The doubling of women members in the House of Commons was one of the many noteworthy features of the British general election last May. This development prompted many press headlines on the theme of "Blair's babes" as the overwhelming majority of the 120 women MPs (out of 658 MPs in total) were Labour. It also took place after considerable debate on Labour's policy of "women only" short lists of candidates and the party's long-term target of having women as half of its MPs.
In a letter of congratulations to Speaker Betty Boothroyd on behalf of the European Parliament's women's committee, Nel van Dijk (Nl, Greens) stated that the change would "undoubtedly affect the way British citizens perceive their parliament and will help women in particular to identify with structures of politics which affect their lives, but often seem alien. This can only be good for the democracy." Britain, she added, had previously had one of the lowest percentages of women in parliament among the 15 Member States with only 9.5 per cent.
In the European Parliament, around 27 per cent of MEPs are women, compared to 19 per cent prior to the 1994 elections. Getting women into places of influence is a crucial step towards achieving equality between the sexes. Indeed, one of the key objectives of the Platform for action drawn up at Beijing was a call for "women's equal access to, and full participation in, power structures and decision-making".
Despite such positive developments, and a generally upward trend in the number of women involved in political life, women remain under-represented at national, regional and local levels throughout the EU. In 1996, the average female representation in national parliaments was only 15 per cent.
This continuing imbalance has prompted much debate and Mimi Kestlijn-Sierens (B, ELDR) in a report for the Parliament's women's committee, argues for parity democracy in which the EU's democratic institutions would reflect more accurately a society in which women make up 52 per cent of the population. The jury is still out on the best means of achieving parity. Quotas attract considerable controversy and charges that they discriminate against men. Nevertheless, there are reports that the Liberal Democrats will be positively discriminating in favour of women, initially for the next European elections, but possibly also for prospective MPs.
Mrs Kestelijn-Sierens argues that quotas may not be productive without sanctions for their non-implementation, and considers that targets can be just as effective as long as they are supported by a simultaneous campaign to change attitudes and culture. She also wants to see women in decision-making posts in areas beyond the political sphere, such as justice, public health, the financial sector and education. Without these developments, she considers, "it will always be a struggle for women to achieve equal treatment and equal rights".
With the British government announcing that the next European elections are to be conducted on the basis of proportional representation and the submission of party lists, the Labour Party may be tempted to follow the Swedish example and include alternate names of women with men in the list order, thus ensuring parity of representation.