When copenhageners next time at the ballot box to a municipal elections, the Socialists opstillingsliste look completely different.
At the weekend it was decided that opstillingslisten must include a minimum of 40 percent women, or men, and that the list should be built up after a lynlåsprincip, where the candidates will switch between woman and man on the list.
Chairman of the board of the Social democratic party in Copenhagen, Jan Salling, justifying the decision with that it is about promoting gender equality in society and the political representation of both sexes.
– We have always had the ambition, and it is not managed well enough, so now we are introducing the here rule, ” says Jan Salling.
Professor emerita at Stockholm University and expert in gender quotas, Drude Dahlerup, call Democratic decision for a possible breakthrough.
– gender Equality does not come by itself, and it is, therefore, to over 100 countries in the world have introduced some form of quotas. Denmark is about to go out the back of the dance internationally, because you almost can’t discuss the issue of gender quotas, and therefore I think it is really beautiful, she says.
Drude Dahlerup is particularly positive about the decision to opstillingslisten must alternate between men and women.
the Decision on quotas for women evoke, however, dissatisfaction with some of the party members. A member of the city council in Copenhagen, candidate for the Danish Parliament for the Social democrats Simon Simonsen calls the decision outdated and undemocratic.
– It has nothing to with equality to do. We must not discriminate on the chromosomes and genes. It is the worst form of discrimination, it is devastating for democracy, and it is a downfall for the Party, if it spreads, says Simon Simonsen (S) for Extra Magazine.
Simon Simonsen acknowledges that the decision is an attempt to ensure a representation that more closely resembling the composition of the population, but he believes that it can get voters to turn away from the Social democrats.
Our party has gone through a good and realistic change of udlændingespørgsmålet, but if this kind of craze gender policy becomes even a kurssvigt, people will – rightly – unfortunately turn away from us, he says.
Simon Simonsen (S) believe instead that the party should do, as they always have done.
– I have been very active to support my president ms Mette Frederiksen, not because she is a woman, but because she is a very skilled politician. I am interested in to ensure that the whole population is politically active, but I’m not interested in that, you must grant privileges to the share of the population over others, he says.
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Professor emerita and an expert in gender quotas Drude Dahlerup, welcomes the Party to the Copenhagen decision welcome. It is no use, that we can’t talk about quotas, she says. Photo: Susanne Mertz
Katrine Forest, which is socialist councillor in the Municipality of Gladsaxe and the co-founder of Helga Network of socialist women, considers that the decision on the establishment of quotas in Copenhagen is a victory.
– You need to do something to get more women into politics, and I believe that the establishment of quotas is an action, which, if nothing else for a period, she says.
Professor emerita Drude Dahlerup is also not in doubt that there must be drastic steps to make up with the tradition of an over-representation of men in the Danish policy.
– There is no doubt that there is a greater chance of being identified and selected, if you are a man. It can look at the numbers, both in Denmark and internationally. We have 37,4 percent women in the Parliament and at the municipal level we are only up 32 percent, says Drude Dahlerup.
She believes that The decision is a small step, but calls for the parties to be more ambitious. She looked like that the Social democrats had set a minimum requirement of 50% women or men on the opstillingslisten, and that the resolution included the whole lot.
Katrine Forest (S) do not believe either that one is in goal with the decision on the establishment of quotas.
– In relation to men, to do a little more work to get women in politics, gender quotas can, of course, does not stand alone. There should also be a piece of work between elections, f.ex. have one in England has been running a campaign to get more women into politics. But a soft effort alone, will not matter, says Katrine Forest.
the Social democrats had at the local elections in 2017 35 candidates in Copenhagen, of which 31,4 percent were women. In the city council of the city of Copenhagen sits currently 15 socialist members, of which 26,6 percent are women.
