A new study undertaken by the IPU reveals that the participation of women in political life is changing political priorities across the globe. Women are making their presence felt in the world’s parliaments and are beginning to redefine political agendas.
The study, entitled Equality in Politics: a Survey of Women and Men in Parliaments, was launched at the thirteenth Meeting of Women Parliamentarians held during the 118th IPU Assembly in Cape Town. Conducted between 2006 and 2008, the survey collates the views of nearly 300 men and women parliamentarians from 110 countries on gender equality in politics. With their experience as women, mothers, wives and daughters, women parliamentarians bring unique contributions to political life. Survey respondents highlight that it is women, and not men, who have been instrumental in placing issues such as gender-based violence, trafficking of women and children, equal pay, child care and parental leave on the political agenda.
They also point out that a greater participation by women in parliament would ensure that their concerns, and many others that men might overlook or give low priority to, are addressed. Several respondents indicated that without the involvement of women in politics, the subject of violence against women would not be receiving the attention currently being given to it.
Men believe their greatest contributions are to foreign affairs, the economy, trade, justice and constitutional issues. Unlike women, they do not prioritize equality between the sexes or social development issues. While some male respondents feel that they raise matters of concern to women in their work, much more needs to be done to forge a complementary partnership between women and men. The survey also cautions that “although it is women who are predominantly responsible for highlighting women's concerns, this does not mean that these are their only concerns“. Some women emphasized that they are making important contributions to a broad range of political issues.
The survey unfortunately confirms that women continue to encounter obstacles in parliaments. First, their participation remains limited, at 18 percent on average across the world, so they often have to struggle to be heard. The more women there are in parliament, the easier it is to address women's issues and to change the gender dynamics in the chamber and in committees. Second, women often struggle to balance their parliamentary workload with domestic responsibilities. The working methods of parliaments are not always amenable to the presence of women, and rules need to be changed and infrastructure improved, by changing the sitting times of parliament or introducing childcare facilities, for example. Third the research found the support of the ruling party to be the most important factor in introducing and enacting gender-related legislation. Yet several women parliamentarians pointed out that the gender-based policies they wish to pursue are at odds with the policies of their political parties. Therefore, making change at this level is vital.
In short, the survey reveals that much remains to be done. Parliamentarians identify several structural changes that could help promote women's access to and full participation in parliament, such as strengthening parliamentary committees on gender equality or caucuses of women parliamentarians; implementing changes in parliamentary processes and facilities to make them more family-friendly and ensuring more balanced participation by women in political parties. Above all though, parliaments need more women.
