23 October 2023
PhD candidate Zahra Runderkamp is currently researching the representation of women in politics and the high drop-out rate. Liza Mügge, associate professor of Political Science, is conducting research into ethnic and gender diversity in politics and how citizens identify with politicians, among other fields. Together, they spoke about the political representation of women in the Netherlands and why it is still lagging behind. 'There is some sort of generally accepted myth of equality.'
Runderkamp and Mügge certainly don't give the Netherlands a passing mark when it comes to the political representation of women. 'There was a slowly increasing trend', says Runderkamp, 'but we've now plateaued. People often say that things are so much better in the Netherlands and they claim that women have equal rights, but things are still lagging behind here. For example, in the Netherlands, the percentage of female representation in the House of Representatives and at the local level is just above 38%, while just over 50% of the population is female. Clearly the Netherlands is not a standard-bearer.'
Equal rights, but not equal outcomesLiza Mügge
'On paper, men and women may have equal rights, but the outcomes are not equal', adds Mügge. 'In the public debate, people often claim that this imbalance will correct itself on its own, but in the meantime, the Netherlands is placed at the 27thplace in the rankings. If we continue the way things are going, it is estimated that it will take 130 years to achieve political equality in the world.'
'There is some sort of generally accepted myth of equality', explains Mügge, 'and this myth masks processes that influence the outcomes. For example, networks greatly influence a person's ability to become a candidate for political office. These networks are essential in order to make yourself visible, but they are mostly dominated by men. That means women have to work even harder to be accepted as candidates.'
However, encouraging women to enter politics in greater numbers is only one side of the story. 'To reduce the deficit, we must ensure that women have a pleasant working environment within the political world, and we're a long way away from that', says Runderkamp. 'Political assistants tell us that there is a great deal of sexism in the workplace and we are seeing women leaving politics in droves.'
Runderkamp's research shows that many political mechanisms continually work against anyone who isn't white, male, over the age of 50 and highly educated. 'For example, there are late-night meetings or other obligations that politicians have to deal with, but no childcare is provided. Politics pays very little regard to parental duties.'
Politics must become a safe and pleasant environment for everybodyZahra Runderkamp
'It's like a funnel: the pool of potential female candidates gets smaller and smaller with every stage, meaning fewer of them are elected and eventually enter politics. So besides entry percentages, institutional processes will have to change in order to make politics a safe and pleasant environment for everyone.'
What can we expect from the upcoming elections? Runderkamp is curious how much attention the new parties are paying to gender equality: 'New Social Contract (NSC), PvdA/GroenLinks and the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) are all relatively new parties. It is interesting to see how they think about representation issues, both on their electoral list and in the House of Representatives. In addition, voters also have the option to use their preferred vote. At the previous local elections preferred votes already resulted in a lot of extra women. Let's see if this year we get a serious candidate to become the first female prime minister of the Netherlands.'
Does politics work better when it's equally proportional? 'Yes, studies have shown that gender equality in politics delivers better results. Women are better at cooperating, promote inclusive processes that also get citizens involved, and often raise questions in parliament that other people would not raise. Furthermore, it turns out that women are better leaders simply because they have had to work so much harder to get where they are. In short, women raise the quality of democracy. Furthermore, it sends a message to society that politics is a shared responsibility, which helps boost political involvement within the general public', Mügge and Runderkamp conclude.