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Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Extending the franchise

Equal Opportunities Committee Chair, Ann Jones has an article in this morning's Western Mail in which she highlights the advances made by women in political life. She also outlines other initiatives being taken to involve under-represented groups in the democratic process.

Of course all this commitment to democracy on the part of Ann and her Labour colleagues would be more convincing if they had not voted down my bid to give the Assembly the power to reform the voting system for local councils so as to make it more representative.
Comments:
And LibDem outcry on the issue would be more convincing if the party adopted twinning or all-women shortlists, instead of toothless shadowing schemes.
 
Hardly, such mechanisms are undemocratic and demeaning to those who benefit from them.
 
Sorry Peter, I can't agree that they are either. Men and women don't start with equal opportunities in fields like politics - pretending it's a level playing field now in the hope that it one day will be is the undemocratic thing. And if some who benefit from positive discrimination feel demeaned by the process, so it also propels highly qualified individuals who might otherwise lose out through discrimination to earnings and influence proportionate to their abilities. Doesn't sound demeaning to me, it sounds appropriate.
 
Giving somebody preference because of theirb sex or their colour is another form of discrimination and puts them in the position of being in a job because of their gender or colour not on merit. That is demeaning to them. It is also undemocratic. The best way to secure equality is to put in place proper support so that they can overcome the barriers that have been holding them back.
 
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