Choose a winner
Editorial
Stabroek News
May 22, 2004
'Choose a winner, select a woman' is the title of a report by the United Kingdom's Electoral Commission which says research has confirmed that women candidates are an electoral advantage for political parties.
The report, published this month by the UK's Equal Opportunities Commission, which called it "exciting", said the research revealed that women candidates significantly increased women's turnout at the polls, since many find "male-dominated Westminster politics" a real turn-off.
It also found that women identified better with a female Member of Parliament and were more likely to believe that they would benefit from a government which included women. And although women only make up 18 percent of the MPs at Westminster, the research found that 53 percent of women were planning to vote at the next election as against 48 percent of men.
The report recommended that any existing barriers to women being selected and standing for elected office be removed. This, as well as making voting more convenient, through more postal ballots and placing polling stations in shopping centres, could boost turn-out, which it admitted was low for both men and women.
Though the research was conducted in Britain, its results could well be applied here and in many other countries in the world. From the 1800s, when the now universally-known women suffrage societies started, women have been striving for the elimination of discrimination.
Strides have been made, but as the report referred to above revealed, not nearly enough. Some of the actions which governments agreed to following the historic 'Fourth World Conference on Women' in Beijing, China in 1995, are yet to be taken. The meagre one-third representation of women on all state boards and commissions, which was agreed to by this country still has to be fought for and often seems to be grudgingly given when it is given at all.
Admittedly, women's representation in Parliament here puts Westminster in the shade, but the actual benefits to women are dubious. Astoundingly, governments and political parties are complacent on this issue, when it should be obvious to all that women really do possess the electoral power to determine their representation.
A fallback in polling by women would be undesirable as it would defeat all the gains made by suffragettes to date. But women now have a voice and can use it to force political parties to ensure that their candidates reflect the people they serve.
The Conservative Party in Britain chose a winner in Margaret Thatcher, as she not only led them to victory but brought modernity to the country. Another perfect example of a winning choice is last week's elections in India, which saw Sonia Gandhi sweep the Congress Party to victory, then selflessly step down for the sake of the country and peace. No doubt, women such as Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Millicent Garrett Fawcett and others who worked to connect politics with the electorate would have approved.