In its drive to encourage party politics to be more inclusive, the National Council of Women is rolling out a campaign to support women candidates standing for the next election.
Misconceptions give the impression that meritocracy is not a priority
Driven by the belief that having more women in political decision-making posts is key to dealing with the lack of gender equality, it is appealing to political parties to rethink their strategies and adopt action plans for recruiting an equal number of women and men as candidates for “winnable” seats.
In its message for International Women’s Day tomorrow, and in view of the forthcoming general election, the council is urging political parties to immediately take more concrete measures to ensure at least 30-per-cent partici-pation of women. This was the requirement to be “realistically effective in the decision-making process of our political system”.
It also called on the government to discuss in Parliament how to establish a 40-per-cent quota for both sexes as a minimum requirement for elections.
“The political parties need to study and explain what gender quotas measures are because misconceptions give the impression that meritocracy is not a priority,” it said.
Other measures include the zipper system, where women and men are alternated throughout the list, or introducing 40 per cent of each sex and alternation by sex on the first half of the list.
Explicit rules about the implementation of gender quotas, such as rank-ordering rules, legal sanctions for non-compliance (legislated quotas) and a “contract” with the local party organisations (voluntary party quotas) were needed in the short to medium term, the NCW said.
“Due to the short time before elections, the government and political parties should immediately reach agreement within their internal decision-making structures on measures to comply with these recommendations and to make them public,” it said.
The NCW acknowledged the steps taken by political parties over the years to improve women’s participation, albeit slightly, in their decision-making structures. However, it was concerned that these steps resulted in “very little change in the top political positions”.
Structured consultation with the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality and NGOs working in the field of gender equality should be a priority, the NCW said. It added that a new government should submit relevant legislation for a serious debate in Parliament, so a national action plan could be drawn up.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, an evening event, The Women In Me, will be held at Le Meridien, St Julians, tomorrow.
Held under the patronage of the President’s wife, Margaret Abela, part of the proceeds will be donated to the Malta Community Chest Fund.
Participants can tour stands, seek advice from various NGOs and attend informative talks, ranging from alternative medicine to eating right and everyday make-up.