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The dual politics of representation:women and electoral politics in SouthAfricaShireen Hassim aa Lecturer in Political Studies , University of Witwatersrand ,JohannesburgPublished online: 24 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Shireen Hassim (1999) The dual politics of representation: women andelectoral politics in South Africa, Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies, 26:2,201-212, DOI: 10.1080/02589349908705081

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Politikon, (1999), 26(2), 201-212

The dual politics of representation:women and electoral politics inSouth AfricaSHIREEN HASSIM*

ABSTRACT This article examines the politics of women's representation inSouth Africa. It argues that there has been a significant shift since 1994 in theways in which women's organisations have articulated women's electoralinterests. While women's organisations and women within political parties havebeen outwardly in agreement about the need for increasing women's representa-tion, there are differences in their policy positions with respect to strategies foradvancing equality. Within women's forums, these differences have been openlyand sometimes acrimoniously debated. The article suggests that there is a dualelectoral politics: an external level at which the coherence of women as a groupis emphasised, and an internal level at which differences between women arerecognised and debated. This dual politics is seen as inevitable in a situation inwhich women continue to be numerically under-represented in electoral bodies.The article examines the consolidation of women's gains in representation in the1994 and 1999 elections, and suggests ways in which women's constituencybuilding may be strengthened.

Women's electoral politics in 1994 and 1999 was marked by the collectivedemands of women for participation and representation. In both elections,arguments for the increased representation of women in elected offices, and forgreater visibility of 'women's concerns' in national political debates, marked thesubstance of women's organisations' engagement in electoral debates. By the1999 elections, debates had shifted from concern with numbers to a concern withthe nature and quality of representation and participation. The interventions ofwomen's organisations in electoral politics reflected a concern with specificpolicy issues and party manifestos, and with the relationship between electedwomen representatives and women voters. These shifts suggest a maturing ofwomen's electoral politics, and a consolidation of women as an electoralconstituency. This article charts this process of constituency building amongwomen in the 1999 election, examines the electoral outcomes in terms of theirimplications for increasing women's political leverage in the representativesphere, and considers the challenges that continue to face women in political

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parties and women's organisations with regard to consolidating their constituen-cies.

The idea that women, as a group, constituted an electoral constituency enteredSouth African politics in the early 1990s.1 The interests that were seen to holdthis constituency together, however, were narrowly defined in terms of acommon exclusion from the processes and forums of public decision-making.Indeed, inclusivity had been the prime focus of the Women's National Coalition,the umbrella body of the women's movement, since its formation in 1992. Thefocus on 'getting women in', to a large extent regardless of political ideology,provided the glue which held together a diverse range of women's organisationsand gender ideologies in the run-up to the 1994 elections. Debate focused onmechanisms to achieve women's representation—most notably the quota—ratherthan on the particular interests of different groups of women.

Accompanying the drive to 'get women in' was a concurrent emphasis on'getting women's vote out'. Women's organisations (and, to a lesser extent,political parties) were concerned that their higher levels of illiteracy, poverty andspatial marginalisation would prejudice women's right to exercise their vote. Inaddition, it was feared that a combination of political violence and patriarchalcontrol would keep women out of the electoral process. A significant proportionof women's organisation efforts was therefore devoted to voter educationcampaigns directed at women. These two broad formulations of women'sinterests—ensuring the representation and the participation of women in theelectoral process—constituted the ambit of gender politics in the April 1994election. Within these terms, the strategic approach of the women's movementwas successful. Women constituted a record 27.7 per cent of all parliamentarianselected, placing South Africa in the ranks of advanced democracies on thisindicator. This statistic was widely used locally and internationally to signal theextent to which the new democracy was inclusive. Furthermore, for the 1999election, just over 1.5 million more women than men registered to vote. Thisfigure suggests that women are informed citizens, and that at least at theprocedural level, women are not disadvantaged.

In the June 1999 election, the conception of constituency among women'sorganisations advanced significantly beyond broad formulations. While represen-tation and participation remained key concerns, there has been a much deeperconsideration of the strategic uses of political leverage. This has been facilitatedby a dense network of organisational initiatives to pressurise political parties toconsider both the quality and the extent of women's representation on their partylists, to challenge parties on the gender implications of their manifestos, and toengage in interest group politics around specific policy initiatives.

Constituencies, interests and women's politics

A central feature of South African women's politics in the 1990s has been thenotion of difference—of race, age, location and ethnicity.2 This view differsfrom 'conventional' feminist arguments which seek to treat women as a single

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political group. These arguments focus on justice (the exclusion of women frompolitics is unfair), different values (women bring a specific set of values,experiences and expertise to politics, whether because of biology or socialrelations) or different interests (between women and men in society).3 Whentransposed to debates about representation, these attempts to construct women asa coherent group tend to lead to the replacement of electoral politics—partycontestation over policies—with debates about the premises of various argu-ments. This may be both misplaced and unnecessary in current South Africanpolitics. The glaring disparity between the numbers of women voters and ofwomen representatives, even where formal equality is the norm, underlines thesalience of women as an electoral category.4 Based on this gap, a useful startingpoint to argue for greater numerical representation of women is a strategicperspective suggesting that the likelihood of gender inequality becoming a policyissue is in direct proportion to the number of women representatives. Thirtypercent is seen as the critical mass in national legislatures - achieving this makeswomen's participation effective.5 Though some women representatives may haveneither ability nor inclination to address gender inequalities, this 'scatter shot'strategy suggests their cumulative weight will impact on Parliament.

This argument is valuable because it sidesteps the controversial areas ofnormative judgements about fairness, as well as the essentialist arguments aboutwomen's difference. It does not assume that women are best able to representwomen's interests, or that women's interests are coherent across race, class orage. Rather, it is an argument posed at the most general and pragmatic level, andis relatively detached from assumptions about what kinds of policies are best forwomen, or what kinds of substantive changes are needed to empower women.For this reason, it is an argument that can be made strategically within anypolitical party or NGO that claims to be supportive of gender equality.6

Interest in representation per se is common to all women, regardless of class,race and ideological differences. The demand for greater representation in itsbroadest formulation does not pre-judge the ways in which gender inequalitieswill be taken up by representatives once in the legislature. The issue is rather oneof access to arenas of public decision-making so that the various interests ofwomen can be debated and acted upon.7 Without broad representation, it isunlikely in fact that the complexities of gender inequalities can be fullyappreciated in policy terms. It is a significant gain that today virtually allpolitical parties in South Africa have formally accepted the need for greaterwomen's representation.8

The 1994 and 1999 elections

There are many reasons why possession of the franchise will not immediatelyresult in substantial numbers of women being elected to Parliament. There is nosocial consensus in South Africa as to the political significance of women'sinterests relative to other issues of empowerment.9 The attempt to mobilise thewomen's vote separately by the Women's Party was singularly unsuccessful.10

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While a number of gains have been made at the formal level,11 these gains werewon as a result of elite persuasion rather than by a mass movement of women.This has implications for the process of building an electoral constituency, as thebroad population of women voters is not convinced of the need to elect womeninto positions of power.

An associated tendency is that stereotypes of women's supposed inabilities asleaders continue to hold, despite the greater visibility of women in politics.Anecdotal evidence of this abounds among women in political parties—womenare regarded, even by other women, as incompetent, weak leaders.12 Partypolitical processes also place obstacles to women's election to national office.Fewer women candidates are available because of internal party obstacles towomen's leadership, such as the operation of iocker-room' networks. Socialconstraints on women's entry into politics make fewer candidates available forselection. Women's multiple social roles, in particular their child care responsi-bilities, create a 'time poverty' which keeps them out of formal politics (or atleast keeps out women with young children or elderly relatives who need care).

In South Africa, the formal commitment to equality in the Constitution hasbeen used by gender activists to argue that the under-representation of womenin Parliament is undesirable.13 However, there is no consensus among womenactivists in political parties as to how equality could be achieved, and there aremajor differences over the use of quotas. One argument is that the blockages towomen's political participation will be removed in the long term as women areeconomically and socially empowered. This gradualist argument is most fullyarticulated by the Democratic Party, and supported by the New National Partyand the Inkatha Freedom Party. It assumes that as more women enter theworkforce, as discriminatory practices such as job stereotyping are removed andeducational opportunities are spread evenly between the sexes, women willmove into the public political realm in greater numbers. For this reason, theDemocratic Party has been opposed to the use of quotas to increase women'srepresentation, seeing these mechanisms as an unnecessary incursion into civilliberties.14 The DP has adopted a consistently liberal position on gender equality,whether in terms of representation or policy manifesto.

By contrast, the NNP has tended to be more reactive to the way in whichgender issues are articulated by the ANC, which has allowed some room forgender activists within the party to make inroads into leadership despite theabsence of a clear policy on gender equality. While the NNP also officiallyrejects quotas, there is some support for quotas among women activists at lowerlevels of the party. Tersia Wessels, Gauteng MEC for the party, has acknowl-edged that the ANC's use of a quota had a positive impact on the NNP's partylist, and the party has been making more active efforts to include women inleadership positions.15

A non-interventionist approach regards the attainment of gender equality as aslow, gradualist process. Embedded in the gradualist position is a wariness ofspecial status being granted to specific groups, stemming from a concern that itreduces the choices of individual voters. A counter-argument to this is that party

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pre-selection exists in most electoral systems as candidates are selected beforethey are put to the public vote, and there is no particular reason why the criteriafor pre-selection should not include gender. This is particularly true with aProportional Representation (PR) List system. Moreover, studies of more estab-lished democracies reveal that there is no guarantee that equality will extendbeyond the formal level despite the reduction of opportunity disparities betweenthe sexes. A further concern is that mechanisms such as quotas could lead to theproliferation of endless 'interest groups' demanding special representation. Itmay be argued, however, that the political process establishes which interests aresalient at any given period in a country's political history. In South Africa,political struggles have determined that race and gender differences are primaryand need to be proactively addressed. The implication for electoral politics ishow to extend this general commitment to the representative sphere.

Women activists within the ANC have argued that the systematic andinstitutional bias against women as political actors has to be addressed throughspecial interventions. The ANC Women's League has successfully demandedthe adoption of a quota for women on the party's electoral lists.'6 The 30 percent quota that was adopted by the ANC for the 1994 and 1999 electionsplaced a substantial number of women MPs into Parliament, as Table 1demonstrates.17

In the 1999 elections, women benefited from the creation of a range ofmechanisms to advance democracy, including a constitutional provision ongender equality. These mechanisms provided a legitimising framework for theadvancement of gender claims in policy debates. The constitutional clause on

Table 1. Women MPs in national legislature by party affiliation, 1994 and 1999

Political party

African National CongressInkatha Freedom PartyDemocratic PartyNational PartyACDPUnited Democratic MovementMinority FrontPan Africanist CongressAEBAzapoFreedom FrontUCDP

Total

1999number of

women MPs

9777322110000

120

1999Women

MPs as % oftotal MPs of

party

36.420.615.810.733.314.3

100.033.3

0000

30.0

1994Number ofwomen MPs

9010

190

—1

——

0—

I l l

1994Women

MPs as % oftotal MPs of

party

35.723.314.010.00

—20.0——0—

27.7

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equality establishes gender equality as a core principle and value of SouthAfrican democracy. At a formal level this provision has had far-reaching impact,in that both political parties and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)have to ensure that women's participation is not prejudiced in any way by thenature of electoral campaigns or by the procedural aspects of the elections.18 Thepresence of gender activists among IEC commissioners has facilitated attentionto gender issues in the work of the Commission.

Electoral systems have been shown to have the most significant impact on theproportion of women elected. The electoral system used for the 1994 and 1999elections was proportional representation with party lists. The principal value ofthe PR List system is that it allows progressive party leadership to overridetraditional sentiments against women's election.19 This system facilitated the useof a quota to ensure representation of women in Parliament, although only theANC used the mechanism for both elections. Nevertheless, it is widely believedto have had knock-on effects on other political parties, resulting in a relativelyhigh number of women being elected to Parliament in 1994.20 The outcome wassimilar in the 1999 elections, enhanced by the large majority of votes won by theANC. The high proportion of women MPs makes the South African Parliamentthe seventh highest in the world in terms of women's parliamentary representa-tion.21 This degree of representation has had significant effects on the profile ofgender issues in the first democratic Parliament.22 Three far-reaching pieces oflegislation have been passed. The Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1996provides women with access to abortion under broader and more favourableconditions than previously. The Domestic Violence Act of 1998 providesprotection against abuse for people who are in domestic relationships, regardlessof the specific nature of the relationship (i.e. whether marital, homosexual orfamily relationships). The Maintenance Act of 1998 substantially improves theposition of mothers dependent on maintenance from former partners. In addition,a number of policy programmes are explicitly directed at improving women'sposition.23

Two prominent studies of women in European legislatures have found thatthere is a distinct gender pattern in the allocation of ministerial portfolios.24

Lovenduski argues that women are generally allocated to 'soft' ministries offamily, welfare and culture.25 She regards this as a further aspect of gatekeeping,whereby the few women who are appointed to the ministerial level are relegatedto less important posts. South Africa does not easily fit this pattern. Followingthe 1994 election, the Cabinet had women at 15 per cent (four out of 27) ofMinisters and 56 per cent (eight out of 14) of Deputy Ministers. This suggeststhat women were significantly represented at the highest levels compared to theproportion of women MPs. Although the 'social' portfolios (Health, Welfare,Housing) were assigned to women, these are key areas of social delivery whichformed the cornerstone of the ANC's electoral manifestos in both elections.Moreover, the deputy ministers of 'hard' portfolios of Finance and Trade andIndustry in the 1994-98 Parliament were also women. A more significant genderpattern can be found in examining membership of portfolio committees in

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Parliament. Women's representation ranged from 0 per cent (Public Accounts)to 73 per cent (Health).26 Committees in which women dominated includeWelfare (60 per cent) and Communications (66 per cent). Women were notablyunder-represented in Land Affairs (18 per cent), Mineral and Energy (12 percent), Transport (12 per cent), Foreign Affairs (12 per cent) and Labour (19 percent).27

Following the 1999 election, the new President Thabo Mbeki consolidatedwomen's position in Cabinet. The new Cabinet has eight women Ministers (of29) and eight (of 13) Deputy Ministers. Notable new appointments are the headof the ANC Women's Parliamentary Caucus as Deputy Minister of Defence,28

and the appointment of women as Minister and Deputy Minister of Mineral andEnergy Affairs.29 Both may be considered traditionally 'hard' portfolios.

Comparative research on women who have entered the representational spheresuggests that entry does not usually translate into upward mobility within thehierarchy of Parliament.30 As Vicky Randall has noted, 'At the apex of therepresentational hierarchy within national governments, women often virtuallydisappear.'31 The South African case, like the Australian, contrasts with thesetrends significantly. Women are significantly represented at the highest levelscompared to the proportion of women MPs. In Australia, Moon and Fountainfound that 'Australian women's political fortunes improve as they move fromthe party to the parliamentary arena'.32 Their explanation for the counter-trendis twofold. First, they argue that in parties of the left, party 'gatekeepers' areresponsive to the notion that selection of women is good for the party. They aretherefore prepared to circumvent, through the use of the party list, traditionalcultural and structural obstacles to women's political mobility. Second, theyargue that once women are in Parliament, they are more likely to be judged onmerit rather than on their gender. Given that women have to be 'twice as good'as men to overcome intra-party obstacles to their selection, those who are electedto Parliament are likely to be better qualified.

It is too early to offer definitive explanations for the high representation ofwomen in the South African Cabinet. A democratic parliament would have to bein operation for many terms before it would be possible to determine whether atrend can be discerned in the relationship between women MPs and differentparty hierarchies. It is possible to note that the ANC, the majority party in thefirst government, was highly responsive to claims of gender representation andthat this has underpinned many party policies.33 The establishment of a climatein which gender representation was part of the democratic discourse of 1994 wasdue largely to the successful mobilisation of the Women's National Coalition.With the decline of the organisation, and with the increasing power of politicalparties, pressure to keep gender issues on party manifestos and programmes willhave to be exerted by the women's sections within parties. As Anne Phillips hasshown, within representative democracies it is political parties that offer the mostsubstantial vehicles for advancing group claims to representation.34 Capacities ofinternal women's structures will therefore become the crucial link to long-termsuccess of women's demand for access to decision-making forums.

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The internal politics of constituency building

Apart from successfully making women's representation a multi-party concern,women's organisations also ensured that the majority of political parties ex-pressed a commitment to gender equality in their electoral manifestos. For themost part, though, these were rhetorical commitments, thin on policy detail.35

The response of women's organisations was to intensify the demands on partiesat public forums, demanding greater policy specificity.36 This was most evidentwith regard to the debate on offering HIV/Aids drug AZT to rape survivors. Thefocus on policy issues signalled a shift from concerns with numerical represen-tation to interest representation.

Apart from the central role played by the CGE, a number of NGO initiativestracked party positions on gender, including the Gender Advocacy Project(GAP) in the Western Cape, the Electoral Institute of South Africa, the Women'sDevelopment Foundation (WDF) and Nisaa in Gauteng. The WDF and GAPlaunched a two-pronged national campaign aimed at increasing women's repre-sentation and at ensuring that women voters considered party positions ongender issues when voting. A considerable media effort was launched. Thisincluded contributions to the mainstream media,37 as well as the development ofan Elections Bulletin produced in both tabloid and electronic form by Women-snet, on behalf of a range of women's organisations. Almost all electionprogrammes on national radio and television devoted special times to genderissues.38 These forums were used to debate how parties were taking up keyissues such as violence against women, unemployment, housing and health care.

Not surprisingly, this shift to concerns about the quality of women's represen-tation, and about accountability to women's interests resulted in contestationbetween women in political parties over policy issues. Although women activistsin all parties had been united about maintaining the pressure for greater politicalrepresentation, within the domain of women's forums there has been a painstak-ing reiteration of the limits of common interests. Below the surface of collectiveaction simmered discontent over the relative power of certain women's organisa-tions over others, and mistrust about the extent to which particular politicalparties could be trusted to advance the agendas of the women's movement.Within Parliament, early attempts to create a multi-party forum for women MPs,such as the Parliamentary Women's Group, have foundered as a result oftensions between the DP, ANC and NNP.

Women are not a homogeneous constituency. Even where women MPs arecommitted to broad principles of gender equality, their definitions of what thismeans, their strategies for achieving equality, and the constituencies of womenthey represent, may be vastly different. It is significant that the driving forcebehind legislative reform to eliminate gender discrimination has been the ANCWomen's Caucus, rather than the multi-party forum, reflecting the differentweight given to gender equality by different political parties. Differences in partyideologies could not be overcome by broad commitments to gender equality.

By the 1999 elections, women's organisations were much more sceptical of

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the extent to which women MPs represented women's interests rather than partyor even personal political interests. The issue of accountability emerged veryforcefully in various electoral forums.39 Although accountability remains anelusive notion in women's politics—accountability to parties? to women withinparties? to all women?—the South African debates have focused on both formal(to political parties) and moral (to the cause of gender equality) aspects ofaccountability.40 In both cases, the consolidation of women constituencies isvital.41

To ensure formal accountability, women within political parties have tobecome significantly more organised; both so that women MPs may be evenmore effective within the legislative arena and so that there are internal partymechanisms to hold them accountable to women members and not just partyleadership.42 There has been a tendency among women's organisations toconflate the tasks of building constituencies and representing constituencies.Women's sections of political parties (of which women MPs should ideally beactive members) need to articulate the interests of women supporters of theirparties, and ensure that these are addressed within the party's broad politicalplatforms and electoral manifestos. In other words, they need to build aconstituency of women in the party and of party supporters. Their ability toclaim constituencies is crucial to their success within the party, as electoralpolitics favours vote-catchers. In addition, they have to groom women leaders,and support them for internal party election. They also have to function as oneamong many conduits between women in Parliament and grassroots women.Without active women's sections within parties, women MPs can be left adrift,overburdened with the multiple tasks of committee work, party responsibilitiesand gender activism and with no clear political direction (yis-a-vis gender) totheir work. The primary task of women MPs should be to define areas ofintervention in the legislature, support and report to women in the party: torepresent, not to build, constituencies. The failure to separate these tasks has ledto tensions between women in political parties and women's organisations incivil society.43

There is also an expectation of moral accountability within the women'smovement. The first cohort of women in Parliament was very aware of thisresponsibility, as it was argued that their election was the product of collectivestruggles. Many women MPs made enormous efforts to consult with civilsociety, and to share information and build strategies collectively, despite thepressures of being pioneers.44 However, the relative demobilisation of thewomen's movement since 1994 will result in fewer women on party lists whohave long and deep connections to women's organisations. Without the moraland political pressure from outside Parliament, there is always the danger thatwomen MPs are unable (or increasingly unwilling) to adequately represent thevarious interests of women. Women's gains in and through parliamentaryrepresentation are an important facet of the long-term battle to recognise womenas agents in political processes, and to provide voices for women in the variousarenas of public decision-making. It is important, however, to maintain a critical

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tension between MPs and government bureaucrats—male and female—whoclaim to be speaking on behalf of women and the constituencies in whose namethese claims are made. Without strong mechanisms for upholding accountability,the danger always exists that representation carries little power to advance theagenda of gender equality.

Conclusion

The apparent paradox between the demands of women as an identifiableconstituency in electoral politics, and the internal debates about differentinterests within that constituency, suggests that women's politics is conductedsimultaneously at two levels. At an external level of politics, a narrow terrain ofcommon purpose is mapped out, articulated and defended, while at an internallevel there is vigorous contestation over specific policies and party politicalmanifestos. This tendency in women's politics seems counter-productive: it maybe argued that women might do better in terms of increasing their politicalleverage if their external (in this case electoral) politics was directed atarticulating their interests within the framework of party political contestation,rather than a non-partisan, 'common front' approach. However, this dual politicsis the outcome of the need for women to simultaneously build a constituencythat will have political leverage—to present the illusion of a united constituency,if you will—and articulate the diverse interests of women arising from theintersections of race, class and gender inequalities. If the current trends inwomen's politics continue, it can be expected that future elections will see evenmore sophisticated positioning of the policy demands of different groups ofwomen. There will consequently be greater pressure on political parties to movebeyond platitudes in their party manifestos, as they seek to capture women'svotes.

Notes and references* Shireen Hassim is a Lecturer in Political Studies at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She

is a member of the Gender and Elections Reference Group co-ordinated by the Electoral Institute of SouthAfrica, and a member of the Board of Womensnet, a website for women (www.womensnet.org.za). Theauthor wishes to thank Rupert Taylor, Stephen Gelb and Adila Hassim for comments on this article.

1. The ANC Women's League took an especially strong stance over women's representation in constitutionalnegotiations, threatening to boycott the first non-racial elections with the slogan 'no women, no vote'.Although it is unlikely that it would have been able to successfully organise a women's boycott of theelections, the threat exposed the limitations of claims to democracy by progressive political organisations.

2. See, for example, J. Cock (1997) 'Women in South Africa's Transition to Democracy', in J. Scott, C.Kaplan and D. Keates (eds), Transitions, Environments, Translations: Feminism in International Politics(New York: Routledge); S. Hassim and A. Gouws (1998) 'Redefining the Public Space: Women'sOrganisations, Gender Consciousness and Civil Society in South Africa', Politikon, 25 (2), pp. 53-76; andS. Meintjes (1998) 'Gender, Nationalism and Transformation', in R. Wilford and R.L. Miller (eds).Women, Ethnicity and Nationalism (London: Routledge).

3. While these are distinct theoretical positions, in practice a combination of arguments is more likely to befound. See, for example, C. Lowe-Morna (1999) 'Overview', in Commission on Gender Equality,Redefining Politics (Johannesburg: Commission on Gender Equality).

4. A. Phillips (1989) Engendering Democracy (Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press).5. D. Dahlerup (1998) 'Using Quotas to Increase Women's Political Representation', in Women in

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Parliament: Beyond the Numbers (Stockholm: International IDEA). Also see J. Ballington (1998)'Women's Parliamentary Representation: The Effects of List PR', Politikon, 25 (2), pp. 77-93.

6. Of course, substantive content will have to be given to what the roles of women candidates will be oncein Parliament, but this can be determined by the particular ideological and organisational orientations ofeach party.

7. Regardless of the quality of representation, one study of legislatures shows that women's mere presencein legislatures will 'inevitably change existing arrangements and procedures ... parliamentary timetables,places of meeting, childcare provisions, working hours and travel arrangements may be changed to makethese more suitable for women'; A. Karam and J. Lovenduski (1998) 'Women in Parliament: Making aDifference', in Dahlerup (1998), op. cit.

8. A notable exception is the African Christian Democratic Party, whose representative argued against genderequality at a Nisaa Forum on Women and the Elections in May 1999.

9. No significant differences between women and men on electoral issues or party preferences have beenfound by any of the electoral surveys, suggesting that the connections between gender inequalities and theposition of women is either not recognised or considered unimportant by women voters in South Africa;see A. Gouws (1999) "The Gender Dimension of the 1999 Election', in A. Reynolds (ed.), Election '99:South Africa (Cape Town: David Philip).

10. In 1994, The Women's Party, led by feminist artist Nina Romm, was unable to secure a single seat inParliament, despite the relatively low cut-off threshold.

11. For example, the provision for equality in the Constitution, the establishment of national machinery forwomen, and the creation of a statutory body (the Commission on Gender Equality).

12. Comments made by women representatives of political parties at the Commission on Gender Equality(CGE) Dialogue on Women, Politics and the Elections, 29 June 1998. A summary report is available fromthe CGE.

13. Although gender inequalities should be a matter of concern for both men and women, it has generally beenwomen who have politicised gender issues and who, because of their subordinate position, are most likelyto raise issues of unequal power.

14. Indeed, a common argument made is that there are more than enough enabling mechanisms for womenat the moment, including the Constitution, the Office on the Status of Women, and the CGE.

15. Comments at CGE Gender Dialogue, 29 June 1998.16. However, they have not succeeded in winning a quota for elections to positions within party structures.17. The 1994 figures in Table 1 are adapted from, Republic of South Africa (1997) CEDAW Report to the

United Nations; the figures for 1999 were compiled by Julie Ballington at the Electoral Institute of SouthAfrica, Johannesburg.

18. The Electoral Act requires that all registered political parties and candidates subscribe to an Electoral Codeof Conduct designed to promote conditions that are conducive to free and fair elections. Item 6 of the Codespecifically requires political parties to give effect to the rights of women.

19. Of course, such powers can also be used to advance the narrow interests of party elites. For this reason,the PR system has been criticised for undermining vertical accountability.

20. Ballington (1998), op. cit.21. Ibid., p. 82.22. T.E. Mtintso (1999) "The Contribution of Women Parliamentarians to Gender Equality', unpublished MA

thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.23. For more details, see Parliament of South Africa, Annual Report of the Joint Standing Committee on the

Improvement of the Quality of Life and Status of Women, 1998-1999, Cape Town.24. J. Lovenduski (1986) Women and European Politics: Contemporary Feminism and Public Policy

(Brighton: Wheatsheaf); V. Randall (1987) Women and Politics: An International Perspective (London:Macmillan).

25. Lovenduski (1986), op. cit.26. Mtintso (1999), op. cit., p. 64.27. Ibid., p. 64.28. Deputy Minister of this portfolio, Nozizwe Routledge Madlala, is a feminist activist and a Quaker.29. They are Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (formerly Deputy Minster of Trade and Industry) and Susan

Shabangu (who retains her post).30. Lovenduski (1986), op. cit., p. 241.31. Randall (1987), op. cit., p. 109.32. J. Moon and I. Fountain (1997) "'Keeping the Gates": Women as Ministers in Australia, 1970-96',

Australian Journal of Political Science, 32 (3), p. 458.33. At a Commission for Gender Equality 'Gender Dialogue' on women in political parties, ANC spokes-

person Melissa Levin argued that giving women access to key offices was a deliberate ANC policy.

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34. Phillips (1989), op. cit.35. Julie Ballington (1999) 'Political Parties and Gender Equality: What do the Mainfestos Say?', Election

Update, 14, Electoral Institute of South Africa, Johannesburg.36. In a notable example, the Commission on Gender Equality expressed its discontent with the quality of

party presentations at its Gender Dialogue on the Election in June 1998. Echoing this, Deputy Speaker ofthe Gauteng Legislature, Lindiwe Zulu, commented that 'there was nothing earth shattering about thepresentations ... This is not acceptable. It is an insult and disservice to women.' The report was sent toall political parties.

37. Culminating in a front-page lead in the Johannesburg daily, The Star, entitled 'One Woman, One Vote isthe Key to Power: Majority of Voters are Female--and They Mean Business', 5 May 1999.

38. Both public and private media were concerned about the gender representation (along with race) ofelection commentators.

39. These included the CGE Gender Dialogue in June 1998, the AWEPA/GAP conference 'Women at theCrossroads: Women and Governance' in October 1998, and the EISA Roundtable 'Putting Women intoPower' in February 1999.

40. S. Hassim (1999) 'Gendering Parliament', Southern Africa Report, 14 (3), pp. 19-23.41. This analysis is based on observation at a number of election-related events, most notably the AWEPA/

GAP Conference, op. cit., and the EISA Roundtable, op. cit.42. These include, for example, structures such as the Women's League within the ANC and the Women's

Brigade within the Inkatha Freedom Party.43. Comments by Barbara Watson, Director of the Women's Development Foundation, at the AWEPA/GAP

Conference, October 1998.44. Comments by Baleka Mbete-Kgositsile, Deputy Speaker in the National Assembly, AWEPA/GAP

Conference, op. cit. Also see P. Govender (1998) 'Foreword', in D. Budlender (ed.). The Third Women'sBudget (Cape Town: Idasa).

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