Thread: The case against all-women shortlists

The case against all-women shortlists: the alternative route to participatory democracy…

All-women shortlists are not ambitious enough to deliver the
radical change our political system needs, argues Jane Watkinson

The use of all-women shortlists to select candidates for political office enjoys the support of many feminists, women and political parties: however, I have several reservations regarding their relative usefulness for increasing female political participation.

Of course, I want more women involved in politics as much as the pro all-women shortlist campaigners. The relatively poor level of women’s representation is disconcerting, with women making up only one in five MPs, for example. However, pretending all-women shortlists is the answer ignores the power relations women need to radically challenge.

All-women shortlists can undermine movements towards a radical reconstructing of the underlying power relations, which are a primary cause of unequal democratic participation. They are artificial, faux democratic protocols, which create illusions of change.

This was illustrated perfectly by the recent defeat of the Fawcett Society’s attempt to challenge the Budget on grounds of discrimination. Many are aware of the prevailing power structures within the juridical system that act as frequent blocks to women’s justice. The same way that all-women shortlists would only adapt women to the system, instead of radically reconstructing the system for women, the court acts as a traditional patriarchal and heternormative institution that needs radical reform before women’s issues are considered, consistently, with the proper merit.

All-women shortlists fail to challenge the view that women are inadequate for political participation, especially as men are the ones who are often controlling the organisations and political bills required for such measures to be introduced.

Consider Venezuela, where President Hugo Chávez dropped a 30% quota, causing outrage; it illustrates that even once in place, quotas are not certain or reliable, and that only with real democratic reform will we have proper participation for women and many other, often excluded, groups.

There are deep-seated cultural issues engrained within political participation that need challenging. Through personal experience of political campaigns and events, I am fully aware of the patronising, often sexist, rubbish women activists can face; and the problems such attitudes can create for future visions of political democracy. All-women shortlists will not remove this culture of negative disposition that often undermines women’s participation within local and national politics. Such measures may actually ironically reinforce the view that women need ‘special’ help to achieve political representation. Instead, movements outside ‘traditional’ politics and radical reform, where structural and social changes are ensured, are the most important way to enable participatory democracy.

We preside in a system of consensus, where the minority views (so often women’s, despite our population size) are discounted. We need a new way of doing politics, akin to citizen-style, face-to-face public assemblies where women citizens have a real chance to influence policy. However, this will take time.

Sadly, the mainstream parties are rather poor when it comes to radical reform; this is where outside movements, including the women’s movement, need to keep the pressure on. Big reforms, to areas such as childcare and redistribution of resources so that more women have the freedom to enter into work, are the real changes we need to focus on campaigning for.

It is a sad political affair, with women standing to be disproportionately affected by the cuts enacted in the name of ‘necessity’; diminishing women’s chances for representation within areas such as politics. Not only are women more likely to be in poverty, they are more likely to look after kids, be disabled, be single parents, work in the public sector - all areas that are being attacked by the government. This illustrates the need for coordination amongst the movements to influence politics, both ‘traditional’ and otherwise.

As many in favour of all-women shortlists argue, Parliament is a patriarchal institution - but this is specifically why we cannot rely on all-women shortlists.

It is important to note, however, I am not suggesting woman selected by all-women shortlists lack ability or skills - but that is essentially the point: they don’t! The real issue is that they are seen to lack such talent for political office (with sexist/patronising attitudes often prevailing), or they do not have the time or money to engage in such a career.

Some supporters of all-women shortlists believe those against such measures are doing so because it insults their pride, or makes them feel ashamed. This could not be further from the truth. The fact is, changing the law and reform of the existing system doesn’t always work - consider the failure of the Equal Pay Act(s) to secure equal pay, for example - and so outside political movements and challenges are essential. To create real participatory democracy, there needs to be a coordination of movements, a radical restructuring of politics, aligned with a vision of a future society where consensus politics, which often shuts out counter-power structures/relations, can be replaced. But for now, radical reconstructing within the existing system is essential, but this will never be achieved through the adoption of all-women shortlists.

Source: The F-word

TD, thanks for posting that, but what is your opinion? I oppose all women shortlists as I oppose all positive discrimination. Either we aim to create a meritocracy or we don't, but we shouldn't establish systems that assume a lack of merit on the part of one group or another. Women are the majority and are capable of joining political parties as equals and selecting the most suitable candidate, male or female, without interference from others.

Diversitoid, maybe you should try a white male and see if you enjoy it

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.
12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.
17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.
18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.
19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race.
25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.
28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.
29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.
31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.
32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.
33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.
34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.
37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.
38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.
39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.
43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.
44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.
45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.
46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.
48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.
49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.
50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
_____________________

1. My odds of being hired for a job, when competing against female applicants, are probably skewed in my favor. The more prestigious the job, the larger the odds are skewed.
2. I can be confident that my co-workers won't think I got my job because of my sex - even though that might be true.
3. If I am never promoted, it's not because of my sex.
4. If I fail in my job or career, I can feel sure this won't be seen as a black mark against my entire sex's capabilities.
5. The odds of my encountering sexual harassment on the job are so low as to be negligible.
6. If I do the same task as a woman, and if the measurement is at all subjective, chances are people will think I did a better job.
7. If I'm a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are so low as to be negligible.
8. I am not taught to fear walking alone after dark in average public spaces.
9. If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.
10. If I have children but do not provide primary care for them, my masculinity will not be called into question.
11. If I have children and provide primary care for them, I'll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I'm even marginally competent.
12. If I have children and pursue a career, no one will think I'm selfish for not staying at home.
13. If I seek political office, my relationship with my children, or who I hire to take care of them, will probably not be scrutinized by the press.
14. Chances are my elected representatives are mostly people of my own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the more likely this is to be true.
15. I can be somewhat sure that if I ask to see "the person in charge," I will face a person of my own sex. The higher-up in the organization the person is, the surer I can be.
16. As a child, chances are I was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.
17. As a child, I could choose from an almost infinite variety of children's media featuring positive, active, non-stereotyped heroes of my own sex. I never had to look for it; male heroes were the default.
18. As a child, chances are I got more teacher attention than girls who raised their hands just as often.
19. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether or not it has sexist overtones.
20. I can turn on the television or glance at the front page of the newspaper and see people of my own sex widely represented, every day, without exception.
21. If I'm careless with my financial affairs it won't be attributed to my sex.
22. If I'm careless with my driving it won't be attributed to my sex.
23. I can speak in public to a large group without putting my sex on trial.
24. If I have sex with a lot of people, it won't make me an object of contempt or derision.
25. There are value-neutral clothing choices available to me; it is possible for me to choose clothing that doesn't send any particular message to the world.
26. My wardrobe and grooming are relatively cheap and consume little time.
27. If I buy a new car, chances are I'll be offered a better price than a woman buying the same car.
28. If I'm not conventionally attractive, the disadvantages are relatively small and easy to ignore.
29. I can be loud with no fear of being called a shrew. I can be aggressive with no fear of being called a *****.
30. I can ask for legal protection from violence that happens mostly to men without being seen as a selfish special interest, since that kind of violence is called "crime" and is a general social concern. (Violence that happens mostly to women is usually called "domestic violence" or "acquaintance rape," and is seen as a special interest issue.)
31. I can be confident that the ordinary language of day-to-day existence will always include my sex. "All men are created equal…," mailman, chairman, freshman, he.
32. My ability to make important decisions and my capability in general will never be questioned depending on what time of the month it is.
33. I will never be expected to change my name upon marriage or questioned if i don't change my name.
34. The decision to hire me will never be based on assumptions about whether or not I might choose to have a family sometime soon.
35. Every major religion in the world is led primarily by people of my own sex. Even God, in most major religions, is usually pictured as being male.
36. Most major religions argue that I should be the head of my household, while my wife and children should be subservient to me.
37. If I have a wife or girlfriend, chances are we'll divide up household chores so that she does most of the labor, and in particular the most repetitive and unrewarding tasks.
38. If I have children with a wife or girlfriend, chances are she'll do most of the childrearing, and in particular the most dirty, repetitive and unrewarding parts of childrearing.
39. If I have children with a wife or girlfriend, and it turns out that one of us needs to make career sacrifices to raise the kids, chances are we'll both assume the career sacrificed should be hers.
40. Magazines, billboards, television, movies, pornography, and virtually all of media is filled with images of scantily-clad women intended to appeal to me sexually. Such images of men exist, but are much rarer.
41. I am not expected to spend my entire life 20-40 pounds underweight.
42. If I am heterosexual, it's incredibly unlikely that I'll ever be beaten up by a spouse or lover.
43. I have the privilege of being unaware of my male privilege.

What a load of chippy rubbish. If a woman came for a job with this attitude she certainly wouldn't get very far.

^ More than happy to Boss. But you are presuming that I am a white male, which I might be, or might not.

Originally Posted by The Diversitoid

Well hello "Aardvark" and thank you for your question.

Now it's fairly obvious to me that you, like most heterosexual white males, are blissfully unaware of at least two of the forces that blight the lives of just about every other group on earth besides yours.

Those would be:

INSTITUTIONAL SEXISM

and

WHITE MALE PRIVILEGE

(note that I have kindly provided links so you can educate yourself)

These two things combine in a very real and toxic way to make British politics a female unfriendly place.

But I agree with you at least to some degree. Women only shortlists are insult to women everywhere. What is needed to combat the deep rooted social injustice prevalent throughout the whole of British politics is to simply ban white heterosexual men altogether. Probably for at least fifty years to make up for centuries of oppressive WMP.

Here, why not try out the white male privilege checklist to see how you score?

I don't need you to educate me. I don't think the experiences in the USA are the same as in the UK or most other countries. You obviously haven't travelled to places where being white is a distinct disadvantage, although in those countries being a woman is a lot worse.

The problem with the chips on your shoulders is that you see all white men as living in some sort of privileged alternate planet, much as black people assume that whites weren't slaves in earlier centuries (Tripoli and Algiers were major centres of the trade in kidnapped white people).

Much of what you see as an advantage is a disadvantage.

It's not funny being expected to lead when you have no leadership skills (not me BTW), to fight when you don't like fighting, to be prepared to die when others can hide behind you, to be expected to find work when there is none, to feed a family with nothing, to face conscription when others can avoid it, to be expected to be ashamed when you cannot be a 'man' and defend your family, to be expected to hide your feelings when the world is crashing around your ears, to be at the bottom of the housing queue (in this day and age single white males rarely qualify for housing because we're not vulnerable), to know that you will die younger and receive less of the pension you have earned, to know that you will lose a lot of the access to your children should you split with your partner, to know you will lose the house if you split with your partner and there are kids involved etc etc.

Your life must be a nightmare of monumental proportions if you spend all of it dwelling on perceived inequalities instead of dealing with it. Attacking a whole class is pathetic. Collective punishment is pathetic.

I would not want you as my shield maiden, you'd whinge all of the time.