Enforce gender parity in Assembly, says poll
AMAJORITY of people across Wales are sympathetic to the idea of legislation that would ensure there was an equal number of male and female Assembly Members, according to a new poll. The survey, carried out by Beaufort Research for the Western Mail, found that 53% of the population were either definitely or possibly in favour of such a change.
The result was hailed by Professor Laura McAllister, who chaired an expert panel that came up with the idea among a series of recommendations published in a report last November called A Parliament That Works For Wales. Those who participated in the
survey were asked: “Do you think the system used to elect members of the National Assembly for Wales should be changed to ensure that an equal number of male and female Assembly Members are elected?”
Overall, 25% said yes definitely, 28% said yes possibly, 36% said no and 11% said they didn’t know.
But there were significant variations according to age, gender, region and social class.
Among 16-24 year-olds, 30% were definitely in favour of a gender-balance law affecting AMs and a further 35% were possibly in favour.
For those aged 25-34, the results were 20% definitely and 27% possibly; for 35-44 year-olds, 19% definitely and 31% possibly; for 45-54 yearolds, 27% definitely and 32% possibly; for 55-64 year-olds, 25% definitely and 25% possibly; and for over-65 year-olds, 27% definitely and 24% possibly.
Amongst men, the results were 21% definitely, 26% possibly, 43% no and 11% don’t know; while for women the results were 29% definitely, 31% possibly, 29% no and 11% don’t know.
All regions of Wales had more respondents saying yes than no, with north Wales, the Valleys and Cardiff and south east Wales all on a combined yes response of 55%.
The least enthusiastic region was mid and west Wales, but even here there was a combined yes response of 48%.
In terms of social class, the greatest support for a gender-balanced Assembly came from the poorest C2DE category, of whom 57% had a combined yes response. Least enthusiastic were members of the professional AB class, with a combined yes response of 44%. This class was the only one with a majority (52%) opposed to the idea of such a change.
Prof McAllister, of Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre, said: “I’m very pleased with these results, but not entirely surprised.
“I think younger people in particular are open to the idea that political institutions should reflect society as a whole, and that having an all-male or predominantly male environment is unnatural. It ties in very much as well with the strong support for Votes at 16 from younger people in particular.”
Addressing the differential results between women and men, Prof McAllister said: “If you have a system of candidate selection that seeks to correct the under-representation of women, it means that some men who would have been selected will not be. So it’s not surprising that there will be some resistance to the idea from those who will see themselves as potentially losing out.
“But I think more people are understanding that the greater diversity you have in an institution – not simply gender but race and other factors too – the greater the experience and expertise you can draw on to make the institution work well and in the interests of all sections of society.”
Prof McAllister said she would like legislation for a gender-balanced Assembly to be in place in time for the next election in 2021.
“It makes sense to implement it as part of a wider change in the way the Assembly is elected, as recommended in our report. That will involve changing the electoral system and increasing the number of AMs.
“I would like to see political parties introducing mechanisms of their own to deal with gender imbalance. The Labour Party has made the running on this, in fairness, with constituency twinning at the first Assembly election [when local parties were twinned and chose one male and one female candidate each] and allwomen shortlists. Plaid Cymru has also recently announced plans to have a balanced list of candidates at the next Assembly election.
“The Welsh Conservatives obviously need to do more, and their new leader Paul Davies suggested in the speech he made after his election that he was open to change.”
Prof McAllister, a Western Mail columnist, said her panel had looked at mechanisms used in other countries to encourage the selection of more women candidates: “It doesn’t have to be all stick,” she said. “There can be carrot as well.”
Her report points out that in Croatia, political parties receive an additional 10% in funding for each MP from an under-represented gender.
Equally, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10% of the funding provided to political parties is distributed to parties in proportion to the number of seats held by MPs of the gender which is less represented in the legislature.
The report responds to the argument that efforts to improve gender balance should be voluntary by quoting research from 2011 which states: “Among the 20 OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) countries registering the sharpest growth in the proportion of women in parliament during the last decade ... half had introduced legal quotas. By contrast, among the 20 OSCE countries lagging behind in growth ... none had implemented legal quotas.”
Cerys Furlong, chief executive of Chwarae Teg, a body that campaigns for women in work, said: “Now we know there is public support for gender equality in our Assembly, politicians across the political spectrum must act. Evidence shows that women AMs raise different issues and have played a crucial role previously in ensuring issues such as childcare and equal pay are discussed.
“We hope that the Welsh Government and Assembly Commission will not seek to maintain the inadequate status quo at the expense of reform which is supported by the Welsh public. We need to ensure our National Assembly is representative of the communities it serves.”
■ The majority of fieldwork for the survey took place between September 17-30, with the remainder conducted shortly afterwards. A total of 1,015 interviews were completed and analysed, with results weighted to provide a representative crosssection of those living in Wales aged over 16.