India amending constitution to designate that one third of all seats be held by women.

[G_j]

http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/indias-female-leader-quota-should-the-u-s-have-one/

India's Female Leader Quota: Should the U.S. Have One?
posted by: Robin Marty


It's a highly controversial idea. India is in the process of amending the constitution to designate that one third of all political seats must be held by women.

The amendment is a long-sought tool to improve the lot of women in India, the world’s most populous democracy. Despite having had several formidable female leaders — including former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi, the current leader of the Congress Party — Indian women lag behind men in virtually every sphere of life.

Various governments have been trying to get the amendment passed since the 1990s, but each has failed despite wide support across the political spectrum. The fight over the bill illustrates the often vicious competition between caste, religion, ethnicity and gender over who will benefit most from laws designed to reduce inequality.

The move is being fought by many, and the reasons behind it aren't necessarily the fear of women in power, but of women being used as puppets for male leaders who could access these easier, reserved seats with the backing of their large fortunes and political connections. It could also make the available "male" seats even more competitive, once again giving advantage to those with the most money.

Although it appears that there would be numerous kinks to work out of the system (something that could be addressed quite a bit if there were spending limits on campaigns, I would think), the idea of a representative quota is a very intriguing one if it could be applied to the United States. Although women make up more than half the country's population, they are only 17 percent of Congress.

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[ensho]

1. thank you India - we should have our House/Senate be 50% women

because there are more women in the US then men and there are more women in the world then men.

its unfair that men rule.

[jody]

2. Each state would have a male & female senator but how do you distribute the 435 seats in the House?

Why stop at gender, what about ethnic or other classifications?

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. Female candidates do pretty well WHEN they run

But the vast majority of candidates for major office are male.

[G_j]

5. sometimes I think that is because

some men are more interested in power than women, at least the kind of power politics offer.
Of course, that is just simple speculation, I really have no idea.

[Lance_Boyle]

3. No, thanks. I prefer a representative democracy of elected officials. n/t