RESEARCH
REPORTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
MAŁGORZATA DRUCIAREK, ALEKSANDRA NIŻYŃSKA
(NO) WOMEN IN POLITICS
IS A COMMON STRATEGY
FOR EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE
POSSIBLE?
MAŁGORZATA DRUCIAREK, ALEKSANDRA NIŻYŃSKA
(NO) WOMEN IN POLITICS
IS A COMMON STRATEGY
FOR EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE
POSSIBLE?
The report was published as a part of the project „Towards major political
participation of women in the Visegrad countries” thanks to financial support
Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
The opinions and information presented in the report do not necessarily reflect positions of participants of the conference and the workshop.
Program: Gender Equality Observatory
Project coordinators: Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
Translation: Anna Dzięgiel
Proof-reading: Hayden Berry
Projekt graficzny i skład: „SIM” Hanna Bicz
© Copyright by Instytut Spraw Publicznych, Warszawa 2014
Publisher:
Instytut Spraw Publicznych
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tel. 48 22 556 42 60, faks 48 22 556 42 62
e-mail: [email protected], www.isp.org.pl
Skład, druk i oprawa:
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tel. 22 629 80 38
www.owpsim.pl
Introduction
Solidarity, the Velvet Revolution, the Autumn of Nations – all of the events
of 1989 in East-Central Europe have male heroes. Lech Wałęsa, Vaclav Havel
– these are the faces of the democratic transformation in the region. In the
opinion of many, it was the men who printed the illegal leaflets, distributed
the independent newspapers and organised demonstrations. Whereas the
women cooked for them, cared for their homes, and looked after the children,
so that they did not get in the way of the men fighting for independence. Such
an image of the anti-communist uprising crowned with the fall of the Berlin
Wall is the binding interpretation within the public discourse of the events
of 1989 in East-Central Europe. The fallacy of this dichotomy – the male public
sphere and the female private sphere – has been clearly shown by a researcher
from outside the Visegrad Group. Shana Penn in her book National Secret: The
Women Who Brought Democracy to Poland describes the women leaders of
the democratic opposition in Poland.1 Apart from cooking the dinner, picking
up the children from the kindergarten and washing the dishes, they published
the leading underground magazines, managed regional opposition groups,
and developed the strategy for the development of Poland after the fall of the
communist regime.
Underestimating the contribution of women opposition members in the
successful struggle for democracy is typical for all countries of East-Central
Europe. However, the Polish case is a very good example showing how
greatly women’s involvement in the transformation has been marginalised
and indeed, to some extent, how it has turned against them. After the
establishment of democracy whose aim was to expand citizens’ freedoms
and rights, the rights of the women citizens began to be restricted. The act on
termination of pregnancy has been drastically toughened, leaving women the
right to choose only in a situation where their health or life is endangered, the
foetus is irreversibly malformed, or if the pregnancy is a result of a criminal
act. At the same time, among public declarations of the will to have more
children born in Poland, nurseries and kindergartens have been closed down.
Thus, women’s choice regarding their professional carrier has been limited.
The problem of the absence of women in the discourse surrounding the
Velvet Revolution has a symbolic nature and is glaring injustice resulting
from the stereotypical interpretation of history. However, this symbolic gap
in the narrative describing the events of 1989 has its practical dimension
in the form of very low participation of women in political life in the Czech
1
S. Penn, Podziemie kobiet, Rosner i wspólnicy, Warszawa 2003
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible?
5
Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The absence of women in the public
sphere was particularly visible in 2009 in Poland, during the celebrations
commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism. Many women
representatives of the underground opposition and the women founders of
the central European democracies received invitations to the gala events
where their male colleagues were awarded distinctions and medals. Watching
the men being honoured by other men was like a slap in the face for many
committed women who did not want to reconcile themselves to the fact
that their contribution in the democratisation process had been ignored. The
result of this discontent was, among others, the first Congress of Women in
Poland, attended by more than 4,000 women from all over the country, who
had come there to talk about women’s contribution to the history of Polish
transformation. One of the consequences following that event was the
strengthening of the movement supporting the introduction of quotas on
election candidate lists and the involvement of numerous non-governmental
organisations in promoting the idea of gender equality in the public sphere.
6
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
Women in politics in the visegrad countries
The participation of women in political life is a complex issue, both from
the point of view of the factors that influence their participation in politics,
and from the point of view of various levels of authority and government
bodies that should be considered when analysing political participation.
A comparative approach makes it difficult to describe all the dimensions of
women’s presence in senior positions. Different administrative regimes in
individual countries make it difficult to compare the participation of women in
local politics. This is an important topic, which should, however, be addressed
after some reliable quality research has been carried out in all the countries
of this region so that the results are truly comparable. For this reason, in our
analysis of the participation of women in politics in the four countries of EastCentral Europe, we focus on the national level and, only to a limited extent, on
the European political representation. We are interested in the parliamentary
bodies as they are the ones that are elected by citizens, both male and female,
and thus they are an embodiment of representative democracy.
The presence of women in the politics of the Visegrad countries (the
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) is significantly lower than in
other member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe. The average for the Visegrad Group is 17.7%, whereas in the OSCE
countries (except for the Nordic countries) it is 23%. This figure has definitely
increased compared to the first elections after the political transformation,
but it still falls below 20%. This reflects the public belief existing in these
countries that women do not have the appropriate qualifications to hold
positions that require responsibility. According to a special Eurobarometer
survey entitled “Women in decision-making positions”2 carried out in 2011, the
percentage of those who agreed with such a statement amounted to 47% of
Slovaks, 36% of Poles, 34% of Hungarians, and 29% of Czechs. The average for
the 27 EU members states is much lower and amounts to 21%. A survey type of
study cannot answer the question of what lies behind the support for such a
statement, thus discriminating against women. It is certain, however, that the
low participation of women in decision-making bodies, including legislative
bodies, is not helpful in fighting these types of stereotypes. Unfortunately, a
limited representation of women reinforces the belief that the matters of the
country or the region shall be the domain of men. This is immediately a vicious
circle, where the absence of women from power, including the power to
2
“Women in decision-making positions”, Special Eurobarometer 376/ Wave EB76.1 TNS Opinion & Social. The
survey regarded views of Europeans on gender balance in business leadership and women’s presence in top
managerial positions.
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible?
7
create party lists and get to the top of them, or running from winnable Single
Member Districts, may contribute to poorer results of female candidates in
the subsequent parliamentary elections.
The vicious circle began to spin straight after 1989, when the representation
of women in individual parliaments fluctuated around 10%. In the Czech
Republic there were 9.5% of women among those holding parliamentary
seats, in Hungary only 7.3% of women were members of parliament, in Poland
the figure was 9.6%, and only in Slovakia did this figure reach 12%.
Table 1:
Share of women in
parliaments of Visegrad
countries after their first
democratic elections
Source: Inter-Parliamentary
Union, November 2013
The fact that in the first elections in which citizens were able to decide,
in a fully free and independent way, who would represent them, women had
been practically eliminated from political life3 shows that their position in the
Visegrad countries in the period immediately following the transformation
was very weak. The fact that political life in the form of party democracy
was only then being formed, did not have any clear rules, and was based
mainly on personal links, did not favour women in the development of their
parliamentary careers. Therefore, women politicians did not have particularly
good chances for promotion in their political parties and the decision to
enter the realm of politics was not often taken by women. They were more
willing to engage in non-governmental activities, local and civic initiatives.
Economic development, the restoration of civil society and reducing
economic inequalities dominated the politics of the Visegrad countries at the
end of the 20th century. Gender equality was not a priority on the political
agenda. In addition, any attempts to introduce mechanisms promoting equal
opportunities for men and women were perceived as social engineering, aimed
at restoring the principle of equality, believed by many to be characteristic of
socialist ideology. An increase in the participation of women in the parliaments
of the individual countries was connected with various processes taking place
3
The last parliaments before 1989 were composed in Czechoslovakia of 29.3% women, in Poland – 20%, and in
Hungary – 21%. These numbers sank respectively to 10% and 12% (Czech Republic and Slovakia were divided into
two independent countries), 13% and 7%. (see: Table 1.)
8
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
in those countries. To what extent the introduction of the quota mechanism,
which, depending on the country, applied to all registered lists of election
candidates (Poland), to the lists of those parties that had voluntarily decided
to leave a certain percentage of positions for women (Hungary), or to internal
party structures (the Czech Republic), had indeed influenced that increase, is
a question that still remains open. There is no doubt that gender quotas in
Poland have resulted in the highest ever percentage of women in parliament,
although their representation still has not reached the level of a quarter of all
members of parliament. Another issue that is still open is whether the number
of women in politics translates into their substantive representation. These
issues were addressed during the workshop and conference “(No) women in
politics – is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible?” organised
jointly by the Institute of Public Affairs and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation on
26-27 September 2013, with the participation of a former German minister of
justice, Prof. Herta Däubler-Gmelin, Prof. Małgorzata Fuszara, and Prof. Darina
Malová.4
4
The workshop and conference are described in more detail at the end of this publication.
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible?
9
10
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
Poland: gender quotas on election lists
Women are still a minority group on the Polish political scene. Their
participation in senior power positions, both at the national and local level,
does not exceed 30%. If one looks at the central government level – and this is
where the focus of this study is – the percentage of women in the Polish Sejm
has been systematically growing since the transformation. So far, we have
been able to note three such increases of women representation at this level:
in 1993, this percentage grew from 10% to 13%, in 2001 it rose to 20%, and in
2011 reached 23.7%. In the two latter cases, the positive change is due to the
quota mechanism.
Table 2.
Share of women in the
Polish Sejm
Source: Inter-Parliamentary
Union, November 2013
Attempts to introduce gender quotas to election lists have appeared on
the Polish political scene several times. The first attempt was made when
the act on the equal status of men and women was drafted in 1996. The draft,
presented to the parliament several times, was not adopted. Only 14 years
later was an act of law passed which referred to equality issues (The Act on
Implementation of Certain European Union Provisions on Equal Treatment5).
It did not, however, cover the issue of equal participation of men and women
in political life. Another failed attempt to include a quota mechanism in the
election law took place in 2001. The first success in this matter – which did
translate into an increased percentage of women members of parliament
– was the introduction of voluntary gender quotas by the three main (at that
time) political parties. The second breakthrough in the promotion of balanced
5
Act dated 3 December 2010 on Implementation of Certain European Union Provisions on Equal Treatment
(Journal of Laws of 2010, No. 254, item 1700).
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 11
representation of women and men in Polish politics was in 2009, when the
first Women’s Congress took place.6 Women decided to create their own space
for celebrating the anniversary of the 1989 events. The Congress, preceded by
a series of regional conferences, was a convention of more than 4,000 women
from all over the country. The women who initiated the event included
women members of business organisations, female scientists and academics,
actresses, theatre and film directors, journalists, government current and
former ministers, women from very different environments and professions,
with various interests and political views. The Women’s Congress gave rise
to a very strong women’s movement that has spread throughout the entire
country.
One of the key demands of the Congress was the introduction of gender
parity on election lists. In order to put it into practice, a Citizens Committee
for Legislative Initiative “Time for Women” was formed, whose aim was
to have a gender parity law enacted by the Sejm, whereby at least 50%
participation of women in the election lists would be ensured. The collection
of signatures under the draft of such a law began in 2009. The campaign was
warmly welcomed by the media and artists’ circles. The female members of
the Congress as well as the men supporting the idea of equal opportunities
for men and women in politics targeted unusual places for political debate,
such as e.g. shopping centres. Due to the “massive” mobilisation, at the end
of December, the citizens’ draft of the gender parity act was submitted to
parliament. After several delays in the discussion on the draft, success was
achieved and the act was passed, although differing significantly from the
original draft. Its aim, however, remained the same – to guarantee that women
had some clearly defined representation on the election lists, and thus, their
chances of winning a seat in parliament have been made similar to men’s. In
Poland, the quota mechanism only applies to proportional elections, where
election committees propose more than one candidate, by registering an
election list in a given election district. This is the type of elections to the
lower chamber of parliament and to the legislative bodies in voivodships
and poviats. The quota mechanism was applied for the first time in the
2011 parliamentary elections. In accordance with the new rules, every list of
candidates from each of the election committees has to have at least 35% of
both female and male candidates. The election results brought the highest
ever percentage of women members elected to parliament in Poland – women
now make up almost 24% of all members of the lower chamber of parliament,
which is the highest representation among the Visegrad countries. It should
be noted, however, that a quota mechanism without the guarantee of
alternating places for male and female candidates on the lists does not make
the chances of men and women fully equal.
6
12
More about the origin of the Women’s Congress in Poland: Page 2.
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
Czech republic: gender quotas in political parties’ structures
In the Czech Republic, the drop in the percentage of women in the National
Assembly between the last communist government and the first cabinet after
1989 was 20 percentage points (from 30% to 10%). The rather complicated
political scene in the Czech Republic, which was also the fate of all the young
democracies after 1989, was the reason why women had very little chance
to make political careers. In the late 1990s, when the party system reached
relative stabilisation, their participation in the lower chamber of parliament
increased significantly, to reach 17% in 2002. In the subsequent elections,
participation fell to 15.5%, reaching the highest level since 1989 – 22% – in
2010. The early elections in 2013 brought the percentage of women in the
Czech parliament down to 19.5%.
Table 3.
Share of women in the
Czech parliament
Source: Inter-Parliamentary
Union, November 2013
Over the course of almost 25 years, Czech women members of parliament
have doubled their participation. What could have significantly influenced
this change was the fact that the main left-wing party introduced a gender
quota in its internal power structures, but not directly on the electoral lists. At
the beginning of the 21st century, eská strana sociáln demokratická ( SSD)
was the first Czech political party to introduce a requirement of 25% women
in party structures at various levels. This quota does not, however, apply to
places on election lists. Yet, it should be noted that the social democratic
party in the Czech Republic usually proposes more female candidates to the
parliament than other political parties. In 2002, SSD had 25% women on its
election lists, the highest percentage among all election committees. In 2006,
the greatest percentage of women was proposed by the Green Party (34%)
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 13
and the Communist Party – KS M (26%), although SSD still reserved 24% of
the places for female candidates. In the subsequent elections, SSD again
achieved the result of 25% female candidates (in comparison to KS M with
30% and V ci ve ejné [the conservative-liberal party] with 27%), and in 2013 it
ensured 24.5% of places on the lists for women, being second most favourable
for female candidates after KS M with 28% women on the lists. Does this mean
that a quarter of social democrat representation in the Czech parliament
is women? Definitely not. Only in 1996 more than 15% MP’s from the Social
Democrats were women. Since then, female MP’s have made up about 10% of
the SSD parliamentary club. This shows that introducing quotas in the power
structures of a political party does not yield satisfactory results as far as the
quantitative representation of women in parliament is concerned. Is the
situation the same if voluntary quotas are introduced by election committees,
as is the case in some Hungarian political parties?
14
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
Hungary: gender quotas on election lists of selected
political parties
In Hungary, the participation of women in politics after 1989 has never
crossed the threshold of 12%. Immediately after the democratic changes, the
percentage of women was extremely low (7.3%), although over the next more
than 20 years, it did not increase much. During the two terms of parliament,
2002-2006 and 2006-2010, women constituted 10% of parliament members.
Yet in 2010, together with the victory of the right-wing party Fidesz, their
participation in parliament decreased, in spite of the highest percentage of
women candidates on the lists since 1990 (19.2%).
Table 4.
Share of women in the
Hungarian parliament
Source: Inter-Parliamentary
Union, November 2013
Why is it that in a country that, in all other respects, does not differ much
from the other countries of the region, the political participation of women at
the national level is so low? After all, two Hungarian political parties apply socalled “soft quotas” – internal party regulations determining the percentage
of women on the lists. These parties are the Hungarian Socialist Party – Magyar
Szocialista Párt and the Politics Can Be Different party – Lehet Más a Politika
(a liberal and ecological party). Neither of them has won a majority (MSZP
– 19%, LMP – 7.5%), with more than two-thirds of seats having been won by
Fidesz in coalition with the Christian-Democratic People’s Party. This only
partially explains the low participation of women in the recent term of
parliament. The previous national assemblies, dominated by left-wing political
groups, also had a very low representation of women. As the Polish example
also shows, the implementation of a quota mechanism can be ambiguous. If
women are positioned at the bottom of the lists, as was the case of Magyar
Szocialista Párt in Hungary or Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish agrarian
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 15
party) in Poland, they will have almost as weak a chance of being elected, as if
they had not appeared on the list at all.
Another factor, which may explain the situation of women in the
Hungarian parliament is the electoral system. It is a mixed system, combining
a proportional one with single-member districts. Hungary is the only Visegrad
country with such a system for parliamentary elections. Since Hungary
and Slovakia have one-chamber parliaments, the electoral law cannot vary
depending on the legislative body. In the case of Poland and the Czech
Republic, the electoral laws are different for each chamber. Members of the
higher chamber are elected under the single-member districts system. As
a result, even though there are more women in the lower chambers than in
the Hungarian or Slovak parliaments, there are significantly fewer women in
the Senate (in Poland, in the 2011 elections only 13% of women were elected,
whereas in the Czech Republic in the 2010 elections – 15%). This example shows
how important it is to note what electoral system is applied in the individual
countries and what impact the electoral law may have on the chances of
women in elections.
In Hungary, three attempts have been made to introduce gender quotas
in authority holding bodies.7 In 2007, attempts were made by two members
of parliament from a liberal party, who proposed two different laws. The first
attempt provided for the introduction of the so-called “zipper mechanism”
(alternating men and women on election lists) and one-third of women among
government ministers. The other one proposed a quota of 30% of women in the
government. None of these proposals was accepted by parliament. Another
attempt was made by civil society. In 2010 non-governmental organisations
tried to organise a referendum, although they did not manage to collect the
required number of signatures. The following year, the subject of quotas
returned in Hungary together with a parliamentary proposal to reserve 33%
of places on election lists for women. Unfortunately, the proposal submitted
by individual politicians did not win political support, and this attempt to
introduce a mechanism of making the chances of men and women in the
election process equal also failed.
7
R. Várnagy, Women’s (under)representation in the Hungarian Parliament, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, October 2013.
16
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
Slovakia: no quotas
Slovakia is the only Visegrad country that does not have any quota
mechanisms for making the electoral chances of men and women equal,
either at the national or the party level.8 This does not mean that the
representation of women in the Slovak parliament is significantly different
from the participation of women in the parliaments of Poland, Hungary or the
Czech Republic. Currently 16% of Slovak members of parliament are women.
This is the highest percentage since 1990. It is not, however, a result of a wellthought-out strategy of supporting women in politics but rather arises from
the fact that when the political scene was being formed after the political
transformation, a few influential women managed to strengthen their
positions.
Table 5.
Share of women in the
Slovak National Council
Source: Inter-Parliamentary
Union, November 2013
As Slovak women activists point out, the subject of women’s participation
in political life does not appear in the public discourse in Slovakia. The lack
of discussion about political participation of women makes it impossible for
the issue of quotas to find its way into the consciousness of politicians and
citizens. This has resulted in a number of active women willing to do something
for the female community, moving to the non-governmental sector, whereas
those women politicians who have made it to parliament and managed to
reach a high position are afraid to address issues identified as women’s issues,
as they would risk being perceived as “not serious”. This element of genderrelated stigmatisation is visible in all V4 countries.
8
D. Malová, Low Participation of Women in Politics: the Case of Slovakia, Department of Political Sciences,
Philosophical Faculty, Comenius University, Bratislava.
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 17
18
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
European Parliament
The representation of women in the European Parliament is more than
30%, which means that Europe en masse has reached the critical mass
necessary for effective formulation by women of their interests in decisionmaking bodies. The vote on the Directive on improving the gender balance
among non-executive directors of the biggest European public companies is
a good example here.9 Women from the Visegrad countries account for 10% of
all women members of the European Parliament and the representations of
those four countries hold 14% of seats in the European Parliament. Regarding
the percentage of women among national representatives, women politicians
from Hungary and Slovakia are in the best situation, as at the beginning of 2004
they accounted for, respectively, 38% and 36% of their representations and in
subsequent elections this proportion was reversed, with Hungarian women
holding 36%, and Slovak women – 38% of the seats assigned to members of the
European Parliament from Hungary and Slovakia.
Table 6.
Share of women in
national representations in
European Parliament
Source: European
Parliament 2013
In the case of the Czech Republic and Poland the situation is different. The
participation of women in European politics is lower than in national politics,
which also occurs in just three other EU member states – Malta, from where
there are no women representatives in the EP, Luxemburg and, Belgium. In
the first elections to the European Parliament after the enlargement, in 2004,
Czech women won 21% and Polish women only 15%. During the following
elections, the representation of Czech women was reduced to 18% while the
Polish representation grew by more than six percentage points. If, however, we
9 On 20 November 2013, the European Parliament, with a majority of votes, supported a proposal for a directive aimed at increasing the representation of women in corporate boards of the biggest public companies. As
many as 459 MEPs voted for the initiative, 148 voted against and 81 abstained.
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 19
look at the absolute numbers, then, because of the way in which the European
Parliament is composed, the number of Polish women is the highest among
all Visegrad countries – as many as 11 female MEPs have seats in Strasbourg.
An evaluation of the activities of MEPs in the area of issues related mainly
to the life of women, would be a good tool to check to what extent quantitative
representation translates into advocacy of the interests of a given group.
One should, however, take into account that it is difficult to identify the socalled “issues important for women”. The debate about this constituted an
important part of a workshop during which women activists, academics and
officials from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia discussed
the question of the participation of women in politics. Participants pointed
out the problem of identifying the issues important for women, which can be
defined in different ways. In addition, a problem of different political views
among women was also raised, as these views also determine women’s
attitude to certain issues related to women’s rights and choices. Abortion is
an example of such an issue, with conservative circles completely opposing it.
Both during the workshop and the conference, the discussion centred on
the problem of descriptive and substantive representation of women. This
is, indeed, the fundamental issue when analysing the participation of underrepresented groups in politics. Contrary to several opinions, it seems worth
separating the issue of the number of women in power structures from the
political decisions taken by these bodies. The struggle for the biggest possible
representation of women in parliament is not supposed to serve, primarily,
the purpose of improving the economic situation, increasing the number of
nurseries and kindergartens, or liberalisation of the abortion law. Making
the participation of men and women in decision-making more balanced
is to serve the purpose of implementing the principles of justice. Whereas
substantive representation of women may of course be connected with a
stronger women’s lobby, one should not forget that there are also men who
act in support of women’s rights. Undertaking action in support of certain
specific solutions is naturally ideologically loaded. Therefore, a woman MP
with conservative views may, in the opinion of social democrats, act worse
than a social democratic male MP and vice versa; in the opinion of Christian
democrats, a socialist woman MP may act against women by voting in support
of abortion for social reasons. To sum up, it is important to make sure that
there is a balance between the number of male and female members in the
parliament. Seeking a higher descriptive representation of women is thus a
general public priority. The issue of political views of individual members of
parliament influences the nature of substantive representation. It is of key
importance, however, that subjects important from the perspective of women
with conservative, liberal, or left-wing views, which may vary, do appear in
the parliamentary debate. For this reason, it is worth making efforts to have
substantive representation of women in legislative bodies.
20
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
On a Berlin underground train, an 8-year old girl asks her mother, “Mum,
can there be a male chancellor?” A journalist from The New York Times rightly
points out that profound changes have taken place in the German politics
and for a young child, the question of whether a man can be the head of the
government is not absurd, it is well justified.10 Even though in the same text
the author mentions that a lot of people are not happy that Angela Merkel
does not raise issues which are important for women, there is no doubt that
she has changed the mindset of many German girls about their professional
career and has inspired their aspirations. To put it briefly, her presence in the
highest position of authority in the country might have a positive influence on
the level of descriptive representation in the future, although not necessarily
on the substantive representation.
German politics has not always been so open to the presence of women.
Prof. Herta Däubler-Gmelin, in her presentation during the conference “(No)
Women in politics – is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible?”
talked about her own experience connected with the beginning of her political
career in the mid-1960s. The constraints that she came across were similar
to those identified today in the Visegrad countries. Lack of support from
male party leaders, the non-transparent process of compiling election lists,
stereotypes related to the home-related sphere attributed to women, all made
it difficult for women to take up a political career in Germany in the 1960s.
However, thanks to the determination of many women, change was able to
happen. In 1988, the Social Democrat Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische
Partei Deutschlands; SPD) introduced a quota within the party, applying to
both the composition of the party management and the election lists. One of
the workshop participants remembered how at the first meeting of her party
group she was elected to its management. The 45% quota in SPD mobilised
men to cooperate with women and to support the development of their
political careers. The change that took place over the 1980s and 1990s made
it possible, for instance, for the current Chancellor Angela Merkel to get to the
top in political career in Germany and for the German members of parliament
– to take more than one-third of the seats in the Bundestag (36%).
The conference in Warsaw and the workshop that preceded it provided an
opportunity for women experts and politicians as well as representatives of
government administration, academia and non-governmental organisations
from the Visegrad countries to share ideas for possible action that could lead
10 C. Wergin, A Woman for All Seasons: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/opinion/wergin-a-woman-for-all-seasons.html [access: 30.11.2013).
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 21
Conclusion and recommendations
to a similar change in their countries. The discussion focused on the two main
questions: how to increase the descriptive representation of women, i.e.,
what should be done in order that the political representation in our region
becomes more gender balanced? And, how to effectively promote the increase
in the substantive representation, i.e., how can a situation be achieved in
which women politicians address the issues important for women? Even
though the pictures of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary differ
substantially from the point of view of these two types of representation, the
identification of some barriers common for all the countries made it possible
to formulate proposals for action to improve the situation of women in the
political life of the region. The recommendations have been divided into four
groups: those leading to a diagnosis of the situation of women in politics and
monitoring of potential changes, those requiring legislative change or changes
in the political parties’ internal regulations, those related to strengthening
the leadership qualities of women, and those concerning the public debate
around the presence of women in politics and equal opportunities for men
and women.
The first step towards designing effective actions, adjusted to the specific
nature of each of the countries, is a diagnosis of the basic reasons for the low
representation of women in the political realm. Expert studies of international
organisations unequivocally point to political parties as the entities that
have great influence on the chances of women in elections and their role in
representative bodies.11 That is why political parties should be thoroughly
studied with regard to the presence of women in them, with particular emphasis
placed on the leadership structures, the role of female members in those
structures and their access to party funds. The activities of political parties
should be monitored with particular diligence during electoral campaigns, as
it is during these times that the selection and media presentation of women
candidates affect their election success to the greatest extent. As shown by
the analysis carried out by the Institute of Public Affairs,12 the insufficient level
of democracy within the parties has a negative influence on the participation
of women in party management structures, as well as in the local and central
authorities. In order to support the development of democratic mechanisms
in political parties it is necessary to influence the party culture, but also to
introduce some specific regulations, such as, for instance, provisions in party
rules and regulations ensuring a quota mechanism and the zipper principle
of placing candidates on election lists or clear rules for spending party
funds. The research carried out by the Institute of Public Affairs “Kobiety na
listach wyborczych [Women on election lists]”13 pointed to the process of
11 P. Norris, M.L. Krook, Gender Equality in Elected Office: A Six Step Action Plan, OSCE ODIHR 2011.
12 Mechanizmy demokratyczne w polskich partiach politycznych. Opinie i rekomendacje [Democratic
mechanisms in Polish political parties, Opinions and recommendations], ed. J. Zbieranek, Institute of Public
Affairs, Warsaw 2012.
13 Kobiety, Wybory, Polityka [Women, Elections, Politics], ed. M. Fuszara, Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw 2013.
22
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
election candidates’ selection as the key for implementing the principle of
gender equality. From this perspective, it seems particularly important to
recommend that all political parties from Visegrad countries, at least one year
before elections, should clearly define the criteria for this selection. The same
research also showed that introducing quotas to election lists increased the
presence of women politicians in representative bodies. This is, however, only
the first step towards increasing the descriptive representation of women. It
is of key importance which position is held by a candidate on the list of a given
party. This is why it seems necessary to introduce, in all Visegrad countries,
gender quotas on election lists supplemented with the so-called “zipper
mechanism”, that is, alternating men and women along the list. Referring
to legislative changes, one should not forget about legal solutions which
influence the presence of women in the public sphere in a much broader
sense. These include, for instance, flexible forms of employment for mothers
and fathers, as well as paternity leave which men cannot transfer to their
wives or partners. A solution that would certainly make it easier for women
politicians to reconcile family life with their professional career would be the
creation of parent-friendly infrastructure in the parliaments of our region.
Increasing the descriptive and substantive representation of women will
not be fully possible without improving women’s leadership competences. To
this end, the cooperation between women already operating in the political
sphere should be strengthened, including local communities. Engaging
women representatives of business in activities promoting the stronger role
of women in decision-making bodies has proved extremely effective in the
Polish reality. The mechanism of mentoring, that is, the transfer of knowledge
by experienced women politicians to women who are at the beginning of their
political career, should definitely be promoted in the whole of East-Central
Europe. This is why we recommend the formation of women’s sections in the
political parties of our region. One should not forget, either, about improving
the competences of women’s organisations. Establishing close cooperation
between their members and representatives of the academia would definitely
bring about improved effectiveness of their advocacy activities.
The last sphere requiring change that should lead to equal chances for men
and women in access to elective bodies is the generally understood public
sphere. Restoring the memory of the role of women in the process of political
transformation was a driving force for the organisation of the first Women’s
Congress and thus gave rise to a particularly strong women’s movement.
This is why we find it so important to study and highlight the significant role
of women in the democratisation of our region. The way of thinking about
women in East-Central Europe is still linked with the old regime and history,
which a lot of people would like to forget. Therefore, it is necessary to change
the public discourse around the legal mechanisms increasing the presence of
women in politics so that it is no longer identified with solutions from the era
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 23
before the transformation. In order to improve the situation of women in the
public sphere, a partnership family model should also be promoted, as it has a
positive influence on the equality of opportunities for men and women. It is an
area where transformation is extremely difficult, as it requires deep changes
in the public debate and, in consequence, in the awareness of our societies.
The groups of recommendations divided according to the representation
level they concern, are presented in the table below.
DESCRIPTIVE
REPRESENTATION
LEVEL
SUBSTANTIVE
REPRESENTATION
LEVEL
DESCRIPTIVE
REPRESENTATION
LEVEL
SUBSTANTIVE
REPRESENTATION
LEVEL
24
DIAGNOSIS OF THE SITUATION AND MONITORING OF CHANGES
• Gender audit should be carried out among the key political
parties in the Visegrad countries, checking such aspects
of the party functioning as: the existence of voluntary
gender quotas within the party, presence of women in the
party management structures, the existence of a written
procedure for the selection of elections candidates, access
to party funds, party culture, etc.
• Election campaigns should be monitored regarding the
balanced presence of male and female candidates from a
given party.
• A qualitative study should be carried out on the presence
and role of women in political parties in East-Central
Europe.
• There should be systematic monitoring of the
implementation of international equality legislation,
including the principle of equal treatment for men and
women in all Visegrad countries.
LEGISLATIVE CHANGES AND CHANGES IN POLITICAL PARTIES’
INTERNAL REGULATIONS
• Gender quotas should be introduced on election lists in
all Visegrad countries together with the so-called “zipper”
system; that is the obligatory alternating of male and
female candidates in the first ten places of the lists.
• A provision on gender quotas or gender parity on election
lists as well as the zipper mechanism should be included
in the statutes of all political parties in Visegrad Group
countries.
• Political parties in the East-Central Europe region should set
clear criteria for the selection of candidates for election lists
at least one year before elections.
• The system of financing political parties in the countries of
the Visegrad Group should be modified in such a way as to
encourage political parties to spend part of their funds on
initiatives supporting their female members.
• Codes of ethics for members of parliament should include
provisions on symptoms of gender discrimination.
• Legal changes should be introduced, such as paid paternity
leave or flexible forms of employment for mothers and
fathers, to support the partnership division of domestic
duties between men and women.
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES
DESCRIPTIVE
• Women’s sections should be responsible for organising
REPRESENTATION
training for women within political parties and running
LEVEL
mentoring programmes, consisting of the transfer of
experience and providing support to female party members
by their more experienced women colleagues.
• A provision on gender quotas or gender parity on election
lists as well as the zipper mechanism should be included
in the statutes of all political parties in Visegrad Group
countries.
• Political parties in the East-Central Europe region should set
clear criteria for the selection of candidates for election lists
at least one year before elections.
• The system of financing political parties in the countries of
the Visegrad Group should be modified in such a way as to
encourage political parties to spend part of their funds on
initiatives supporting their female members.
• Political parties should promote public appearances of
their female members, in particular during parliamentary
debates.
• It is worth supporting initiatives promoting the presence of
female experts and politicians in the media.
SUBSTANTIVE
• Efforts should be made to form and then monitor the
REPRESENTATION
activity of women’s caucuses in the Visegrad countries.
LEVEL
• Efforts should be made to form women’s sections in
political parties of Visegrad countries.
• Women’s organisations in East-Central Europe should
establish cooperation with representatives of academia and
research institutions in order to improve the effectiveness
of their advocacy activities.
• Female representatives of business from Visegrad countries
should be engaged in the women’s movement as advocates
of increasing the presence of women in the public sphere
and in decision-making bodies.
• It is worth supporting initiatives aimed at improving the
competencies of women as local community leaders.
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 25
PUBLIC DEBATE
DESCRIPTIVE
• Public discourse should be changed with respect to gender
REPRESENTATION
quotas and other legal mechanisms aimed at increasing the
LEVEL
presence of women in politics.
• It is worth initiating a broad experts’ debate on the impact
of the electoral system (majority, proportional, mixed) on
ensuring equal opportunities for men and women in the
electoral process. The debate should also include the theme
of existing mechanisms for levelling the above-mentioned
inequalities in the majoritarian electoral systems (twinning,
all women’s short-list).
• It is worth organising a series of seminars on democracy
within the political parties in all Visegrad countries, and
on how the condition of this democracy influences the
situation of women in politics.
SUBSTANTIVE
• It is worth highlighting the role of women in the process
REPRESENTATION
of democratisation of East-Central Europe by organising
LEVEL
an international conference commemorating the 25th
anniversary of the political transformation.
• A report describing the role of women from East-Central
Europe would be a perfect form of strengthening and
consolidating the results of the conference.
• Organising congresses of women, both at the central and
regional levels, in all Visegrad countries, would create a
space for discussion on the issues and problems important
from the point of view of women.
• Action should be undertaken to change the awareness of
societies in East-Central Europe on the partnership division
of domestic duties and on how it influences the presence of
women in the public sphere, including politics.
26
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska
The Project “Towards greater participation of women in Visegrad
countries” was implemented between March and November 2013 by the
Gender Equality Observatory of the Institute of Public Affairs and the
Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The aim of the Project was to develop solutions
for increasing the participation of women in East-Central Europe. During the
workshop organised on 26 September 2013, 18 female activists, academics,
and representatives of government administration from the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland and Slovakia talked about specific barriers standing in
the way of political careers of women in the individual countries. They also
discussed strategies that could be applied to increase the representation
of women in politics. The first part of the meeting was moderated by Prof.
Małgorzata Fuszara of Warsaw University, the second part was chaired by
Kristin van der Leest from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights. The Conference on 27 September, held at the National Stadium
in Warsaw, consisted of two panels. After addresses by Dr Jacek Kucharczyk,
Knut Dethlefsen, and Prof. Herta Däubler-Gmelin, Dr Marcin Walecki from the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights moderated the
discussion, with the participation of Dr Réka Várnagy (Institute of Political
Science, Corvinus University of Budapest), Veronika Šprincová (Fórum 50 %,
Prague) Prof. Darina Malová (Faculty of Philosophy, Comenius University in
Bratislava), and Prof. Małgorzata Fuszara (Institute of Applied Social Sciences,
University of Warsaw, Congress of Women). The panel dealt with mechanisms
for increasing the chances of women in the electoral process. In the second
panel, moderated by Anna Dryjańska of the Feminoteka Foundation, the
participants were Mónika Magyar (Hungarian Women’s Lobby) and Lucia
Zachariášová (Gender Equality Department, Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs of the Czech Republic). The second part of the conference was devoted
to the issue of substantive representation of women. Below is a list of the
workshop participants:
1. Małgorzata Druciarek (Institute of Public Affairs, Poland)
2. Prof. Małgorzata Fuszara (University of Warsaw, Women’s Congress,
Poland)
3. Anna Karnikova (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Czech Republic)
4. Eszter Kovats (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Hungary)
5. Alena Krempaska (Human Rights Institute, Slovakia)
6. Petra Kubalkova (Apeiro, Czech Republic)
7. Kristin van der Leest (Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe)
(No) women in politics. Is a common strategy for East-Central Europe possible? 27
About the project
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
28
Anna Lendvai (Member of the City Council, Budapest, Hungary)
,
Zuzana Madarová (Aspekt, Slovakia)
Mónika Magyar (Hungarian Women’s Lobby, Hungary)
Aleksandra Niżyńska (Institute of Public Affairs, Poland)
Alexandra Ostertágová (Aspekt, Slovakia)
Małgorzata Perkowska (Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for
Equal Treatment, Poland)
Katarzyna Piotrowska (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej [Democratic Left
Alliance], Poland)
Gitta Rajnai (Women’s Riot, Hungary)
Veronika Šprincová (Forum 50 %, Czech Republic)
Julia Walter (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Germany )
Lucia Zachariášová (Gender Equality Department, Ministry of Labour and
Social Affairs, Czech Republic
Małgorzata Druciarek, Aleksandra Niżyńska