Quota system will boost women’s participation in politics, says Sabah think-tank

KOTA KINAALU: Sabah should consider the quota system adopted by Scandinavian countries and Pakistan to boost women’s participation in politics.

Institute for Development Studies Sabah (IDS) chairman Datuk Adeline Leong said several European countries had successfully implemented gender quota systems.

Sabah can draw invaluable insights from them to address the lack of women’s underrepresentation in politics locally, she said.

“Advocating for the introduction of quotas or reserved seats for women is crucial, as it can provide a substantial boost to representation.

“Furthermore, political parties must put in greater efforts to actively support women candidates.

“Investing in training programmes and resources for women to acquire the skills and knowledge needed for political careers is equally essential,” she said at the opening of the Dialogue on Tackling Sabah’s Under-Representation of Women in Politics here on Thursday (Sept 14).

She said Sweden had spearheaded a system since the early 1970s that required political parties to maintain an equal numbers of men and women candidates on their electoral lists.

“This has resulted in a high level of gender parity in Swedish politics. Norway followed suit, imposing a 40% gender quota for political party candidate lists. This led to a substantial increase in women’s participation in Norwegian politics.

“France, in 2000, introduced a similar system for legislative elections, where parties must field an equal number of men and women candidates or face financial penalties,” she said, adding that the measure also significantly increased women’s representation in Parliament.

“These examples showcase different approaches to achieving gender balance in politics across Europe, emphasising their importance in fostering greater political inclusiveness,” she added.

Leong said in the Asian region, Pakistan’s policy on women in politics has evolved significantly from the 1940s to the 2000s and in its early years after independence in 1947, it reserved seats for women in its legislative bodies to promote their participation.

“A pivotal development occurred in 2002 during the era of General Pervez Musharraf which saw a substantial leap by increasing the number of reserved seats for women to 60 in the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies.

“These reserved seats were allocated based on proportional representation, ensuring that women had a more substantial and equitable role in shaping the nation’s politics,” she said.

She hoped the dialogue would address the pressing issue of under-representation of women in Sabah’s political landscape by exploring the reasons behind this gap, examining the limitations women face and identifying the right approach and policy implementation for women in politics.

She said the overall percentage of women involved in politics remains low, despite efforts to enhance their participation in Parliament starting in the early 1980s.

“Currently, it is truly concerning that there are so few women candidates in elections. Only 43 out of the 447 candidates, or 9%, participating in the 2020 Sabah state elections were women,” she said.

In the current state legislative assembly, Leong said only seven out of 79 assemblymen, a mere 8%, were women.

Furthermore, there were only three women among the state’s 25 MPs.

“It just shows a glaring gap in the representation of women in our political decision-making processes that we must confront head-on,” she added.