CWP 1 - WOMEN’S POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION
Discussion leaders Hon. Lindiwe Maseko, MPL, (left) and Hon. Susan Truppe, MP (right).
should be made in women’s social and economic wellbeing so that they feel secure and confident to participate in politics. Women need to have access to information and education, healthcare and social services and not be subjected to poverty or violence. The enforcement of women’s social and economic rights is intrinsically linked to their political rights and in turn their ability to be able to participate as political actors in society.
Hon. Susan Truppe, MP, Canada, stated that governments should start from the premise that society as a whole benefits when women and girls are full participants in every aspect of daily life. This participation should start at the grassroots level
all the way through to the Cabinet. She continued by encouraging countries to build women’s leadership capacity by providing leadership and management training for women with the aim of building the capacity of those that may have political aspirations.
Training should foster qualities that are important to political success, such as self-confidence and assertiveness, and should help women overcome cultural stereotypes that limit women’s roles in leadership.
Electoral systems and quotas for women
Elections are a critical period during which to promote and empower
women to participate in the political arena. Electoral systems and elections are vital in advancing and facilitating the political participation of women; both as candidates and as voters. These systems and processes must be gender-balanced and should strive to achieve three key objectives, namely: increasing the number of women who are registered to vote; increasing the number of women running as candidates; and increasing the number of women who are successfully elected.
Electoral systems need to be reformed to facilitate the participation and election of women candidates. Rwanda sets an example with its electoral system – a proportional representation system – combined
with affirmative action. Political parties also have a critical role to play in this regard in ensuring that there are quotas for women, and it was suggested the CWP engaged and lobbied leaders of political parties to encourage internal participation. Although quotas for women have assisted in increasing their participation, the CWP should also explore alternative strategies for countries that have not been as successful. Despite the First-Past- the-Post system used in Wales, its labour party made it a policy within the party that every male candidate had to be paired with a female candidate. By 2003, the country had 50 per cent women in Parliament and 50 per cent women in their cabinet.
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