A recent lecture by Prof Rosie Campbell and Prof Sarah Childs on ‘The Senedd Election: Perspectives from outside Wales’ delivered some important messages for Welsh politics, even though it was not quite what I had expected from the title.
One of the key messages was that for democracy to thrive it needs, amongst several other things, politicians whose characteristics reflect the electorate – with balanced gender representation being vital. It is well-known that the then National Assembly became the first gender equal legislature in the world in 2003, and it has maintained an above-average proportion of female elected members since then.
This record is set to change in May
If the outcome is as forecast by YouGov in January, and allowing for Reform UK not having yet announced its candidates, Prof Campbell anticipated that the proportion of women members could fall to 25-35%. If she’s right, this is bad news for equality, bad for fair decision-making and scrutiny of it, bad for women in Wales, and bad for democracy itself.
To enable a gender balance, democratic institutions need to have the right infrastructure, such as family-friendly arrangements; a positive culture, in which women are fairly represented in key positions and are to speak out; and an environment in which people are free from harassment, bullying and abuse. A ‘gender-sensitive parliament’ is the gold standard to which institutions should aspire.
Is the Welsh parliament ‘gender sensitive’?
The Senedd Commission is undertaking a review which began in July last year and which is due to be published very soon. The impact of its findings remains to be seen, especially given the big intake of new Senedd Members in May, the likely shift in the political mix of MSs, and the anticipated reduction in the number of women MSs. That one party likely to have seats in the new Senedd is committed to scrapping equality legislation makes further changes challenging.
There are some conundrums that weren’t addressed in the hour available. As one delegate pointed out, you can have the best ‘infrastructure’ in the world but it doesn’t necessary change the culture. In too many cases, behaviours and expectations are getting worse not better.
And what happens if the ‘infrastructure’ of provision for maternity, childcare, carers and so on are so far ahead of the experience of the electorate that it fuels disconnection and mistrust of our elected representatives and institutions? How can the Senedd be an exemplar of good practice not a bastion of perceived privilege?
So, much to think about and put into practice, if not quite the insight in to the Senedd election I had expected.
Image: Joyce Watson MS and Jane Hutt MS at the 2014 launch of the 50:50 by 2020 campaign. Flickr Senedd Cymru
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