Why Jersey needs Female Leadership
It was a discussion group with the UK Ambassador for Rwanda, Yamina Karitanyi, that first stirred the thought inside me. A domino effect was unfurled in my head, gaining momentum as my focus shifted from Rwanda’s Government to our own States chamber here in Jersey. A question, previously unconsidered, sprung to the forefront of my mind; why are there so few women in Jersey’s States Chamber? And - more pressingly - why does no one seem to care?
I can imagine the eyes that just rolled upwards. It’s not a popular topic, typically met with ‘If more women want to be in power then why don’t they put themselves forward?’ or ‘The best people should always be elected - gender shouldn’t come into it.’ To that I agree; gender shouldn’t have to come into it. In an ideal world, where men and women had always been on equal footing, we could effortlessly discard any such discussion. Perhaps one day we’ll be able to. But as we stand now, in a society still rinsing out the stains of patriarchy, barely a century since women even acquired the right to vote, do you truly believe that the conversation about gender has ended?
If you’re a man and your answer is yes, then I think you’re naive. If you’re a woman and your answer is yes (because I know that it will be, for some) then I think you’ve been incredibly lucky. The best and most worthy people should be our leaders; but if 52% of the population are at a disadvantage, we’ve not much chance of achieving that.
Women make up 29% of Jersey’s parliament. That might sound like enough to you, and in the past, the figure had also appeased me. Unconsciously, I had decided that we shouldn’t ask for more. There was an unspoken rule that floated around such subjects, a silent understanding that in Jersey, power belongs to middle aged, white men. How lovely it was, that women had managed to sneak into a third of our Government.
Her Excellency, Yamina Karitanyi, spoke to us about Rwanda. A country that was torn apart in 1994 and left with a festering wound in the shape of one million lost lives. A nation that bares the scars of colonialism and the memory of genocide. Rwanda understood that in order to rebuild a peaceful society, they needed a Government which promoted equality between all its citizens. In 2003, a quota mandated that 30% of Rwanda’s parliamentary seats must be occupied by women. In the United Kingdom, positive discrimination receives a pretty negative public response. Again we hear the words ‘The best people should always be elected’, full of the angry implication that by introducing quotas, equality between the candidates is threatened. It’s a persuasive sentiment, and one which I have even agreed with, in the past. But here’s the crux: in Rwanda, women currently hold a majority of 62% in Government. The 30% quota has been as good as forgotten, and now, in 2021, is no longer even necessary. If concerns about inequity had been valid and the quota had lead to women being unfairly elected, the numbers would have lingered at a stagnant 30%. Instead, the course of the past 27 years tells a different story. Rather than unreasonably benefitting women, the quota was a small push in a necessary direction, facilitating female representation in Rwandan politics. Women who, as the numbers show, have excelled in their positions.
Her Excellency reflected on the use of affirmative action, a dynamite topic in Britain, with a small laugh; she concluded that 30% female participation was not an outrageous mandate, but simply ‘the bare minimum’ that we should be striving for in the 21st Century. A sentence tinged with irony, given that Jersey still hasn’t touched that marker. Now more than ever, in the aftermath of a pandemic and knee deep in environmental crisis, Jersey needs the best possible leaders. Be them of any gender, race, sexual orientation or faith. The obstacle lies here; equality will not roll out naturally. The best people for these positions might never even consider them if they’ve not had the necessary encouragement or support. On a more simple level, it’s about what we see in our environment.
If you went into the island’s secondary schools, and asked the brightest and most politically engaged of Jersey’s youth if they would consider a career in The States Assembly, I can bet that the response would be mostly negative. Just take a look at the Island’s politicians and you’ll see why. It’s a picture dominated by white, middle aged, heterosexual men. In other words, not an image that inspires a teenage girl to pursue a similar career. Instead, it appeals to other middle aged men, who’ve already made some money in finance or radio, and want to try their hand at politics. Ultimately, the numbers do the talking; only 45 women have ever been elected to Jersey’s States Assembly and only 14 seats are currently held by women. We might’ve broken the glass ceiling, but that doesn’t mean much unless we lower a ladder, so that success becomes equally accessible for all. Yes, women can have incredible careers in politics. But in Jersey, you don’t see many of them.
I live in an exquisite place; but for an island so full of money and so firmly in the ‘first world’, we’re rooted in an old way of thinking. What we need is a cultural shift, that recognises all of Jersey’s underrepresented populations, not exclusively women but equally the Portuguese and Polish communities, giving a voice to those who have been typically unheard. The most effective way to instigate this cultural shift is to create a Government which mirrors its people. To wave equality in the face of anyone who might question it. How can we attempt to champion something in wider society if we can’t achieve it in our establishment?
This article all boils down to one point, and with it, I can return to where I began, a discussion with the UK Ambassador for Rwanda. Why did I, as a teenage girl growing in one of the world’s most beautiful, secure and wealthy places, have to look to a nation thousands of miles across the sea, that has so recently suffered a brutal genocide, to see an equitable proportion of women in Government? To my mind- and hopefully, now, to yours- this is simply not good enough.
