The General Election 2010 in Trinidad and Tobago will go down in the history of the country as the first of its kind.
For the first time one of the two major protagonists contesting the election for the position of leader of government is a female. To the political scientist, the outcome of this election will provide very useful data on electoral behaviour in a plural society. There are a number of factors to be taken into consideration during any election. These include among others age, race, demographics, religion, class, and gender. The primary aim of this article is to focus on the issue of gender. The question is 'will gender make a difference?'
A recent examination of the number of women in West Indian Parliaments will indicate that the proportion of women in both the upper and lower Houses of Parliament in many countries is well below fifty percent. For instance, in Guyana (2006) out of a total of seventy seat, twenty one seats or 30 per cent were occupied by females. In the case of Jamaica (2007) out of a total of sixty seats in the lower house, eight or 13.3 per cent were occupied by females.
In the upper house for the same year out of a total of twenty one seats, three or 14.3 per cent were occupied by females. In Antigua (2009) out of a total of nineteen seats, two or 10.5 per cent were occupied by females. In Trinidad and Tobago (2007) out of a total of forty one seats in the House of Representatives, eleven or 26.81 per cent were occupied by females while in the Upper House, of the thirty one seats, 13 or 41.9 per cent were occupied by females. (Taken from Women in National Parliaments- compiled February 28, 2010).
It is evident that in nearly all the countries named, women are under-represented in both Houses of Parliament but more specifically at the elected level, namely the House of Representatives which is in fact the policy making body. Under-representation of women in both the social, economic and more particularly the political sphere, however, is not a new phenomenon. A brief examination of women suffrage over the years has thrown up some very interesting data. For instance, Finland, in 1906, was the first country in the world to give full suffrage to all citizens including women. While New Zealand was the first country to grant all citizens the right to vote in 1893, it should be recalled though that women did not get the right to run for the New Zealand legislature until 1919. In the countries of the West Indies, Universal Adult Franchise was introduced in Jamaica in 1944 and in the case of Trinidad and Tobago 1946.
Later, in 1948, voting rights for women were introduced into international law when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 21 (1) of this document states as follows:
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Article 21(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
While women were granted the right to vote, it was found though that a major debate during elections was 'how' women would vote. It has been suggested by many that women do not vote independently but rather vote according to decisions taken by their husbands. An article written in 1917 is very instructive and quoted ad verbatim:
In Utah, Colorado and Idaho women as voters have the same rights as men.
They have certain rights as voters in nine other States. In the great Commonwealth of New Zealand, so far ahead of all the rest of the world in humanity and social progress, the wife votes absolutely as her husband does. The woman who votes becomes an important factor in life, for a double reason. In the first place, when a woman votes the candidate must take care that his conduct and record meet with a good woman's approval, and this makes better men of the candidates.
In the second place, and far more important, is this reason:
When women shall vote, the political influence of the good men in the community will be greatly increased. There is no doubt whatever that women, in their voting, will be influenced by the men whom they know. But there is also no doubt that they will be influenced by the good men whom they know. Men can deceive each other much more easily than they can deceive women–the latter being providentially provided with the X-ray of intuitional perception. The blustering politician, preaching what he does not practice, may hold forth on the street corner or in a saloon, and influence the votes of others as worthless as himself. But among women his home life will more than offset his political influence. The bad husband may occasionally get the vote of a deluded or frightened wife, but he will surely lose the votes of the wives and daughters next door.
Voting by women will improve humanity, because it will compel men to seek and earn the approval of women...–An editorial from the Hearst Newspapers, written by Arthur Brisbane. Not dated, but probably about 1917. This editorial is extremely useful since what it reveals is that women not only vote according to the wishes of their husbands but it seems their very education and existence is to further the welfare of men. It would have been interesting to see how women responded to such an editorial. No doubt if this were written today 'the vengeance of moko' would have descended on the author. While the perception of women as the 'weaker sex' has declined (or be perceived to have declined) there is no doubt that this General Election will be a laboratory in which the role of women will take on a new dimension. For instance, it will be useful to see whether Mrs Persad-Bissessar will capture the votes of the Indo, African and mixed women.
On the ground, it appears that both Afro-Trinidadian females as well as Indo-Trinidadian females are supportive of Mrs Persad-Bissessar as a leader. However, the translation of this support into actual votes is left to be seen. What is noticeable though, is the large proportion of females in the society. A recent CSO census for instance puts the number of females as 629,315 as compared to 633,051 males. When broken down according to constituency level, however, it becomes evident that if females were to vote according to gender- the outcome of the election may take on a different dimension.
In Table 2, for instance, it is clear according to the CSO 2000 Census there is an equal number of males and females. One wonders if Mrs Persad-Bissessar will make an impact on female voters. So far it is evident that the two parties contesting the elections have not embarked on strategies to enlist the support of the female voter. While there has been a conscious, half-hearted attempt to appeal to younger voters, again, the strategies employed by both sides have been lack luster. Some suggest that what this election may throw up may indeed be a voting pattern that is based once more on 'tribe.' One has to wait, however, for the outcome of this election before making pronouncements as to whether gender was indeed a major determinant in 2010.
