Tag Archives: all-women shortlists

Opinion: Why the Lib Dems need all-women shortlists

By Nat Jester | Published 14th October 2011 - 2:48 pm

In his Lib Dem Voice piece “Too male and too pale” – Why shortlists and the Leadership Programme are not the answer, Paul Head states that he is totally opposed to all-women shortlists (AWS) because they ‘ignore the real problem’ that this reflects in the party as a whole; and that we need to engage more with women and BAME people on a grassroots level and change from below.

This is a sensible argument, and is something that we should strive for. However, I believe that there is a place for AWS in the Liberal Democrats, despite the fact that …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , | 48 Comments

“All-Women Shortlists May Be Necessary, Senior Lib Dems Accept”

By Mark Pack | Published 19th September 2011 - 10:23 pm

So reports the Huffington Post:

Senior Liberal Democrats have accepted that the party may need to resort to all-female shortlists or other tough measures to increase the representation of women and minority groups among its MPs…

Tim Farron MP … said that he was “utterly embarrassed” that only seven of the party’s MPs were women.

He said:

“Over the years we’ve had several debates on the crushing lack of women in the House of Commons, and our zero lack of representation from black and ethnic minority communities, and the debates we’ve always had are about the practical way to create equality and the

…

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Posted in Conference | Also tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Dinti Batstone writes… If not now, when?

By Dinti Batstone | Published 17th May 2011 - 5:27 pm

Notice anything about this 5-minute BBC report on House of Lords reform? While it talks of ‘revolution in the air’, every interviewee is a white middle aged man.

Yet House of Lords reform could – if the Coalition chooses to make it so – prove a game-changing opportunity to promote the cause of gender balance at Westminster.

Our Commons party consists of just 12% women and the Commons as a whole barely 22%. The reasons for this are complex and different in each party, but electoral volatility and a leaky pipeline of female candidates are two major factors for the Liberal …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Opinion: No to All-Men Shortlists‏

By Jo Swinson MP | Published 9th November 2009 - 11:25 am

At our 2001 party conference I donned a shocking pink t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “I am not a token woman” and spoke in opposition to all-women shortlists.

Eight years on, I am still opposed to the use of single gender shortlists, but I wonder if I was then taking aim at the wrong target.

Research done by the party in advance of Nick Clegg’s recent appearance before the Speaker’s Conference showed, as I argued back in 2001, no evidence that our party discriminates against women in candidate selections.

Far from it: analysis of 237 selections shows that two thirds of the time where a woman is on the shortlist, a woman is selected.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , | 57 Comments

LDV readers say: no to all-women short-lists and quotas, yes to better training and support

By Stephen Tall | Published 8th November 2009 - 1:45 pm

Three weeks ago, LDV posed the following question – How should the Lib Dems increase their number of female MPs? – in the wake of Nick Clegg’s frank admission to the Speaker’s Conference that the Lib Dem Parliamentary Party is “woefully unrepresentative of modern Britain”.

Here’s what you told us:

  • 8% (23 votes) – All women shortlists and/or quotas in ALL seats
  • 7% (22) – All women shortlists and/or quotas in winnable and held seats
  • 44% (133) – No short-lists and/or quotas, but invest in getting more, better-trained and supported candidates
  • 14% (42) – No short-lists and/or

…

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Posted in Voice polls | Also tagged | 30 Comments

NEW POLL: How should the Lib Dems increase their number of female MPs?

By Stephen Tall | Published 21st October 2009 - 7:40 pm

At the Speaker’s Conference yesterday, Nick Clegg delivered a frank assessment of the Lib Dem Parliamentary Party, calling it “woefully unrepresentative of modern Britain”. It’s not hard to see why. No ethnic minority MPs, and just nine female MPs among our 63 representatives. Woeful is the word.

The real question is: what to do about it? Nick has previously indicated – and repeated the point in his submission yesterday – that he would consider recommending all-women shortlists be adopted by the party after the next election if he’s unable to point to real progress in improving the Parliamentary party’s representativeness. …

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Posted in Voice polls | Also tagged , , | 60 Comments