Submitted on 26 Mar 2012 by Skye S. Christensen, Gender Expert, UN Women in response to the question:
"What are the modalities and preexisting conditions (socioeconomic and legal) that facilitate setting up an all-women political party? What are the advantages and disadvantages of initiating an all-women party? Can you share experiences of countries/regions that have had all-women political party?"
Implications of the Electoral System:
The electoral system (the laws and policies that govern how votes are translated into seats) will have an impact on the success and perceived legitimacy of an all-women party in terms of representation
· All women parties would seem to have the most advantages in proportional list systems. In most proportional representation systems – what are known as list proportional representation – the seats in parliament are filled by parties according to their share of votes received. In such systems the members are generally seen as representing those voters who supported that party – rather than representing all of the constituents of the district. In such a system, an all-woman’s party should not have any systemic legitimacy issues, since they would be representing the interests of their voters.
· In single-member district systems and some other non-proportional systems such as party block vote, one candidate or block of candidates will be representing the district. In this case the representatives are seen to represent all the citizens of a district – male and female, including those who voted against the party. In such a case, an all-women party would have similar legitimacy issues to that of an all-man’s party – could they represent the interests of all constituents both male and female? In such a case an inclusive feminist party might be better positioned to represent the interests of all constituents than would an all-women party.
In countries where gender-quotas are written in a gender neutral fashion, the quotas themselves might limit the ability of an all-women party to complete for seats. Where gender quotas require a certain minimum percentage of candidates to be of each gender, then all parties must include both men and women amongst their nominees.
Non-Discrimination
Parties which did not include men on principle could violate legal non-discrimination restrictions in many countries. In many countries organizations are not legally able to discriminate against certain protected classes – of which sex is often one.
Submitted on 26 Mar 2012 by Skye S. Christensen, Gender Expert, UN Women in response to the question:
"What are the modalities and preexisting conditions (socioeconomic and legal) that facilitate setting up an all-women political party? What are the advantages and disadvantages of initiating an all-women party? Can you share experiences of countries/regions that have had all-women political party?"
Implications of the Electoral System:
The electoral system (the laws and policies that govern how votes are translated into seats) will have an impact on the success and perceived legitimacy of an all-women party in terms of representation
· All women parties would seem to have the most advantages in proportional list systems. In most proportional representation systems – what are known as list proportional representation – the seats in parliament are filled by parties according to their share of votes received. In such systems the members are generally seen as representing those voters who supported that party – rather than representing all of the constituents of the district. In such a system, an all-woman’s party should not have any systemic legitimacy issues, since they would be representing the interests of their voters.
· In single-member district systems and some other non-proportional systems such as party block vote, one candidate or block of candidates will be representing the district. In this case the representatives are seen to represent all the citizens of a district – male and female, including those who voted against the party. In such a case, an all-women party would have similar legitimacy issues to that of an all-man’s party – could they represent the interests of all constituents both male and female? In such a case an inclusive feminist party might be better positioned to represent the interests of all constituents than would an all-women party.
In countries where gender-quotas are written in a gender neutral fashion, the quotas themselves might limit the ability of an all-women party to complete for seats. Where gender quotas require a certain minimum percentage of candidates to be of each gender, then all parties must include both men and women amongst their nominees.
Non-Discrimination
Parties which did not include men on principle could violate legal non-discrimination restrictions in many countries. In many countries organizations are not legally able to discriminate against certain protected classes – of which sex is often one.