is affiliated with Women in Higher Education Management Network. </span></em></p>Without affirmative action through gender quotas and targets, we will have another 30 years of glacial progress on gender equity in academia.Joanne Pyke, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies (CSES), Victoria UniversityKate White, Adjunct Associate Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1014412018-08-21T19:58:39Z2018-08-21T19:58:39ZResearch shows ‘merit’ is highly subjective and changes with our values<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232231/original/file-20180816-2918-1pywl2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6%2C6&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Selection panels interrupt women more than men and ask them more follow-up questions, subtly questioning their competence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-businesspeople-interviewing-woman-office-144677900">Andrey Popov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Who is meritorious, what constitutes merit, and how merit and gender targets can operate together are widely misunderstood questions, as <a href="https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/public-service-research-group/public-service-research-group/research-projects/role-middle-managers-progressing-gender-equity-public-sector">our new research</a> shows. </p>
<p>We spoke with almost 300 public sector middle managers. The vast majority said they wanted “the best person for the job”. They had less idea, however, of just who that “best person” might be. </p>
<p>Merit is assumed to be an objective standard, based on set criteria, which people meet or fail to meet. There are countless examples, however, of public positions that might not have been filled on merit. <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/95942-full-scale-political-row-erupts-over-the-merit-of-three-aps-appointments/">Questions</a> are being raised about several recent high-level appointments in the Australian Public Service. </p>
<p>While generally considered sacrosanct and enshrined in policy, in practice “merit” has been highly subjective and has waxed and waned according to social values. Until the 1960s, seemingly objective recruitment processes were <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8500.2006.00471a.x">highly discriminatory</a> on the basis of class, ability and race. There were requirements for minimum health standards, certificates of good character and passes in subjects offered only in private schools. </p>
<p>These processes were also highly gender-discriminatory. Merit was interpreted in ways that benefited men and worked against women. Examples included limits on the number of single women that could be employed, and a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajph.12465">bar preventing married women from competing for jobs</a>.</p>
<p>In the 1980s, there was a brief spotlight on merit and gender. New equal employment opportunity laws <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/09649420410541263">established clear rules</a> for assessing merit and monitoring gender in employment outcomes. </p>
<p>However, waves of public management reform led to more departmental autonomy and a reduced central focus on merit and gender.</p>
<h2>Two areas of confusion</h2>
<p>Fast forward to today, and this lack of attention to how merit and gender equity can coexist has led to confusion and a simplistic understanding of merit in two main areas.</p>
<p>The first is that managers perceive that they are hampered by process. Public sector managers largely follow a set recruitment procedure. They advertise, develop selection criteria, read resumes, shortlist, interview, check references and then appoint a suitable candidate. </p>
<p>The problem with this is that using the same narrow method and criteria may lead to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy_of_composition">fallacy of composition</a>, recruiting more of the same without regard to the context and current gaps in a team.</p>
<p>Biases can influence selection panel members’ decisions. Researchers <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2011-04642-001">have found</a> that job advertisements and selection criteria may not be gender-neutral. </p>
<p>Unconscious biases can also come into play when assessing resumes and interviewing candidates. Research shows that selection panels <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/women-face-a-harder-time-than-men-in-interview-recruiting-bias-20170703-gx39j7.html">interrupt women more than men</a> and ask them more follow-up questions, subtly questioning their competence.</p>
<p>The second area of confusion relates to recruitment and gender targets. Some public sector organisations use targets to counter women’s under-representation in senior ranks. In Australia and internationally, <a href="http://www.5050foundation.edu.au/assets/reports/documents/2016-Reporting-Requirements-Targets-and-Quotas-for-Women-in-Leadership.pdf">targets have contributed</a> to an increase in women in leadership positions. </p>
<p>Managers we spoke with, however, were concerned that women being appointed to meet a target were “tokens”, or were chosen over better-qualified men. </p>
<h2>How do you set targets and select on merit?</h2>
<p>Merit and targets can, however, co-exist. Some managers recognised that recruiting to targets can <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/20131119_PP_targetsquotas.pdf">improve organisational outcomes</a>. Others argued that recruiting a diverse range of employees reflects the community they serve.</p>
<p>Some managers were innovative to advance gender equity while recruiting on merit. We heard stories of senior managers directing selection panels, which had shortlisted only men, to take another look at the women applicants or to broaden their search and encourage meritorious women to apply. </p>
<p>Managers recruiting for an ICT position reviewed the job requirements, realised the skills required were not technical but communication-based, and re-advertised based on an amended job description. This attracted more female candidates and a woman was duly appointed on merit. </p>
<p>Additionally, for jobs requiring technical competence, managers considered that technical skills could be learned on the job over time. They viewed capability as more important. </p>
<h2>Systemic approaches work best</h2>
<p>While training for selection panels is important, systemic approaches can more effectively ensure the merit principle is upheld. Organisations may benefit from approaches that include:</p>
<ul>
<li>recruiting for capability rather than past performance</li>
<li>providing training that recognises the myths around merit</li>
<li>encouraging conversations to counter the pervasive misunderstanding of the merit principle. </li>
</ul>
<p>Some public sector jurisdictions are <a href="https://publicsector.sa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/20070101-Guideline-Protection-of-merit-equity.pdf">providing advice</a> on how to undertake recruitment and selection to minimise biases and promote merit-based processes. But there is still a long way to go for this to become common knowledge. </p>
<p>The public sector has traditionally been considered to be a <a href="http://www.oecd.org/gov/women-government-and-policy-making.htm">model employer</a>. Implementing leading-edge practices that combine merit, gender targets and diversity can ensure it maintains this status.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101441/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The New South Wales, Queensland, South Australian and Tasmanian governments participated in, and funded this research; the Australia and New Zealand School of Government was the principal funder. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Colley receives funding from the Australia New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) for this research, and from the ARC.</span></em></p>The vast majority of managers said they wanted “the best person for the job”. They had less idea of just who that might be, or how to ensure appointments on merit and equity targets co-exist.Sue Williamson, Lecturer, Human Resource Management, UNSW Canberra, UNSW SydneyLinda Colley, Lecturer, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/996002018-07-11T06:13:31Z2018-07-11T06:13:31Z‘Network contagion’ is key to getting healthier numbers of women on company boards<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227115/original/file-20180711-27042-1ccanjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When women make up 30% of boards that's when it starts having an impact. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mavis Wong</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Female representation of 30% on a company board is the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-011-0815-z">tipping point</a> at which it stops being tokenistic and begins to make a difference on things like innovation. </p>
<p>Norway, France and Sweden have <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54753">already achieved this target</a> for companies overall. In Australia, the ambition was to do so in 2018. At this stage, <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/three-female-board-directors-gone-from-amp/">that looks unlikely</a>. This suggests it is time to consider more surgical policies to increase female board membership.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/company-boards-are-stacked-with-friends-of-friends-so-how-can-we-expect-change-95790">Company boards are stacked with friends of friends so how can we expect change?</a>
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<p>Our ongoing research aims to understand the main drivers of women’s participation on boards. We imagined that the drivers might be complex and multidimensional. In fact, we found that they were pretty simple.</p>
<p>So far we have found the <em>only</em> significant predictor that boards will reach the 30% target is that they have a director who sits on another board that has already done so.</p>
<p>We have looked at the company boards of the 200 largest companies on the Australian Stock Exchange (the ASX200) and how they are interconnected through their board members. These connections help with the sharing of expertise and experience across firms. </p>
<p>The directors of the ASX200 form a classic network. Of the largest 200 companies in Australia, 172 companies form one giant “component”, linked together through shared directors. </p>
<p>This is what the network looks like (click to zoom):</p>
<p>The blue figures represent men and the pink figures represent women. You can see that some boards have no women, some have one or two, and some have three or more. </p>
<h2>Which factors are significant?</h2>
<p>We tested any variables that might make a difference in the recruitment of women to boards. These included the industry sector, market capitalisation, affiliation of a board member with the <a href="http://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/">Australian Institute of Company Directors</a> (AICD), and the presence of a “<a href="http://malechampionsofchange.com/">male champion of change</a>” on the board.</p>
<p>We thought some industries (say health) might be more likely to cross the 30% threshold than others (say mining). Smaller companies might be less likely to appoint women to their boards, because this is <a href="http://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/advocacy/board-diversity/statistics">indeed the case for boards outside the ASX200</a>.</p>
<p>Boards with an AICD graduate or fellow might also be more likely to cross the threshold, given the institute’s <a href="http://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/advocacy/board-diversity/30-percent-by-2018">robust advocacy of women on boards</a>. </p>
<p>The same logic applies to the <a href="http://malechampionsofchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/MCC-National-est-2015_-Progress-Report-2017_FINAL-COPY.pdf">presence of a male champion of change on a board</a>.</p>
<p>We found five variables that make a statistically significant difference to the appointment of female directors. However, only one of these variables makes it <em>more</em> likely that the board hits the 30% target, which is having an AICD fellow on the board. This makes it significantly more likely that the board has three women.</p>
<p>The other four variables make it <em>less</em> likely that a board will hit the 30% target. Specifically, firms in four sectors – consumer discretionary (retail), health, industrials and materials – are significantly less likely than the rest to reach the 30% threshold.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/experienced-shareholders-better-than-independent-directors-for-business-61160">Experienced shareholders better than independent directors for business</a>
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<h2>The network contagion effect</h2>
<p>We then tested for different kinds of “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/network-effect.asp">network effects</a>”. Network effects can take many forms. For example, the reciprocity effect occurs where you “like” me and I “like” you. </p>
<p>The popularity effect is where we both “follow” the same celebrity on social media but not each other. </p>
<p>In the case of the ASX boards, we found that just one network effect is statistically significant – network contagion.</p>
<p>Contagion literally describes the biological transmission of a disease from one person to another. In the board context, it refers to a process of social influence, where shared directors transmit ideas and practices from one board to another. </p>
<p>We found that boards are significantly more likely to have reached the 30% target when they have a director who sits on another board that has reached the 30% target. Let’s call it the “director network contagion” effect.</p>
<p>Once we include the director network contagion effect, all other variables discussed earlier became irrelevant – sector, market capitalisation, AICD affiliation and male champions of change make no difference to the appointment of women on boards. </p>
<p>Only director network contagion is important.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/daniel-andrews-board-quotas-and-the-myth-of-insufficient-women-39501">Daniel Andrews, board quotas and the myth of 'insufficient women'</a>
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<h2>Time for a more focused strategy</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest that current strategies to advance women on boards lack focus. We need a more surgical approach to the issue, directed towards the frontier where boards with three women or more interact with boards under the 30% threshold.</p>
<p>Think of it as the inversion of a public health campaign to prevent the spread of a disease. The first step in such a campaign is identify the diseased and anyone who has had contact with them, then to isolate them.</p>
<p>The first step in our proposed campaign is to identify the boards that meet the 30% threshold and any boards with which they share directors, then intensify their exposure. </p>
<p>Having said this, our findings are based upon a sliver of data: the biggest companies in the country at a single point in time. </p>
<p>What would we learn if we studied patterns of recruitment for the past decade? And what would we learn if we extended our analysis beyond the ASX200, to other listed companies, private companies, government boards and not-for-profits? We would love to answer these questions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99600/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 only predictor of boards reaching 30% female directors is if it has a director who sits on another board that has already met the target.Michael Gilding, Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Business and Law, Swinburne University of TechnologyDean Lusher, Professor of Innovation Studies, Swinburne University of TechnologyHelen Bird, Course Director, Master of Corporate Governance & Research Fellow, Swinburne Law School, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/974642018-05-31T04:07:55Z2018-05-31T04:07:55ZAustralia’s major dance companies need to step up on gender equality<p>The dance sector in Australia has a gender equality problem. While nearly <a href="http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/making-art-work/">70% of people working in the industry</a> identify as female, there is a significant gender gap in programming and leadership at the major dance companies. </p>
<p>A report released this week, <a href="https://www.delvingintodance.com/turning-pointe/">Turning Pointe</a>, by Andrew Westle, looked at the five big dance companies that receive the bulk of public funding – the Australian Ballet, Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Sydney Dance Company. All the artistic directors at these companies are men. Between 2011 and 2017, women choreographed only 13% of full-length works and 24% of shorter works. Only 26% of Australian premieres were from women. </p>
<p>In the small-to-medium sector, which is significantly underfunded and under-resourced compared to the bigger companies, women are faring far better. Overall, in this part of the sector, women choreographed 59% of works. </p>
<p>Key recommendations of the report include:</p>
<ul>
<li>bringing in quotas as a funding requirement</li>
<li>increasing support for child care</li>
<li>increasing mentoring, particularly around the skills required to be an artistic director</li>
<li>getting audiences to become advocates for equality. </li>
</ul>
<p>The quota idea is based on the model introduced by <a href="http://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/nsw-screen-industry-achieves-dramatic-increase-in-female-key-creatives-with-drama-projects-delivering-gender-parity-commits-from-july-1-50-of-feature-films-it-funds-will-be-written-or-directed-by-women">Screen NSW</a> in response to a <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/f20beab8-81cc-4499-92e9-02afba18c438/Gender-Matters-Women-in-the-Australian-Screen-Industry.pdf?ext=.pdf">2015 report on gender balance in the film industry</a>. Within a year of Screen NSW introducing these measures, significantly more grant applications had women as key creatives. </p>
<p>Dance, like other creative industries, has not been immune to revelations of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/arts/dance/peter-martins-ballet-new-york-city-physical-abuse.html">gender discrimination and harassment</a> in recent years. However, these <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/les-grands-ballets-reels-from-self-inflicted-gender-bias-pr-disaster/article38267913/">discussions</a> have happened primarily <a href="https://www.dancemagazine.com/equality-in-ballet-2492924587">overseas</a>. </p>
<p>Andrew Westle conducted interviews with 23 men and women working in the sector. Although the sector may not have appeared to have gender equality in creative leadership on the agenda, the interviews revealed that individuals are very much aware of the issues.</p>
<p>Some of the issues people talked about were more unique to dance, such as men being given increased support and attention to improve lower participation numbers. Others reflected iniquities in wider society, such as the challenges of balancing childcare responsibility alongside a career — particularly a career that involves travel, evening performances and odd hours. </p>
<p>In the small-to-medium and independent dance sectors, these barriers to participation are linked directly to income. Women reported that they are spending their whole contract fee on child care. Here, the major companies are ahead of the curve, with some offering well resourced and supported maternity leave structures. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the disparity in support across the whole of the sector is concerning. Interviewees offered examples where companies blatantly contravened <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014C00002">Australian</a> <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/about-legislation/workplace-gender-equality-act-2012">legislation</a>. Yet women felt powerless to act, as they feared they would not get a second opportunity to choreograph, direct, or perform.</p>
<p>Women interviewees indicated that confidence was a trait that was fostered in men, but that a confident woman was not given the same respect. Men were said to pursue more opportunities as a result of this confidence. The impact of increased confidence and opportunities as training and emerging artists can arguably be traced to leadership later on in their careers.</p>
<p>Gender equality in creative leadership has recently, and importantly, been placed on the agenda in <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/f20beab8-81cc-4499-92e9-02afba18c438/Gender-Matters-Women-in-the-Australian-Screen-Industry.pdf?ext=.pdf">film</a>, <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/business/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/315275/Skipping-a-Beat_FINAL_210717.pdf">music</a>, <a href="http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/workspace/uploads/files/research/women-in-theatre-april-2012-54325827577ea.pdf">theatre</a> and <a href="http://thecountessreport.com.au/">visual arts</a>. The gender imbalance in dance should be quickly redressed. </p>
<p>Gender equality should not be seen as a hindrance, but as an opportunity to strengthen the sector and celebrate its diversity. Dance is a tool for storytelling, and it should matter to us whose stories are being told on our stages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Westle submitted a draft of this report for a MFA (Cultural Leadership) at NIDA. The Delving into Dance podcast is run by Andrew Westle and has some project funding from Creative Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Beth Vincent 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>Since 2017, only 13% of full-length works by Australia’s major dance companies have been choreographed by women.Andrew Westle, Assistant researcher and PhD candidate, La Trobe UniversityJordan Beth Vincent, Research Fellow, Deakin Motion Lab, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/966432018-05-20T19:50:12Z2018-05-20T19:50:12ZThe Liberals have a serious women problem – and it’s time they took action to change it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219643/original/file-20180520-42230-m4l5sf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With LNP frontbencher Jane Prentice <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/14/jane-prentices-dumping-infuriates-liberal-women-we-need-to-do-better">ousted by a male challenger</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-17/ann-sudmalis-facing-challenge-for-gilmore-preselection/9768590">Ann Sudmalis under threat</a>, much has been said about the Coalition’s record of electing women to Australian parliaments.</p>
<p>The representation of women amongst Coalition MPs is significantly lower than for Labor or the Greens, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-15/the-coalitions-women-problem-jane-prentice-malcolm-turnbull/9761480">and this gap is growing</a>. This is concerning because parliaments should be reflective of the societies they represent. The Coalition should be worried because it coincides with a declining number of women voting for it. </p>
<h2>But this isn’t unique to Australia</h2>
<p>This partisan gender gap is also reflected in other Westminster parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Ireland.</p>
<p>Typically, leftist, green and social democratic parties <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/organizing-political-parties-9780198758631?cc=au&lang=en&">nominate a higher percentage of female candidates</a> than centre-right, conservative and far right parties.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-liberals-can-fix-their-gender-problem-85442">How the Liberals can fix their gender problem</a>
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<p>The gap can be attributed to the social justice values that underpin leftist ideology, which has facilitated the successful introduction of quotas in these parties. But is also an outcome of the male-dominated cultures that permeate political parties, particularly long established ones.</p>
<p>The interaction of right wing values with masculine institutions is not particularly empowering of, or for, women. </p>
<p>This may also explain why gender gaps in voting behaviour have shifted over time. Women were <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/RP9798/98rp03">once more likely</a> to support parties of the centre right than the centre left, but the <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n4149/pdf/ch10.pdf">former can no longer take women’s support for granted</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.australianelectionstudy.org">Australian Election Study</a>, women were more likely than men (by 7%) to support the Labor Party in the 2016 federal election. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219522/original/file-20180518-26266-4moz0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219522/original/file-20180518-26266-4moz0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219522/original/file-20180518-26266-4moz0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219522/original/file-20180518-26266-4moz0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219522/original/file-20180518-26266-4moz0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219522/original/file-20180518-26266-4moz0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219522/original/file-20180518-26266-4moz0w.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Federal MP Ann Sudmalis is the latest Liberal woman facing a preselection threat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite setting targets to achieve representational gender parity by 2025, the Coalition remains steadfastly opposed to the idea of quotas, which they believe <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/julie-bishop-says-former-china-ambassador/9764678">“miss the point about merit-based pre-selections”</a>. It is an argument well rehearsed by quota opponents worldwide. </p>
<p>Prior to the adoption of a gender quota law in Ireland, the under-representation of women in Irish politics was <a href="https://www.rowmaninternational.com/book/gender_and_informal_institutions/3-156-4b66c512-a98d-462b-965a-b9e88806531d">framed as</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>an unfortunate consequence of a gender-neutral, fair and effective system, which produced the best people for the job.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In New Zealand, the issue of gender quotas was <a href="http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/labour-votes-for-gender-quota-system-2013110317">hotly debated in 2013</a>, when the Labour Party drafted a constitutional remit proposing the adoption of a UK-styled all-women shortlist option for candidate selection in electorate seats.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2013/parliaments-gender-balance/">A media frenzy followed</a>, with the policy labelled a “man ban” and commentators accusing Labour of discrimination, failing to select on the basis of merit, and looking “out of touch” with its rank and file. </p>
<h2>Candidate selection: The ‘secret garden’ of politics</h2>
<p>Such arguments ignore the many informal practices, norms and relations surrounding candidate recruitment and selection, a fact that has led political scientists to describe candidate selection as the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Candidate-Selection-Comparative-Perspective-Politics/dp/0803981244">“secret garden”</a> of politics.</p>
<p>The reality is candidate selection is often determined by interpersonal links, summed up in the old adage of who you know, not what you know. Given the male dominance of politics, this practice privileges men, who disproportionally hold positions of power within political parties and <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230369269">tend to recruit and select other men for political office</a>.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/democracy-within-parties-9780199572540?cc=au&lang=en&">studies suggest</a> moving away from rank-and-file pre-selections will facilitate more equal gender representation. A more centralised, select group of party elites is better able to coordinate to increase the number of women candidates.</p>
<p>This argument speaks to the endorsements of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/11/lawyer-amanda-stoker-chosen-to-replace-george-brandis-in-senate">Amanda Stoker</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-14/georgina-downer-selected-unopposed-as-mayo-candidate/9759848">Georgina Downer</a>, neither of whom faced rank-and-file votes. Downer was endorsed unopposed, and Stoker was endorsed by members of the Queensland LNP’s State Executive Council. </p>
<p>Proportional electoral systems facilitate this elite involvement because party lists are usually centrally determined. This is the case <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2585/pdf/ch09.pdf">in New Zealand,</a> where the Labour Party now has a soft target of 50% women and conducts an equity review after each bloc of five candidates during the list selection procedure.</p>
<p>The National Party also applies the principle of balance in its nomination process, although it has never applied strict alternation on its lists. </p>
<h2>Quotas make a big impact in Ireland</h2>
<p>While the Liberals may resist gender quotas, they cannot ignore the overwhelming evidence that quotas increase the numbers of women in politics.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07907184.2013.818537">gender quota law in Ireland</a> was adopted in 2012. This was partly in response to calls for political reform and greater diversity in public leadership following the financial crash and ensuing recession of 2008 - 2013. But it was also designed to intervene where political parties had failed.</p>
<p>While political parties in Ireland had given rhetorical support for more women in politics throughout the 2000s, their actions, particularly in the long established and centre-right parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, told a different story. Informal gender targets were missed; in the general elections of 2002, 2007 and 2011, Fianna Fáil selected just 13% women candidates, and Fine Gael 16% (the figure for the centre-left Labour was 25%). </p>
<p>Following the 2011 general election, just 15% of the seats in the Irish lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann, were occupied by women. With election <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1065912909336270">surveys and analysis</a> showing women did not face discrimination at the hands of the electorate, it was clear women’s political under-representation lay at the door of political parties. </p>
<p>If Irish political parties could not be trusted to ensure gender equity, it was clear an interventionist measure in the shape of gender quotas was required. The 2012 <a href="http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2012/act/36/section/42/enacted/en/html#part6">gender quota law</a> specifies that political parties must select at least 30% female candidates and at least 30% male candidates; if they do not, they will forfeit 50% of their annual public funding.</p>
<p>The impact and success of the law was immediate. In its first roll-out at the 2016 general election, there was a 90% increase in women’s candidacy and a 40% increase in the number of women elected. All parties met the 30% gender quota threshold.</p>
<h2>Electoral systems matter too</h2>
<p>In New Zealand, with the adoption the German model of proportional representation (Mixed Member Proportional, MMP) in 1996 <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230603783">there was a significant increase in the selection and election of women</a>.</p>
<p>Women constituted 28.3% of the new 120-member parliament, but most were elected from minor parties. Then, in 2005, for the first time, the percentage of women parliamentarians surpassed 30% (reaching 33.1%), with 19 Labour women and 12 National women sitting in parliament, supplemented by eight women from the minor parties. There are now 19 National women in parliament (33.9%). The Greens outshine both major parties with a caucus that is 75% female, the result of a long-held practice of alternating men and women on their party lists.</p>
<p>One reason why National has done better than conservative parties elsewhere maybe a result of a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241450519_Selecting_and_electing_women_to_the_House_of_Representatives_Progress_at_last">contagion effect</a>, which is more likely to appear in proportional systems. Contagion occurs when a small party (such as the Greens) stimulates other (larger) parties (such as Labour) to nominate more women candidates.</p>
<p>In doing so, the smaller parties highlight the lack of electoral penalty associated with selecting women candidates, while also threatening to take at least some votes from the largest party closest to them on the political spectrum.</p>
<p>Once a large party begins to nominate more women, the nature of party competition will ensure that other parties (National), out of political necessity, adopt their own gender equality strategies. </p>
<h2>Where will the Liberals go from here?</h2>
<p>Despite the ALP quota, contagion effects seem to have stalled in Australia.</p>
<p>Rather than implement quotas, the Liberal Party has just announced that it will establish a new fighting fund, the – <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-15/julie-bishop-supports-kelly-o-dwyers-female-liberal-mp-fund/9761900">Enid Lyons Fighting Fund</a> – to assist women candidates to gain pre-selection.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coalitions-lost-ground-on-women-mps-shows-we-need-to-tackle-new-gender-biases-62220">Coalition's lost ground on women MPs shows we need to tackle new gender biases</a>
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<p>This initiative recognises there is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-look-overseas-for-ideas-to-increase-its-number-of-women-mps-63522">gender gap in political finance</a>, with women less able to access the often large sums of money that are required to run effective campaigns.</p>
<p>It counters similar initiatives on the left of politics in Australia such as <a href="https://www.emilyslist.org.au/">Emily’s List</a> and the <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/734078?c=people">National Labor Women’s Network</a>. But it also reflects historical initiatives such as <a href="http://www.pearson.com.au/products/D-G-Fenna-Alan-et-al/Government-and-Politics-in-Australia/9781486000517?R=9781486000517">The Australian Women’s National League (1903) and the Liberal Feminist Network (1981)</a>, which were focused on increasing funds and skills for the pre-selection of women. </p>
<p>With the representative gender gap between the two major parties growing ever larger in Australia, reinstating these historical initiatives is probably too little, too late.</p>
<p>Our political parties are responsible for changing their cultures, and if they can’t learn from each other, the most effective way of doing this is through interventionist measures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anika Gauja receives funding from the University of Sydney and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Buckley has received funding from a variety of sources including the Irish Research Council, the Higher Education of Ireland, and the European Union. She is currently a Visiting Research Fellow with the Electoral Integrity Project in the University of Sydney (26/02/18 - 01/06/2018). A full list of funding can be viewed here: <a href="http://publish.ucc.ie/researchprofiles/B007/fbuckley#section2-2">http://publish.ucc.ie/researchprofiles/B007/fbuckley#section2-2</a>. She is a founding member of The 5050 Group, a voluntary group established in 2010 to campaign for the adoption of legislative gender quotas in Ireland. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Curtin is in receipt of research funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the University of Auckland</span></em></p>Examples from Ireland and New Zealand show that, unless determined measures are taken, masculine political cultures will ensure the gender imbalance remains.Anika Gauja, Associate Professor, Department of Government and International Relations, University of SydneyFiona Buckley, Lecturer, University College CorkJennifer Curtin, Professor, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.