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Women and politics: the summer push towards gender equality
By Paola Furini and Sara Spadafora
October 20, 2020
Sicily and – albeit with a substitute intervention by the Government – Apulia are the Regions that, having fallen behind, made progress during the past summer against gender discrimination, adopting measures to ensure a more balanced representation between men and women in elective offices.
Such interventions are today more than ever desirable, especially in Regions like those just mentioned, where the almost total lack of female presence in institutions has made it appropriate to adopt measures to encourage access to political offices.
Themes such as female representation in elective assemblies and, more generally, the institutions aimed at rebalancing gender representation, are moreover widely debated even at the European Union level, whose law has affirmed since its origins the primary principle of gender equality. In fact, it is precisely thanks to the succession of regulatory interventions at the international level that a significant evolution towards gender equality in political participation has been recorded, although this has been achieved in different percentages among the various Member States.
A brief mention must be made of Italy which, although today it is above the European average (35.8%) in terms of the percentage of women elected to Parliament, can only be partially satisfied since, in fact, gender equality in politics is still far from being achieved. A quick glance at local administrations is enough to realize that currently only two women are elected Regional Presidents out of twenty.
Yet, there is no lack of regulations, starting from the constitutional provisions that pertain, directly or indirectly, to the matter of equal opportunities between the sexes in general and with specific reference to elective offices. We list them below without claiming to be exhaustive:
- Article 2 of the Constitution establishes that the Republic recognizes and guarantees the inviolable rights of man, both as an individual and in the social groups where his personality is developed; a rule that could be read, as far as is relevant here, in conjunction with Article 49, according to which all citizens may freely associate in parties to contribute with democratic methods to determining national policy;
- Article 3 of the Constitution establishes in the first paragraph that all citizens have equal social dignity and are equal before the law, without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinions, and personal or social conditions (the so-called principle of formal equality); in the second paragraph it assigns to the Republic the task of removing economic and social obstacles which, by limiting the freedom and equality of citizens, prevent the full development of the human person and the effective participation of all workers in the political, economic, and social organization of the country;
- Article 51 of the Constitution provides that all citizens of either sex may access public offices and elective positions under conditions of equality, according to the requirements established by law; it also assigns to the Republic, for the purpose of pursuing such equality in access to public offices and elective positions, the task of promoting equal opportunities between the two sexes with appropriate measures;
- Article 55 of the Constitution introduces the following principle: “The laws that establish the methods of election of the Chambers promote the balance between women and men in representation,” and Article 122 of the Constitution provides that state legislation defines the fundamental principles to promote at the regional level the balance of gender representation, and that the regional election system is governed by regional law, in compliance with the fundamental principles established by national law;
- Article 117, paragraph VII, provides that “regional laws remove any obstacle that prevents the full equality of men and women in social, cultural, and economic life, and promote equal access between women and men to elective offices,” in order to achieve gender balance in electoral consultations.
Returning to Sicily, last June 10 the Sicilian Regional Assembly unanimously approved the bill on “Rules relating to the functioning of the regional government” which provides for the requirement of a minimum gender presence of one third, thus preventing the possibility of an all-male council. “A sign of modernity that makes Sicily one of the most advanced regions in Italy,” declared the President of the Sicilian Regional Assembly.
In truth, this is a measure that in fact aligns the Region with the situation already existing at the national level: consider first of all Tuscany, whose council is composed of four women and four men, and Emilia Romagna which has four women out of twelve councilors. Instead, currently in the Sicilian Council, in clear contrast with the above-mentioned constitutional provisions, out of twelve councilors there is only one woman.
In fact, Sicily, far from being on this issue one of the most advanced Regions in Italy, really needed to expressly provide for a gender presence requirement and it is a very powerful positive signal that this innovation was approved by the Regional Assembly with unanimous vote.
To complete the review of what has happened in recent months, let us continue the reasoning on the national principle of gender equality in access to elective offices by recalling what happened in Apulia, where the Regional Council failed to vote on the law that provides for gender voting with double preference as it should have done for some time in compliance with Law 15 February 2016 no. 20, which identified the criteria to be followed by the regional electoral system to ensure equal opportunities.
The inaction of the Council prompted the Government to replace the Region in the exercise of legislative power by issuing on July 31, 2020, Legislative Decree no. 86 on gender balance in regional elections, precisely in application of the aforementioned national law and in view of the September 2020 elections.
It is clear that the Region’s failure to comply with the national law, apparently desired by councilors of all political forces, was due to reasons of opportunism that are not relevant to this discussion. What is regrettable is that the Apulia Region underestimated the importance of this matter, sacrificing it in favor of other interests.
On the other hand, it must be recognized that the legislative provisions in question introduce a legal constraint in the choices of those who form and present the lists, and also of the voters, which is often subject to criticism; however, probably even today it still represents in our country a necessary tool to achieve the goal of “effective equality” between men and women in active political representation. The only effective way to rebalance candidacies and votes seems, in fact, to be that of “reserved quotas” and guidance in favor of female candidates. It is a bitter observation, as it is a symptom of the persistence of many economic and social obstacles that hinder women from reaching top positions in politics as well as in the workplace and professions, in the public as well as in the private sector, and certainly not for reasons of pure merit.
We therefore appreciate the spirit of the two recent provisions adopted in this area in Sicily and Apulia (or rather, by the Government for the Apulia Region), whose primary objective is to broaden free access to active public life and to the widest possible representation for the benefit of all, in compliance with the fundamental principles of our Constitution and the universal rights of the person. These considerations, in a country where even today on average only 25% of elective offices are held by women, allow us to overcome the criticisms of those who dislike the imposition of female participation, which still needs to be strengthened; not to mention that the protection is primarily towards gender balance in all its expressions and areas.
We may, hopefully, one day overcome the need for special legislation in this area, but the time has not yet come: according to recent studies, Italy is in 76th place out of 153 countries in the world for its ability to bridge gender differences.
One of the reasons for the reduced participation of women in political and administrative life is to be found in that cultural legacy – typically Italian – according to which politics and, in general, the res publica is a “man’s thing,” while women are destined for the care of the private sphere and the care of relatives, with a clear separation of roles that relegates women to being, first of all, wives, mothers, daughters.
It still happens, unfortunately and sadly, that it makes news when a woman rises to a prestigious position, and that the suspicion arises of the existence of a “protector,” strictly male, who for some more or less honorable reason has facilitated her appointment. In essence, that she was “put there” for merits not her own, or in any case for other merits.
To ensure that this way of thinking becomes foreign to us, measures such as those mentioned here are welcome, even at the cost of forcing the system; so that we may continue on the path begun when, just 75 years ago, Italian women obtained the right to vote, which the chronicles of the time described as “something now ‘inevitable’, given the times.”
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