THE SOCIALIST ALLIANCE is too old, too
white, too male. Doing nothing about that
hasn't worked, so we need an approach
that can tackle that imbalance at all levels.
That's what the resolution adopted by the
Socialist Alliance conference is all about. It
commits us to getting 50 per cent women
in our structures by the next AGM.
Only one third of our members are
women. Eighteen members of the outgoing EC were male and only six women.
The National Council was predominantly white middle-aged men. There are no statistics for our election candidates, but there is no reason to think they are likely to be much different.
Campaigning on questions such as low pay and decent child care will be important in recruiting and involving more women, but they won't in themselves be enough. We need confidence-building measures to combat the fact that women are constantly told by capitalist society that they aren't up to the job.
It is not about bureaucratic rules, as some of those who oppose concrete measures argue, but about the fact that without something definite in place, there will be no change.
The idea that promoting women is counterposed to support for other disadvantaged groups is a red herring. As more than 50 per cent of the population, we are a diverse group. We are lesbian, we are black, we are disabled.
Everyone has been inspired by what happened in Scotland, but we wouldn't have a situation where 4 out of the 6 MSPs were women without the 50:50 rule. While SWP support for the resolution was welcome, it was also noticeable that it was less fulsome than in the same debate inside the SSP.
Let's follow the Scottish example on this question as on others and work to implement this policy locally and nationally. • ....