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Practising What We Preach Practising what we preach DISCUSSION PAPER | DIVERSITY SERIES | WOMEN Olivia Bailey | December 2015 2 | PRACTISING WHAT WE PREACH ABOUT THE SERIES This is the first of five discussion papers the Fabian Society will publish as part of a new series on representation. The other four papers will cover sexuality, race, disability and class. Labour Party members are encouraged to discuss the ideas in this document and make a submission with their ideas to [email protected]. These submissions will be used in the development of a final report, which will be published in the summer of 2016. The objective of this project is to make practical recommendations to the Labour Party about how it can better reflect the country it seeks to represent by improving the diversity of its representatives, from officers in local parties through to parliamentarians. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Fabian Society would like to thank UNISON for supporting this series, as well as the numerous experts and activists who provided insights and comments on this briefing. In particular: Nan Sloane, Professor Sarah Childs, Professor Rosie Campbell, Fiona Mactaggart MP, Dawn Butler MP, Ann Limb, Barbara Follett, Emilie Oldknow, Anna Yearley, Katie Ghose, Emma Meehan, Cllr Claire Kober, Cllr Alice Perry, Ann Black, Ellie Reeves, Helen Pearce, Cath Speight, Diana Holland, Ayesha Hazarika, and Reema Patel. Thank you also to the thousands of Labour Party members who completed the online survey. The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author alone. METHODOLOGY Research for this report was conducted through desk based research, interviews and a roundtable with experts, and a survey of Labour Party members. 3,107 self-identified Labour members began the survey, with 2,642 completing the last question. 40% of the respondents (1,159) identified themselves as a woman. The survey was open access; anyone with the link was able to complete it. We promoted the survey through a PRACTISING WHAT WE PREACH | 3 range of different means in order to try to reach as wide a pool of Party members as possible, including Facebook adverts, media promotion, and emails to Fabian members. The questions in the survey were designed to be as neutral as possible, and parts were modelled on the British Representation Survey, which has been used at recent general elections. While respondents were asked to speak about their current views of their local Party, their reflections on being a candidate were not time limited, meaning that some of the experiences gathered may not have happened in the recent past. Full data tables for the gender breakdown of the survey results are available at www.fabians.org.uk. Fabian Society 61 Petty France London SW1H 9EU www.fabians.org.uk First published December 2015 This paper, like all publications of the Fabian Society, represents not the collective views of the Society but only the views of the author. This publication may not be reproduced without express permission of the Fabian Society. © The Fabian Society 2015 4 | PRACTISING WHAT WE PREACH INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY “Women are very poorly represented at all levels of the Labour Party, particularly at the top. Why then, when the principle of equality is at the very centre of socialism, has the Labour Party failed so dismally to practice what it preaches?” Quotas now: women in the Labour Party’, Fabian Tract 541, 1990 These words have the same resonance now as they did 25 years ago. 11% Women in the Labour Party are still under-represented, particularly at the top. Although women make up 44% of Labour’s membership and 43% The percentage of of Labour’s MPs, they are just 30% of CLP Chairs, 16% of Labour council senior, appointed staff leaders, 11% of the most senior Labour Party staff and 0% of Labour’s roles held by women in Leadership team.1 While All Women Shortlists and gender quotas have the Labour Party made an important difference, where positive action is not used women’s representation falls away. The Party still has a long way to go if it wants to practice what it preaches on women’s equality. This discussion paper uses the insights of Labour Party members, experts and activists to provoke a debate about what the Party should do to improve the representation of women. It reveals a situation where women remain a minority, kept away from the levers of power, and suggests practical ways the Party can ensure more women are elected, selected and supported to become leaders. As Labour’s National Executive Committee sets about another programme of Party reform, it is time to get serious about fair representation. Otherwise, the ‘new politics’ will look exactly like the old. THE PARTY SHOULD FIRST ACT TO REMOVE THE BARRIERS THAT MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR WOMEN TO BE SELECTED COST: Our survey of 3107 Labour Party members revealed that 49% of women who have stood in a selection for parliament, Europe or a devolved assembly said they couldn’t afford what they needed for their campaign. This is in contrast to 27% of men. One in five (22%) women who stood for council selection said the same. • We propose that the Party follows the recommendation of the Collins Review and urgently explores setting a cap on expenditure during selection campaigns. They should also introduce bursaries for under-represented groups, and PRACTISING WHAT WE PREACH | 5 review the length of the selection process. TRANSPARENCY: Our survey also showed that women are 15 percentage points less likely than men to think the process of selection for a national or regional selection is easy to understand, and just 44% of women agree the process is transparent. • The Party should consider overhauling the information it provides about selections and upcoming selections, making information easier to find and providing more detail about how the process works. They should also develop a training module to be rolled out by regional parties on how the selection process works. DISCRIMINATION: Of the women surveyed who have stood for a national or regional selection, one in five (22%) faced questions that directly related to their gender, such as whether or not they might have children. This is in comparison with 8% of men. One in five (19% of women compared to 7% of men) also faced unwelcome scrutiny of their appearance, and one in three (31% of women compared to 11% of men) faced unwelcome scrutiny of their private life. • We propose that the Party reviews the rulebook and selection guidelines to make it clear that gender 31% discrimination is not permitted in either the formal or informal part of the selection process. They should also of women who stood develop a training module on equality and diversity. This for a national or training should be compulsory for officers in local parties, regional selection who can then run the training themselves in their own faced unwelcome parties. scrutiny of their private life SUPPORT FOR ALL WOMEN SHORTLISTS: Although All Women Shortlists have helped to increase the percentage of women Labour MPs to 43%, there is a bubbling discontent regarding their application. • We propose the Party reviews how it communicates the benefits of All Women Shortlists to members, and considers providing information to members and local parties about the difference they have made. The arguments for positive action should also be included in a new training module on equality and diversity for local parties. 6 | PRACTISING WHAT WE PREACH THE PARTY SHOULD THEN FOCUS ON THE SUPPLY OF WOMEN PUTTING THEMSELVES FORWARD, REACHING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY RETHINK LOCAL PARTIES: There has been a dramatic influx of new members to the Party, and an increase in the proportion of women members from 39% at the end of 2014 to 44% now.2 While women and men are participating in local Party activities in broadly equal measure, of those who attend, women are 8 percentage points less likely to enjoy meetings, 8 points less likely to be able to afford the costs of participating, and 10 points less likely to think people are treated fairly. • We propose the Party reviews how local meetings are conducted, moving towards a more participative and informal approach. The Party should also ensure every local Party elects a women’s officer, and is encouraged to have a women’s forum. • We also propose that the Party supports a new members’ event for women in every region, with local Parties encouraged to hold events as well. ENCOURAGE WOMEN: In our survey, women were 14 percentage points less likely than men to indicate that they might consider standing for a local or national selection in the future (35% women, 49% of men). 62% of the women who said they may want to stand for national or regional office in the future indicated that they might feel intimidated by the skills and experience of the other candidates. This is in contrast to 37% of men. Just one third of women who stood for national or regional selection said that they felt supported in the process. 14 • The Party should consider significantly expanding its training Percentage points. programme for future candidates, supporting local initiatives How much less likely for future councillors as well. The Party should develop and women are than men pilot a mentoring scheme for women who would consider to consider standing standing for national and regional selections. The Party for selection should also consider a formal ‘talent spotting’ scheme that can operate both centrally and in the regions/nations. PRACTISING WHAT WE PREACH | 7 THE PARTY MUST TACKLE ITS LEAKY LEADERSHIP PIPELINE WHICH MEANS THAT THE MORE SENIOR THE ROLE, THE FEWER WOMEN ARE IN POST While Labour has made huge strides to increase the numbers of women represented at every level of the Party, without positive action those women are too rarely being chosen to become leaders.
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