Tag: Gender and democracy
The optics of a cabinet reshuffle: PR vs reality
Increasing the number of women in Cabinet is widely perceived as a positive move, and Theresa May’s January reshuffle was presented as a bold step to make the government more diverse, writes Jessica Smith (Birkbeck). However, it failed to fulfil its own promises, and so missed an opportunity to create significant change in levels of representation at the top.
Online abuse is driving women out of public life. It’s time to act
Public scrutiny is one thing, but the degree of online abuse now suffered by female political candidates is another. The Independent Committee for Standards in Public Life has recommended that platforms be held liable for hate speech and incitement to violence – but, writes María Rún Bjarnadóttir (University of Sussex), domestic UK law currently does not […]
To enhance women’s representation, internal party democracy may need to be ‘managed’ in the short term
With a general election in the Republic of Ireland imminent, gender quotas have already doubled the proportion of women candidates relative to the 2011 general election. In most cases the implementation of quotas at constituency level has been straightforward. However, problems have arisen largely due to ‘local’ versus ‘central’ conflict, writes Claire McGing. Here she explores how […]
A political earthquake is forecast for Scotland – but will there be a ‘genderquake’?
The aftermath of the Scottish Independence Referendum has seen an enormous spike in support for the Scottish National Party, with polling showing that Labour north of the border may find themselves reduced to a rump of MPs in the House of Commons. But what role has gender played in these events, ask Meryl Kenny and […]
Building long-term relations of trust between civil society, voters and female politicians is essential to gender quotas’ success
Over recent decades, more than 100 countries have introduced gender quotas worldwide. The international community has championed quota policies as a fast track to increase women’s presence in national parliaments. This, argues Anouk Lloren, has greatly contributed to their adoption, sometimes in countries exhibiting a long patriarchal tradition. But are gender quotas effective? Similar PostsTo enhance women’s […]
Book Review: Women of Power: Half a Century of Female Presidents and Prime Ministers Worldwide by Torild Skard
Women of Power is an ambitious project, one which attempts to map the contribution of all 73 female presidents and prime ministers across the globe onto the political landscape. Katherine Williams finds this a valuable contribution to the fields of gender studies and political history. Similar PostsCitizens (mistakenly) perceive female-led political parties as more moderateBedding down, […]
The best of Democratic Audit’s 2014 posts on gender and democracy
The Democratic Audit UK blog, since its launch in July 2013, has sought to highlight the issue of gender in politics, with the aim of creating a more equitable balance in terms of gender representation and the UK’s political institutions. The below are eight of the best posts that DA has carried in 2014. Similar […]
UKIP isn’t alone in failing women, with the top parties poorly placed to offer a women-friendly alternative
UKIP has been in trouble this week over comments made by Nigel Farage about breastfeeding and then a sex scandal involving their chairman. Rainbow Murray argues that UKIP isn’t alone in having a ‘women problem’, with none of the main parties in a strong position to capitalise on the weakness of the party’s problems in […]
Now is the right time to introduce tough gender quotas for the Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament has a better record than Westminster in seeing women elected. Despite this, progress of late has stalled, with women’s representation now slipping backwards. Meryl Kenny and Fiona Mackay argue that the current ‘constitutional moment’ in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum provides an opportunity to get serious about the problem, and […]
The Conservatives’ failure to prioritise gender equality could cost them dear at the General Election
One of the features of British politics since the last General Election has been the widening of the gender gap in terms of voting intentions, with women more likely to back Labour. Here, the Conservatives have a blind spot, according to Claire Annesley and Francesca Gains, with their failure to support gender equality in a […]
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