tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post9061300940769576999..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: national's women candidateskatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-55992278406913279042008-08-21T10:42:00.000+12:002008-08-21T10:42:00.000+12:00but there are certain experiences, which are not s...<I>but there are certain experiences, which are not shared, that can affect a person's ability to advocate for issues.</I><BR/><BR/>I'm not comfortable with that line of thinking, to be honest. If we say that female MPs need to be present to make policy that effects women, one doesn't have to follow that train of thought too far before arriving at the conclusion that we need MPs who are lawyers to discuss legal policy, MPs who are accountants to discuss economic policy, MPs who are soldiers to discuss defense policy...DPF:TLDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06372937855256319716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-5721451922836735902008-08-20T14:57:00.000+12:002008-08-20T14:57:00.000+12:00"but there are certain experiences, which are..."but there are certain experiences, which are not shared, that can affect a person's ability to advocate for issues."<BR/><BR/>Well, lawyers advocate issues all the time even though they may have no personal experience of the matter, or even disagree with the position (incidentally, lawyers generally seem overrepresented in govt). <BR/><BR/>I think it depends on who the person sees as their constituency. For instance Winston Peters has been very effective & very popular with older pakeha voters. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand Ruth Richardson & Jenny Shipley might not be seen as being particularly great advocates for women's issues. <BR/><BR/>Of course in terms of perception with the public people may feel better represented if they see a woman in charge of a certain portfolio that relates to women's issues.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-12990439436113076832008-08-20T12:54:00.000+12:002008-08-20T12:54:00.000+12:00but there are certain experiences, which are not s...but there are certain experiences, which are not shared, that can affect a person's ability to advocate for issues. therefore it is much more likely that effective women MPs in positions of power within the caucus will be better able to advocate for issues of importance to women. that is not to say that all powerful women will do so, but when looking at the gender balance or ethnic balance, what you're looking for is whether or not there will be someone who can put forward a different perspective; who can raise awareness of issues that would otherwise be ignored. of course they work on policies that affect the whole population as well.stargazerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-82642477383800552052008-08-20T12:31:00.000+12:002008-08-20T12:31:00.000+12:00"Tricky one Ben - some feminists would argue that ..."Tricky one Ben - some feminists would argue that more women = better governance, but I think most feminists (including me) would say that the calibre of the candidates, including their attitudes to women and feminism) is more important!"<BR/><BR/>Well, that's pretty much my view. We should look at candidates as individuals and what there beliefs are, not their skin colour or gender.<BR/><BR/>Although human nature being what it is, people tend to identify with people they see as similar to themselves (in group vs outgroup bias). And often those similarities are assumed on the basis of race or gender.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-13878359032770121212008-08-19T22:33:00.000+12:002008-08-19T22:33:00.000+12:00Ben, I think the general operating principle of pa...Ben, I think the general operating principle of parliamentary democracy is that voters want people in parliament who support the same policies as us. Parliament is first and foremost a body for getting policies implemented.DPF:TLDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06372937855256319716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-90070838786868134312008-08-19T18:58:00.000+12:002008-08-19T18:58:00.000+12:00Tricky one Ben - some feminists would argue that m...Tricky one Ben - some feminists would argue that more women = better governance, but I think most feminists (including me) would say that the calibre of the candidates, including their attitudes to women and feminism) is more important! There are pragmatic reasons to include women, though. Under-represented groups benefit from seeing their own in leadership positions.Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06076244041878300351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-6683740506019916202008-08-19T17:56:00.000+12:002008-08-19T17:56:00.000+12:00"Brash demoted her in retaliation for being "uppit..."Brash demoted her in retaliation for being "uppity" (not taking shit from him. Who does she think she is? A DWM?), and Key has sadly continued that."<BR/><BR/>My understanding is she didn't agree with the treaty policy so couldn't really continue being spokesperson for that portfolio. If an evil white male had said they couldn't advocate the policy then they also would have been demoted. <BR/><BR/>I'm not sure about her place on the list previously, but she is at least spokesperson for Maori Affairs again. <BR/><BR/>Hugh,<BR/><BR/>"Anna, I agree - I find it hard to work up outrage on behalf of people like Te Heuheu or Pansy Wong because, although they may be women and minorities, if they were given higher rankings they've shown every sign they would support the same bad policies as their white male colleagues."<BR/><BR/>So having more women represented in Parliament isn't necessarily a good thing if they don't support your policies?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-24545888344389327132008-08-19T14:11:00.000+12:002008-08-19T14:11:00.000+12:00Anna, I agree - I find it hard to work up outrage ...Anna, I agree - I find it hard to work up outrage on behalf of people like Te Heuheu or Pansy Wong because, although they may be women and minorities, if they were given higher rankings they've shown every sign they would support the same bad policies as their white male colleagues.<BR/><BR/>ACT is a good example of a party that does give good list positions to female and minority MPs, and yet their policy positions are even more objectionable than the Tories.DPF:TLDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06372937855256319716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-74127427300051594022008-08-19T10:26:00.000+12:002008-08-19T10:26:00.000+12:00It's certainly interesting to look at the Nat's de...It's certainly interesting to look at the Nat's decisions re placement of women candidates, but I can't say the injustice of it fills me with much outrage. Their lack of interest in their female candidates simply reflects their lack of concern for social justice issues more generally. I don't feel too sorry for anyone who gets shafted in the pursuit of an inequitable political programme, regardless of how talented they are.Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06076244041878300351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-40139971649662460022008-08-19T10:15:00.000+12:002008-08-19T10:15:00.000+12:00sure, she's one of the four between 31 and 40, sit...sure, she's one of the four between 31 and 40, sitting at 37. she's one of a group of 4 ethnic candidates pushed up to show national apparently now promotes ethnic diversity. didn't see her as worth a special mention, since i didn't name any of the other new candidates. i was more interested in who will have power and influence in the caucus, particularly in terms of women's issues. newcomers spend a lot of the initial period finding their way, by which time the agenda and tone has been set.stargazerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-30804930396932095422008-08-19T02:34:00.000+12:002008-08-19T02:34:00.000+12:00Anjum, did you notice... Melissa Lee??Anjum, did you notice... Melissa Lee??The Bewildering Case of Ms Enid Tak-Entityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01567000425894218950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-76932991188767965202008-08-19T00:11:00.000+12:002008-08-19T00:11:00.000+12:00Anne Tolley is a second-term MP; she was in Parlia...Anne Tolley is a second-term MP; she was in Parliament between 1999 and 2002.<BR/><BR/>And before Brash came along <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgina_Te_Heuheu" REL="nofollow">Georgina te Heuheu</A> was consistently ranked in position 7 or 6 on National's list - initially because they wanted to bring in some new talent on the list while signalling that they took Maori seriously, and then in recognition of her abilities and mana. Brash demoted her in retaliation for being "uppity" (not taking shit from him. Who does she think she is? A DWM?), and Key has sadly continued that.Idiot/Savanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08993069909613708957noreply@blogger.com