Siân Gwenllian MS Working for the people of Arfon

by Siân Gwenllian MS, Chair of the Women’s Cross-Party Group in the Senedd

History was made in our national parliament last week, and not for the reasons that might first spring to mind. In a debate in the Senedd, Members agreed the general principles of the Senedd Cymru (Electoral Candidate Lists) Bill, colloquially called the gender quotas bill, which will require at least half of a party’s election candidates to be women. This commitment formed a key part of my party’s Co-operation Agreement with the Welsh Government and is a cornerstone of our efforts to create a more diverse, representative, and effective Senedd. 

Although campaigners such as myself will be hesitant to celebrate after hearing that the Government wants to delay implementation until the 2030 election, this is however a significant step forward. We know that progress isn’t linear, and our national parliament’s journey is a reminder of that fact. Despite becoming the first parliament in the world to achieve equality of gender representation in 2003, it has become apparent that was a highwater mark, and the presence of women in the Siambr has gradually diminished since. The number of women MSs is currently at one of its lowest points since the start of devolution.    

There are two grounds upon which feminists such as myself have fought for gender quotas in our democracy: the hard, statistical evidence, and the day-to-day lived experiences of women. Both are important, and both were front and centre of the debate in the Senedd on Wednesday.

The counterargument to statutory gender quotas most resorted to is that gender balanced representation should, and could, happen organically. But the evidence is clear.

It’s only by putting a statutory mechanism in place that we will create a Senedd that is truly representative, and therefore truly effective as a legislature. For example, in the 2021 Senedd elections, women made up only 31% of candidates. This is despite parties having voluntary gender quotas. Research by the Women’s Equality Network shows that with national, statutory gender quotas in place, parties have on average almost 19% more women on their lists than parties that are not subject to gender quotas. The Senedd’s cross-party group on women, of which I am Chair, has heard presentation after presentation from international experts on the importance of quotas in order to create and maintain gender equality, and I stress the word maintain, and how having balance in terms of gender where decisions are made leads to better decision making for the whole population, including the 51% in Wales who are women. It leads to more effective democracy for all citizens.

But the lived experiences of women that I referred to is also key in making the case for legislative gender quotas. It’s about listening to women’s voices, and I thank colleagues in the Senedd who outlined some of their experiences in the debate. Whether it was during my time in university politics, a then male-dominated world, or my time serving as the sole woman Cabinet Member in Gwynedd, it is women such as myself who have that lived experience. It's us who have suffered as a result of being the only woman around the table. It is us who suffer unconscious bias, and it’s us who are ignored and derided. It's us, the women, who know how gender balance supports our efforts to make the world a more equal place for women and girls in the future.

As I have alluded to, it’s disappointing that the Welsh Government don't intend for this change to come into force until 2030. I made clear in the Senedd that if the political will existed in London, in the corridors of power of the new Government, I am convinced that it would be possible to include the quotas as a key part of reform in 2026. I asked for assurance that the Labour Party in Cardiff and in London will find ways of removing any potential legal barriers. Without quotas, the current reform package is unfinished and incomplete, and I am truly concerned that we will find ourselves with a Senedd that is larger, but one that is even less representative than it has been in previous years.

The conversations about the knotty legal aspects will continue, but we have nevertheless voted for the general principle of gender quotas through law last week, and that is historical and trail-blazing achievement. It has taken some of us a lifetime's work to reach this point, and that is a reason to celebrate.