To Quota or Not To Quota

Off the back of International Women’s Day (which should be every day am I right?), I’ve 

been thinking a lot about gender equality and how it can actually be achieved. Gender equality in the workplace is something that’s been talked about for at least 15 years now, but not much progress has been made in the UK or US.

‘Controversial’ quotas for women in senior roles have been debated for as long as I can remember. Everyone knows we need more female representation in the House of Commons, and it’s common knowledge that despite the Equal Pay Act of 1970, women still earn significantly less than men. All of these facts are scandals in and of themselves. But what is worse is that these and other factors are acting as barriers to true gender equality. As a feminist, calls for a 50:50 House of Commons, the use of All Women Shortlists (AWS), and quotas for women in senior business roles are a logical and achievable step towards achieving equality. You might be surprised to know that the country with the highest proportion of women in Parliament is Rwada, yes Rwanda. If they can do it, we have no excuse.

So why is the UK holding back? Let’s get in the know about the pros and cons of some forms of affirmative action.

There are already mild forms of affirmative action in the west which encourage more women into positions of power, and out of our comfort zones to places men usually have no problems going to. In the US, Emily’s List is a cross party initiative which trains and puts forward female candidates in elections where traditionally men have won. They have had lots of success stories, with Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren benefitting from their aid. In Canada, Invite Her to Run is an initiative of Trudeau’s Liberal Party which allows you to nominate women in your community who is a great leader but who would never think to put herself forward for political office.

Both of these initiatives speak to the problem us ladies have of believing in ourselves. According to the Liberal Party’s initiative, research shows a woman is 50% less likely than a man to consider herself a potential candidate for elected office. Men have no problem in saying, “I’m awesome, people should vote for me”. We have to hear it from somebody else. I think the UK would benefit from a scheme like this. Women need to be told that our skills our transferrable to politics and that it isn’t just about showboating and saying, “I’m awesome!” (Although that helps!). 

But what about more solid forms of affirmative action? Let’s have a look at the evidence

·         Many have claimed that all women shortlists (AWS) reduce the quality of candidates by excluding men, but actually the evidence shows otherwise. Rather than facilitating the entry of unqualified women, much like the American and Canadian initiatives AWS reduce the barriers for well-prepared women. Not only have they proved to produce diligent and active MP’s, they have shown to have positive or neutral effects on party vote shares.

·         Believe it or not, Swedish data even shows some evidence that AWS improve the quality of male candidates too. Recent British examples have seen an improvement in ethnic diversity resulting from AWS.

Nugent and Krook (2015), “All- Women Shortlists: Myths and Realities”, Parliamentary Affairs 1-21

Anyone spotted a downside yet? No, me neither.

·         In the case of quotas, there are mixed findings. Evidence collected from randomised gender quotas in Indian political Institutions showed to increase female leadership, as well as reduce gender discrimination. However gender quotas on corporate boards showed evidence that corporations found ways to circumvent the quotas which ultimately undermined the impact of quotas.

·         More recently, LSE called for gender quotas to be mandatory in professions such as politics, law and communications to bring more women to positions of power. The same study claimed the current state of gender relations “creates dilemmas of work-life balance which are detrimental to women’s quality of life, and to women’s life chances, across social spheres”, and they argue that only radical measures like quotas will spur change.

·         Just last year Catalyst found years of global evidence suggests corporate gender quotas are in fact working where they are used. Countries which introduced quotas came top of the 20 countries with the highest % of female representation in the boardroom. Norway was the first country to introduce mandatory quotas, and it came top of the list, with 35.5% female representation in OMX listed companies.

·         However, here in the quotaless UK, we haven’t even managed to reach our target of 25% female boardroom representation. Instead we lie in 6^th place, with 22.8%. This is more than Germany though, who’s ratio last year was 18.5%, and who this year are introducing a quota for 30%.

Does this index then, suggest that quotas are simply necessary if we have any hope of reaching targets for equal gender representation in corporations? I think quotas are something we have to do if we really are serious about equality. And I would question anyone who thinks such measures aren’t necessary to overcome the inexcusable over representation of men in the most influential positions in society. Ladies, we need to get in the room where it happens!

Ladies who Rock

Joni Mitchell…all hail Queen Joni. She was the first singer songwriter to completely blow me away. If you’ve never listened to her, stop reading this and get to Spotify. I’d recommend starting with songs like, “California”, “Chelsea Morning”, and “Clouds”. Once you’re initiated, go ahead and listen to the masterpiece that is Blue from start to finish; my sister got me an original copy of Blue on vinyl for my 21^st birthday and I reached peak Joni.

Ella Fitzgerald…I challenge anyone who says her Christmas album Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas isn’t the greatest festive album of all time

Billie Holiday…she could sing my phone bill and I swear I would still get chills.

Jenny Lewis…so it turns out I low- key like country music?

Beyoncé…every album of hers has further confirmed my love and admiration for her. She was once criticised for not speaking out about racial relations in the US, but has any reasonable person got a single argument against her since Formation?

Taylor Swift...I was sceptical at first but then came Red, shortly followed by Lena Dunham becoming friends with her, and the rest is history.

The Staves…the folk girl gang.

Nina Simone…she’s an absolute hero who weirdly nobody seems to talk about. Her performances were always amazing and she could say so much by saying so little. I’d highly recommend watching What Happened, Miss Simone? if you want to know more about her. 

Spring/Summer Literary Wish list

As much as I’d love to recreate the perfect image of curling up in front of the fire with a good book and a hot chocolate, all I want to do in winter is watch movies. My reading time is spring/summer. For me, there’s no better way to spend a summer’s day than outside with a book and a mojito- lemonade, I mean with a lemonade…

1.    The Cursed Child, JK Rowling. This is not a sequel. I repeat this is NOT a Harry Potter sequel. JK Rowling can try, but it doesn’t make me any less excited about this play. (But reading a play is never the same, it’s like reading sheet music amirite?)

2.    Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert. I’m an Eat Pray Love gal through and through so I’m dying to know what pieces of wisdom Gilbert has lined up for us in her latest best seller. This has been out for a while but better late than never eh?

3.  All Too Human: A Political Education, George Stephanopoulos. I’m a sucker for a good political book. This was released in the late 90’s and is a glimpse into the early days of the Clinton administration, when it was ambitious, hopeful and optimistic. Written by George, who served as Clinton’s communications director, I’ve heard it’s an amazing insight into what it’s really like to work with politicians behind the scenes at the highest level.

4.    Cook Happy, Cook Healthy by Fearne Cotton is a gem I’ve been waiting for all my life. I am obsessed with Fearne’s Instagram predominantly for her amazing recipes, some of which I hope she’ll share with us in this book! It’s due to be published on 2^nd June.

5.    My Life on the Road, Gloria Steinem. If Emma Watson recommends a book, you read it. This memoir promises to steal my heart. Gloria Steinem has been through it all, literally, including the last 2 waves of feminism. I have a feeling this will be one I don’t put down.

PS, I can’t emphasis enough how this is just a shortlist; I have a constant list of books to read on my iphone notes! So these really are the chosen ones.

What do you prefer reading? Non- fiction, novels, memoir, graphic novels?

What books are on your shortlist right now? I would love to know!

Reclaim the Night MCR 2016

The reclaim the night movement dates back to 1970’s Yorkshire, when the Yorkshire ripper 

was on the loose and fear and uncertainty led to women being discouraged to venture out at night. Since then women around the world have marched in defiance of the culture of victim blaming and shame which is present in nearly all developed societies, and of the injustice of soaring sexual violence figures which are ignored again and again. The aim of the movement is simple- to reclaim the public space which fear and uncertainty has taken away from women.

Manchester’s march has always been a huge success, but this year marked the biggest turnout yet. I first went to the annual march as a student 3 years ago, so I was shocked to see how much the movement has grown and what it has become in such a short time. The speed at which the event has grown only hints at the level to which the community is affected by sexual violence. In the large student community incidents of rape are common, particularly during fresher’s week. I wouldn’t hesitate to bet that if you asked every student in Manchester, they would all know someone affected by sexual violence or harassment. In the city centre, the waiting list for rape crisis support treatment is 6 months.

In spite of these dire circumstances, the movement to reclaim the night is overwhelmingly positive and optimistic about the future. The movement is as diverse as it is powerful- led by women, men, and families. The march is such a sight to behold- and so it should be; thousands of women painted in glitter, singing chants, waving placards and shouting at the top of our lungs. The standout message was this: Sexual violence can no longer be passed off as a freak occurrence; it is an epidemic that we cannot continue to ignore.

Have a look at some of the amazing work Rape Crisis Manchester do with limited resources here!

10 Reasons to be with Hillary #ImWithHer

1.    In spite of recent accusations, she is both radical and progressive. She is the first First lady to be elected to the Senate, and only the 3^rd woman to be appointed Secretary of State. On top of all this, she was perhaps the most politically active First Lady the US has seen, getting stuck into domestic and international issues, which caused some controversy back in the day.

2.    She is the pantsuit Queen. Why would you want to deny the world of a pantsuit wearing President?

3.    She has the most executive experience of all the nominees including the Republican candidates. Her resume includes developing global trade deals, elevating women’s rights to new heights, and uniting a coalition in Qadhafi’s downfall and Libya’s transition. She has practised politics more than anyone else, and this ultimately, is how a President gets things done. It is through practising politics daily, rather than waiting for a dream, too-good-to-be-true candidate that we make progress. #Bitchesgetshitdone

4.    She’s the best of both worlds. Along with being an experienced politician, she's been an activist all her life. She has championed and got her hands dirty in grassroots movements since being a leader in the student’s movement in the 1960’s. She’s rad.

5.    The first female President following the first black President just feels right , doesn’t it?

6.    She cares about your health. She was one of the first senior politicians to champion what we now know as Obamacare back in the 90’s, before Obama was even on the scene. Hillary has expressed that she would take Obamacare one step further to be universal, as she originally intended it.

7.    People criticise her for being cosy with Wall Street, with many big banks making donations to her campaign. But she actually has big plans for reforming the financial system just like Bernie.

8.    Can you imagine the force of nature that would be President Hillary Clinton and Vice President Bernie Sanders? A liberal Democrat super team. *angelic singing*

9.    She is a big believer in diplomacy and using military action as a last resort. During Libya’s uprising, she was a key uniting figure, bringing rebels and politicians together to create an international alliance. Unlike Senator Sanders, she has experience in making tough global decisions on a daily basis, after all, it was her job for 4 years.

10. Hillary Rodham Clinton is a feminist, and protecting women’s reproductive rights by keeping government funding for Planned Parenthood and protecting the right to abortion is one of her major priorities. One of her first political acts as First Lady was to speak at the UN’s 4^th World Conference on Women, declaring, “Women’s rights are human rights”. You can watch her speech here. Surely having a woman as leader of the free world is the ultimate feminist achievement?

#ImWithHer

5 Things: 2015 Reads

Here are the 5 books I couldn't stop thinking about in 2015, along with mini reviews...enjoy!

·         The Martian, Andy Weir

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to love this book. The first couple of pages are a bit overwhelming as you’re thrown right into the plot, and begin wondering how the hell Weir is going to get you from here to the last page. I’m far from scientifically minded, but I found myself getting whisked away by maths and complex engineering (I was as surprised as you are), and it was those details I really missed from the movie. Above all, it’s just a really funny book, and if all else fails the wit of the main character will carry you through.

·         The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery

This is the one book in 2015 which I devoured. I think I read it over 3 days during my final Uni semester, so it was read between seminars, stints in the library, and before bed. Like all good art, the writer finds beauty and delicacy in the mundane. I could have easily read it without plot. But alas, the plot is beautiful also, and you’ll find yourself feeling attached to all the characters in strange ways.

·         Not that kind of Girl, Lena Dunham

I love reading memoirs of women I admire and Lena’s definitely didn’t disappoint. I was so impressed, it’s crazy to think this lady’s not yet 30. It’s best read slowly, in no rush, just picking it up when you need it. I found the reading experience similar to having a close friend pour their heart out to you, and I couldn’t help wanting to respond with things I needed to get off my chest. If you love Lena, you’ll love her book.

·         The Queen of the Tearling, Erika Johansen

This is an amazing book if you just want to switch off your brain for an hour, and let the writer do the work. Johansen has created a unique universe which raises so many questions I still wonder about them to this day. It’s so easy to get lost in the character and story, but there are more interesting layers waiting to be found if you’re looking.

·         Yes Please, Amy Poehler

Before I read this, a book had never brought tears of laughter to my eyes before. Amy Poehler is the comic genius that finally had me rolling around in fits of laughter. She has the power to make everything funny, while also giving out solid lady advice from her own experience. Whether you already love Amy, just want some SNL behind- the- scenes gossip, or if you know nothing about her, the very least her book will do is cheer you up.