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Trends in Women ’ s Political Representation in Scotland

Trends in Women ’ s Political Representation in Scotland. Meryl Kenny ( meryl.kenny@unsw.edu.au ) Visiting Fellow, University of Edinburgh Vice-Chancellor ’ s Fellow, University of New South Wales Constitutional Futures Seminar

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Trends in Women ’ s Political Representation in Scotland

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  1. Trends in Women’s Political Representation in Scotland Meryl Kenny (meryl.kenny@unsw.edu.au) Visiting Fellow, University of Edinburgh Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, University of New South Wales Constitutional Futures Seminar Session II: Constitutions, Quotas and Women’s Political Representation 14-15 February 2013

  2. Trends over Time: Scottish Parliament Elections

  3. Trends over Time: post-1999 • Overall trend of stasis or regression in numbers of female MSPs elected post-1999 in the majority of the main Scottish parties • Labour only party to adopt strong quota measures across all elections (but post-1999 ‘low cost’ measures aimed at regional lists) • Use of quotas in 1999 (particularly Labour’s ‘twinning’ of constituency seats) continues to hold up headline figures, but overall decline in recruitment/election of female candidates • Women’s representation no longer a matter of party competition • Progress post-1999 brought about more by accident than design, and gender quotas/gender balance still poorly institutionalized within parties (Mackay, 2003; Mackay and Kenny, 2007; Kenny and Mackay, 2011)

  4. Source: Kenny and Mackay (2011) Trends over Time: Scottish political parties

  5. Women’s Representation in Scotland at other levels

  6. How were gains achieved? • ‘Windows of opportunity’ provided by wider reform processes – party and political modernization & feminization, institutional change & constitutional restructuring, and wider international trends (‘quota fever’) • Electoral reform at Scottish Parliament level – new avenues & more places for women (and no incumbents) • Sustained campaign within/outwith political parties on women’s representation (esp. Labour) • Agreements on gender equality/women’s representation through SCC, Electoral Contract, women’s conferences, White Paper & Scotland Act • Women’s representation widely accepted as a general principle and as a matter of party competition (Kenny and Mackay, 2013)

  7. Key Lessons (1) • Change can happen...but need to be vigilant • Importance of organized women’s activists and allies, but gender equality issues can easily slip off of the agenda (Mackay and McAllister, 2012) • Numbers matter...but aren’t everything • Prominent role of women in Scottish Parliament has shaped political priorities and ways of working (Mackay et al. 2003). • But, link not always straightforward & future progress uncertain • Quotas work...but once is not enough • Equality measures haven’t ‘caught on’ across parties or political levels (Kenny and Mackay, 2013) • Implementation is key: importance of winnable seats/positions, transparency/accountability, and effective sanctions for non-compliance (Kenny and Verge, 2013)

  8. Key Lessons (2) • Scotland still a leader...but for how long? • 1999 and 2003 as ‘high tide’ of women’s representation in Scotland? • Continued reluctance of major parties to take bold and sustained action • Wider trends of glacial progress, stagnation or slippage in women’s representation over time and across different levels • Is women’s representation too important to be left up to political parties? • Time has come for stronger measures, including mandatory legal quotas

  9. References and Resources • University of Edinburgh Gender Politics Blog: www.genderpoliticsatedinburgh.wordpress.com • M. Kenny (2013) Gender and Political Recruitment: Theorizing Institutional Change. Basingstoke: Palgrave. • M. Kenny and F. Mackay (2013) ‘When is Contagion not very Contagious? Dynamics of Women’s Political Representation in Scotland’, Parliamentary Affairs (doi: 10.1093/pa/gss109). • M. Kenny and T. Verge (2013) ‘Decentralization, Political Parties and Women’s Representation: Evidence from Spain and Britain’, Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 43 (1), 109-128. • F. Mackay and L. McAllister (2012) ‘Feminising British Politics: Six Lessons from Devolution in Scotland and Wales, Political Quarterly, 83 (3), 730-734. • M. Kenny and F. Mackay (2012) ‘Less Male, Pale and Stale? Women and the 2012 Scottish Local Government Elections’, Scottish Affairs, 80 (Summer), 20-32. • M. Kenny and F. Mackay (2011) ‘In the Balance: Women and the 2011 Scottish Parliament Elections’, Scottish Affairs, 76 (Summer), 74-90. • F. Mackay and M. Kenny (2007) ‘Women’s Representation in the 2007 Scottish Parliament: Temporary Setback or Return to the Norm?’, Scottish Affairs, 60 (Summer), 25-38. • F. Mackay (2003) ‘Women and the 2003 elections: keeping up the momentum’, Scottish Affairs, 44 (Summer), 74-90. • F. Mackay, F. Myers and A. Brown (2003) ‘Towards a new politics? Women and the Constitutional Change in Scotland’ in A. Dobrowolsky and V. Hart (eds) Women Making Constitutions. Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp. 84-98. • M. Russell, F. Mackay and L. McAllister (2002) ‘Women’s Representation in the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales: Party Dynamics for Achieving Critical Mass’, Journal of Legislative Studies, 8 (2), 49-76.

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