North's women are more politically active than we know

WHY are there are so few women politicians in Northern Ireland? Why is it that in more than 20 years since Bernadette McAliskey was elected as a Westminster MP, no other woman from the North has ever taken a seat there?

The stock reason given for the failure of women to rise to the surface of the North's mainstream political current is that, by virtue of their womanhood alone, they are not interested in the sectarian bickering and macho posturing that often passes for politics. They are, so the reasoning goes, far too sensible for all that.

But if they can't, or simply don't want to, shoe horn themselves into the male defined model of political participation, then it follows that they must be inadequate political actors. Neat theory, perhaps. But not a valid one, according to a new study, Women and Political Participation in Northern Ireland.

The study, by Robert Lee Miller and Rick Wilford from the school of social sciences at Queen's University Belfast and Freda Donoghue from the National College of Industrial Relations, Dublin, challenges the male centred definition of political participation which instantly puts women off the political map and into terra incognita. It does this by redrawing the political map to include uncharted areas.

The basic premise of the study is that in order to find the extent of women's political participation in Northern Ireland, you have to go beyond the statistics of the percentages of women in each party or the numbers running for elections.

For the record, the statistics supplied for the study by the UUP, SDLP, Sinn Fein and the Alliance Party show that, with the exception of Alliance, women are a numerical minority in all the North's political parties. (The figures do not include the Democratic Unionist Party because, the researchers say, it failed to respond to requests for information.)

But the study sets out to chart women's political participation in a wider context which it defines as "any activity which is undertaken in order to influence policy and decision makers".

Besides the more routine measures of voting, party membership, pressure group activity, political campaigning and contact behaviour, the definition, includes letter writing, membership of work related organisations, voluntary bodies, Church bodies and a range of domestic activities.

The authors are seeking to find out if women "participate not less than, but differently from, men" in Northern Ireland politics.

BASED one interview's with a sample of 1,402 women and 384 men," the research shows that women in the North are, overall, only slightly less politically active than men and slightly less likely than men to join political parties. But in areas such as charitable activities, voting, and predictably, participation in women's movements, they are more active.

Detailed probing of a smaller sample leads the researchers to conclude that gender is, however, not a key factor inhibiting women from participating politically. In fact, in relation to a number of levels of high political activity, the reverse is the case, with women emerging as more active than men.

What the research does show is that the most important factors influencing women's political involvement are high educational attainment and occupational status and a partner who is supportive of their political activities.

In relation to motives for political involvement, the study shows that there is more uniting than dividing the sexes. Both men and women rank personal satisfaction highest, followed by a felt responsibility to future generations. So the authors conclude that they have debunked a major sociological myth on the differences between the two sexes - that women are inactive and men active. "The great weight in the results is towards similarity rather than difference," they say.

Now, debunking sociological myths is all very good, but such findings alone won't have the North's political leaders tripping over each other to recruit new women and promote those already within their ranks.

A few other results of the study, however, might induce them to begin to consider how better to cater for their voters on issues beyond the constitutional question.

They include the finding that almost two thirds of all female respondents and half of male respondents endorse an increase in women's representatives at national level, with 45 per cent of women agreeing that, in general, things would improve if there were more women in public office.

The majority of women and half of men who support the UUP, the DUP, Alliance, SDLP and Sinn Fein also believe the parties they identify with do not best represent the interests of women.

The survey also found that women politicians were viewed as typically more honest, caring, practical and hard working than men. Male politicians: were more typically likely to be perceived as, corrupt and ruthless.

When, and if, the tenor of political debate in Northern Ireland ever moves towards normal political discourse, the most effective model for winning votes, say the authors, may not be that of the "strong leader" but rather the "caring friend".

HOWEVER, the authors sound the following note of caution: women have been comparatively successful at local government level to date in the North (the proportion of successful female candidates for local council elections rose from 7.2 per cent to 12 per cent between 1977 and 1993) but this may be precisely because the powers of the local councils are so insignificant. "Bins, bog and burials" is the colloquial phrase which sums up the feeble powers of local politicians to regulate health and environmental services.

If power ever returns to local politics in some future devolved administration, it is likely men will seek to do so as well.

"It is not enough for women in effect to wait on male politicians to reach a broad political consensus," the authors say. "Women too must make the peace, else they risk marginalisation, an all too familiar experience throughout the island of Ireland."