“Eighty years after women obtained the right to vote, it is time to move on to a second act of parity in politics” | EUROtoday

IEighty years in the past, on April 21, 1944, French ladies lastly turned residents. Article 17 of the ordinance of the provisional authorities of the French Republic, primarily based in Algiers, promulgates: “Women are voters and eligible under the same conditions as men. » This is a French particularity: the right to vote and the right to be elected were not acquired by parliamentary votes, but by an ordinance in the wake of the Resistance, after one hundred and fifty years of civic mobilizations by stubborn activists.

Eighty years later, where are we in terms of parity in politics? It is clear that if this right of eligibility was a necessary step, it is far from being sufficient in the context of French history and mentalities. Binding laws have been, and still are, necessary for practices and reality to evolve. As proof, if the National Assembly elected in October 1945 had 6% women, this percentage had not changed in 1993, almost fifty years later.

And it was only thanks to the parity movement of the 1990s and mobilization for laws establishing parity in elected bodies that real progress was obtained, notably through the revision of the Constitution in 1999. Article 1 mentions that “the law promotes equal access for women and men to electoral mandates and elective functions as well as to professional and social responsibilities”.

White areas of parity

Today, wouldn't it’s time to alter this verb “favor” to “guarantee”? And to essentially embody parity within the Constitution? The numerous successive legal guidelines of the 2000s have generated simple progress, however many white areas of parity stay. Only 42% of ladies within the municipal councils of municipalities with lower than 1,000 inhabitants. Only 26% of ladies within the executives of intermunicipalities that are 89% led by males. Only 20% of ladies mayors or division presidents. The Senate has solely 36% feminine senators and the National Assembly solely 37% feminine deputies, with no change between 2017 and 2022. Old unequal, discriminatory and sexist practices and stereotypes are tenacious.

We should additionally point out the sexist and sexual violence that elected officers undergo inside the our bodies themselves. In 2021, the Local Elected Officials community performed a survey to which almost 1,000 elected ladies responded. Among them, 74% say they’ve suffered sexist or sexual violence as a part of their mandate. Of these 74%, 82% say they’ve suffered this violence from elected colleagues. These elected officers, dedicated to their territory, to their fellow residents, change into victims. This violence displays a part of the discomfort of elected officers, as evidenced by resignations lately. However, the mechanisms to defend and shield these representatives of the Republic are both non-existent or ineffective.

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