In a webinar hosted by Grassroots for Europe, leading female activists and politicians discussed the critical role of women in defending democracy against Europe’s rising tide of autocracy, setting the stage for a transformative 2024 election season.
Grassroots for Europe, founded in 2018, promotes understanding and engagement with European issues at the local level. This webinar marks the 45th in its series of round table events, bringing together organisations and experts.
A timely and crucial dialogue
In an era where political landscapes are rapidly shifting, with various elections coming up around the world, the ‘Grassroots for Europe Round Table Webinar: Women’s Role in Democracy and Peace’ brought together a panel to tackle some of the issues facing Europe today. Held online via Zoom on 16 April, this pivotal discussion drew participants from across the continent.
Colin Gordon, vice chair of Grassroots for Europe, said: “This is the first time we’ve had an event specifically about women’s voice, agency and rights in campaigning and in European political activity”, though, in fact, as he also mentioned, “the majority of the founders of the initial round table were women activists from the grassroots”.
The panel of visionaries
The webinar, chaired by Magdalena Williams and Cecilia Jastrzembska, featured a panel of formidable women who have been at the forefront of political and social activism in Europe:
- Gina Miller, known for her legal challenges in defence of democracy against the British government and as a steadfast advocate for parliamentary sovereignty
- Helen Maguire, a retired army officer whose experience as a peacekeeper has informed her current political aspirations
- Julie Ward, whose tenure as an MEP brought her into the heart of European legislative battles
- Jane Morrice, politician and campaigner, whose work contributed fundamentally to the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland
- Kati Systä, a youthful voice representing the Young European Federalists.
The discussion took place in the context of the looming European Parliament elections, which are being reported as potentially calamitous for women’s rights, with far-right parties predicted to gain seats. Panellists expressed deep concerns about the increasing threat to heard-won freedoms from nationalist and conservative movements across Europe.
Women as skilled and successful negotiators
Gina Miller began by quoting, on the one hand, research that shows the value of women’s presence in peace negotiations and, on the other, statistics that show how infrequently women are involved in such events – which has, she said, “literally led to costing lives”. Despite the passing 23 years ago of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 requiring the participation of women in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction, “most peace accords do not have a single female co-signature”. This flies in the face of research covering 40 peace negotiations which showed that the involvement of women increased the likelihood of a peaceful outcome by 24%.
One reason for this, she said, is that women “face a social backlash” for being assertive: “There is this idea that being a strong vocal woman doesn’t fit with the female image in our society. So there is this social undercurrent that women should not be in these places.”
But some of the problem comes from an unconscious bias within women themselves, she said; “Young women”, for example, “tend to worry about what other people think of them and want to be liked”. This is something women have to get over.
In seeking to explain why women are better negotiators, Miller highlighted female empathy and emotional intelligence. Women, she said, have an ability to bond with people, to understand what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes and to find common ground. Women’s particular experience as caregivers for children and the elderly necessarily leads to developing negotiating skills and learning how to build trust.
Noting the challenges in other areas – business, politics, the military – where women are grossly under-represented at the highest levels, Miller acknowledged that change may take time. It will also require tenacity, patience, empathy – and indeed the cooperation of men in helping to bring women to the table.
Women as “active agents of change and peace”
Helen Maguire recounted her mixed experiences as a woman in leadership roles, first of all as an army officer in conflict zones. Her posting to Iraq – to train the local police service – caused her to “grapple with the moral complexities” of serving in a war she didn’t believe in; now she wonders whether we would have gone to war if we had had a female leader at the time.
Despite having led soldiers in a war zone, within her local community she was made to feel that her potential appointment, as a woman, to the role of chair of a local charity was highly irregular. It’s an example, she said, that shows how vital it is for women to involve themselves on “all the rungs of the ladder”, from local village society to parliament. She herself is now standing as a parliamentary candidate.
Her strong belief is that “women play a critical role in shaping the fabric of our societies … We need to advocate for a future where women’s voice is not just heard but valued as essential peacemakers”. She acknowledged the barriers that women face – societal norms, family responsibilities – but said these must be challenged, in order to create pathways for “women to thrive in positions of influence and decision-making”.
She believes that together we can build a future where women are not just passive observers, but active participants in shaping the world around us – a world in which women are “active agents of change and peace”.
Women as effective political collaborators
Julie Ward was prompted to put her name forward as a Labour candidate for the European Parliament by an incident of gender-based violence in India. She never expected to be selected, but she was, and indeed elected – through proportional representation, an electoral system she now advocates for as being helpful to getting women elected.
She then shared insights from her experience on the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (known as the FEMM committee). She described the EU parliament as a conducive environment for “grown-up politics” and collaboration, within which the FEMM committee was able to work highly effectively:
“My experience on the FEMM committee was fantastic because we had really powerful strategies to stop the far right, the extremists, the anti-abortion lobbyists … We worked together cross party … I was on the left in the Labour Party, and I won nearly everything that I proposed in committee and every report and amendment that I ended up taking to the plenary.”
It took hard work – and she expressed her gratitude to her parliamentary team – but it paid off with regard to ensuring women’s voices were heard and their rights upheld. Ward said: “The sisterhood that existed within the European Parliament within the FEMM committee to ensure that the far right never got a toehold was very good work that we did.”
She singled out two aspects of the EU parliament that she feels UK politics could learn from: firstly, the fact that it was founded on and promotes the concept of solidarity, and secondly, the way that gender issues are mainstreamed throughout the organisation’s committees and structures.
Overall, as regards the issue of women and democracy, Ward noted that there have been successes, in that there are many women now in prominent leadership positions. But, she said, it’s not the norm; thanks to a media run by and for men, women’s contributions still remain “invisible and unrecorded”.
Young women as vital guardians of the future
Young European Federalists (JEF) board member Kati Systä joined the call from Helsinki in Finland. She emphasised the necessity of engaging not just established voters but also the younger generation, especially important in the context of ageing continents and the fact that this generation is the largest young generation ever.
Systä said that while young people in different parts of the world have different visions and ideas, different values and different dreams, one thing they share is that their future is threatened by a range of crises – the economic crisis, climate crisis and armed conflict. And, while young people will have to live longest with these problems – not of their own making – they struggle to get a seat at the decision-making table.
This is particularly true of young women: “Of the 2.6% of world parliamentarians who are under 30, only 40% are women”, which is around 1% of the total. Young women belonging to marginalised groups and minorities are even less well represented; their voices, Systä said, are clearly not heard in our societies.
She then drew attention to factors putting the limited progress made by young women at risk: the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on young women; a political climate in Europe that threatens to roll back on girls’ and women’s rights and gender equality; socially conservative forces claiming an increasing space in civil society. She also mentioned the negative effect of societal gender norms and the widespread violence and harassment that women politicians face.
Systä said young people do want to participate and help to create change – but not necessarily by the traditional means of standing for parliament. She asked: is the world ready to adapt to this? For example, she highlighted the innovative use of social media and digital campaigning tools that have transformed how democratic engagement is conducted, especially among younger Europeans.
She closed with three main points to ensure better and more inclusive participation of young women in political processes and peace building:
- For everyone who participates in political discussions or political forums, ask yourselves who is not around the table and raise the issue. Encourage young people, especially young women around you, to voice their opinions.
- For elected officials or members and leadership of different political parties, ask yourselves within your parties if the youth wing is growing and if young people, particularly women, are being put forward for electable positions.
- For legislators and civil servants, ask yourselves if you are creating a really meaningful space for young people, especially those who are below the voting age, to be heard.
Women as DIY democracy campaigners
As the final speaker, Jane Morrice delivered a powerful call to action. She emphasised that the most important question is “How do you get women into democracy?”. Her answer? “Do it yourself!” Her own inspiring career is a prime example of this.
Returning to Northern Ireland after a 10-year gap, she became a BBC reporter during the Troubles, then European Commission representative to Northern Ireland, helping to set up the PEACE Programme. Through this, Morrice met grassroots women working “at the coalface” trying to bring people together, with financial support from the EU.
Then, in 1996, when it was determined that the top 10 elected political parties would each have two representatives at the peace talks, she and her new colleagues, most of whom had never been involved in politics before, decided to set up a women’s party. After a six-week campaign focusing on principles of inclusion, equality and human rights, the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition became the ninth political party in Northern Ireland and was therefore eligible to send two delegates to the peace talks, a process that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Morrice was then elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly and became deputy speaker. However, when the Assembly was suspended in 2003, Morrice turned to European politics. She became vice president of the European Economic and Social Committee, which involved, among other things, participating in delegations to Afghanistan, Turkey and Cyprus to promote the role of women in peace building.
Just as she was beginning to “calm down” in her campaigning career, Brexit happened and, she said, “Brexit and Boris … brought back the fire to my belly big time”. She fought for Northern Ireland to have a special status, which was achieved through the Northern Ireland protocol, and continues to campaign to rejoin the EU.
Reflecting on her career, Morrice underlined the importance of support from men. The Women’s Coalition, she said, would never have been elected in 1996 without men voting for it. She said: “We’ve got to keep fighting and keep campaigning. We’ve got to bring people with us, and we need men to support us. Solidarity is exactly what we need, standing up with each other.”
Looking forward: the road to the 2024 elections
The webinar underscored the critical role women will play in the upcoming 2024 European elections. With the political stakes high, particularly with wars raging and autocratic forces gaining traction, the insights provided by the panellists are more relevant than ever. Ward warned that there are huge issues at stake in these elections and the polling is not looking like it is going to produce the type of centre left government that she would like to see.
But, speaking of her aspirations for political gender equality, Miller was tentatively hopeful: “I do think we need to end up with a 50-50 parliament … and I know that there are lots of brave young women who will stand up and do that.”
The video of this webinar will be available on the Grassroots for Europe website shortly, where you can learn more about this organisation and register for future webinars.
