One of the main factors in the defeat of a proposal for all-women shortlists in 2001 was a spirited campaign by the then youth organisation. Jo Swinson led the way wearing a pink t-shirt saying “I am not a token woman.” Jo has now, after many years of putting her heart and soul into improving the party’s diversity, come to the conclusion that all-women shortlists are a short term necessary part of the mix.
There are many myths about all-women shortlists, but one in particular is the refrain you often hear – that we need to have the best person for the job. People seem to think that positive action of this sort means that you are somehow settling for second best. When you think about it, that’s quite insulting. Do we really think that of the 111 MPs we have elected, that only 19 women were actually good enough to make the grade? Do we think that the one time we managed to send a gender-balanced team of MEPs that the women were not as good as the men? Women like Liz Lynne who had already been an MP and Sarah Ludford, who was a member of the House of Lords and went on to be a massive voice for human rights and civil liberties?
I thought it might be good to celebrate some women from around the world who have had the chance to excel nationally and internationally because of specific measures to improve gender balance. I’ve had a lot of help from Flo Clucas who is the President of ALDE’s Gender Equality Network in preparing this, so thanks to her.
Let’s start at home with Labour.They are doing best on gender balance with 43% women on their Westminster benches and have commonly used all-women shortlists since 1997.
Stella Creasy
Elected as MP for Walthamstow in 2010, Stella Creasy has shown herself to be a powerful parliamentary performer and scourge of payday lenders. She stood for Deputy Leader last year.
Violeta Bulc
Violeta Bulc is the EU’s Commissioner with responsibility for transport. She spent some time as an MP in her native Slovenia where gender targets rocketed the country from 80th to 18th in the world for gender balance.
Cecilia Malmstrom
Just a few days ago, Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Trade Commissioner, was credited with rescuing a trade deal with Canada.
The EU’s trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, last week secured a breakthrough that saved a major trade deal with Canada. Now she’s looking to pull this diplomatic coup off again on bigger stages.
The Swedish commissioner managed to breathe life back into stalled trade talks with Canada by forging a personal relationship with a key partner in its new government. Together, they came up with a palatable alternative to a controversial clause that’s designed to protect foreign investors — which critics, particularly on the European left, see as an unacceptable sop to big business.
Before getting the EU job, she was in the Swedish Parliament. Sweden has affirmative action and commitment in many of its parties. Some use quotas, some don’t, but generally affirmative action is mainstreamed.
Hanna Birna Kristjansdottir
Hanna Birna Kristjansdottir is the Icelandic minister of the interior.
She has an impressive record as a former Mayor of Reykjavik. Here she is talking about gender equality a couple of years ago when Iceland won an award for its impressive record, using quota systems to elect 40% female MPs.
![Lilly Gabriela Montaño Viaña]()
Lilly Gabriela Montaño Viaña
Lilly Gabriela Montano Visna served as a Senator and President if the Senate up until 2015 in Bolivia which has quota systems in place.
Rubina Irfan
Rubina Irfan is a Senator in Pakistan where seats are reserved for women. She serves on 4 committees and is known for her role in developing a women’s national football team for Pakistan, having founded one for her 3 daughters.
So, there are our Super Six. They have all achieved so much and given a great deal both in their own countries and internationally. There are plenty more examples where they came from.
None of them are token women.
You might like to read this article which outlines the research of two academics, Mary Nugent and Mona Lena Krook and concludes:
Quotas thus do not pose a threat to “merit” at any stage of the political process. Instead, fostering diversity has contributed to a host of positive democratic outcomes. The Liberal Democrats should be enthusiastically embracing the move towards all-women shortlists, and the Labour Party should not be apologising for its transformative and effective policy solution.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings