Siân Gwenllian: ...reform in the area of local government in Wales, but they were very disappointed to see that there was no mention at all in the consultation paper about the Government’s attempts to ensure fair representation for women in elected roles upon councils in Wales. Of course, political parties have a responsibility to ensure that there is fair representation of women and minority groups on...
Siân Gwenllian: ...senior management in the public sector. You will be aware that the Equality and Human Rights Commission has noted this clearly, having identified that there hadn't been a general improvement in representation in senior roles and that women and people from ethnic minorities continue to be less likely to be in senior positions. Despite the fact that the number of women in senior positions...
Siân Gwenllian: 9. Will the Leader of the House make a statement on the Welsh Government's efforts to ensure the fair representation of women in elected roles? OAQ51434
Siân Gwenllian: ...the system is one way of tackling this complex issue. So, Plaid Cymru is of the view that the Wales Bill should make a provision to introduce a single transferable vote in order to secure equitable representation for every political viewpoint.
Siân Gwenllian: ...and Julie Morgan are eager to contribute too, and I look forward to hearing their contributions. A few weeks ago, I led a short debate in this Chamber about the need to improve gender equality and representation among minority groups at this Assembly. I do believe that having more women—indeed, an equal number of women—in posts where decisions are made is important as we strive to be a...
Siân Gwenllian: ...mandatory to all councils in Wales and that councils would have a choice to bring it forward or not. In my view, that is a mistake. It would enable some local authorities not to move towards real representation for political reasons, perhaps, or self-interest, or whatever reason. Will you consider that, therefore, and ensure that reforming the electoral system to STV is mandatory for all...
Siân Gwenllian: It is clear that a weak justice system does lead to inequality throughout, and inequality can be identified in Wales, according to the Thomas commission report, and it mentions the over-representation of people from minority ethnic communities within the justice system and the lack of services for women and health and mental health within the system. And the report does mention that the...
Siân Gwenllian: ...elections and the principle in place for national elections too is a practical and valuable way of reviving democracy and ensuring that people do feel that their vote counts, safeguarding fair representation for all political views in Wales?
Siân Gwenllian: I want to focus on three aspects that you've noted in your statement this afternoon, and all three relate to increasing participation and better representation within local government. The way that young people come into contact with politics in their early years is crucially important for the future of representative democracy, and therefore Plaid Cymru welcomes your intention, as a...
Siân Gwenllian: Well, clearly, there are also other reasons that would account for that as well, but certainly the introduction of proportional representation would improve that. We have seen the situation in local authorities in Scotland where, certainly, the turnout has been far higher in those elections. I believe that we need a new electoral system in order to raise people’s confidence in politics,...
Siân Gwenllian: ...are made, then issues that are important for women—women outside of this place, women in general—are discussed. And that’s why I’m in favour of ensuring that we have parity of female representation here, but also in county councils and across the public sector, so that important issues like this are given due consideration. Just to draw your attention—. We launched this...
Siân Gwenllian: ...nation. Recommendation 10: I have a particular interest in this as spokesperson on equality for Plaid Cymru. Recommendation 10, of course, is the recommendation that talks about a gender balance representation, and recommendation 10 suggests that there should be a gender quota integrated with any electoral system put in place for 2021. Certainly, I do believe that we need to have a gender...
Siân Gwenllian: ...the duties would be on that level. Our amendments to this debate today focus on the need to introduce a new electoral system, namely a single transferrable vote, STV, in order to secure equitable representation for each political point of view. The Sunderland report was published in 2002. Yes, that’s quite some time ago, but it was a very thorough report and it concluded that the...
Siân Gwenllian: ...more generally. And women do that far more often than their male counterparts. For the sake of natural fairness, but also in order to remove the barriers facing women generally, we must have 50:50 representation among those making decisions here in Wales. And that is why I agree entirely with the recent proposals made by the expert panel on Assembly reform, which suggest making it a...
Siân Gwenllian: ...been agreed without it. And the Richard commission had actually recommended STV for our Assembly here. I turn to some of the arguments that are presented to oppose STV. The idea of proportional representation was rejected for the 2011 elections, but it wasn’t a proportional system that was in hand—some of us will remember the campaign at the time: ‘No to AV, Yes to PR’. Some...
Siân Gwenllian: ...given as much priority as it could by this Government and that we are at risk of missing this real opportunity provided by the Donaldson review. I turn now to another of our amendments related to representation. In 2014 only two of every 100 of the top businesses in Wales had a woman chief executive, and in terms of local authorities, only 18 per cent of chief executives are women, and...
Siân Gwenllian: ‘Enabling candidates standing for the same party or as independents to stand for election on the basis of job sharing arrangements could lead to an increase in the diversity of representation within the Assembly. The flexibility to stand on the basis of job sharing could be particularly beneficial for older candidates, those with disabilities, or those with caring responsibilities.’...
Siân Gwenllian: ..., assess this situation and also consider introducing a similar policy to what is being introduced in the Rhondda, and do so across Wales? Finally, we need to take positive steps to create equal representation between men and women as elected representatives. How on earth can it be right that half the population is under-represented so appallingly in public life? Only 27 per cent of...
Siân Gwenllian: ...from the outset of the next Senedd, should be implementing this in legislation. The evidence already exists. And I would be very eager to see the inclusion of statutory quotas to ensure appropriate representation for women and people of colour in the new legislation. We don't have to wait until the next Senedd to start acting on this. There is a window and an opportunity, even in the...
Siân Gwenllian: ...both I and Plaid Cymru are very interested in, as you will know. At the National Eisteddfod in August, I and my colleague Jill Evans held an event on European languages in the digital age, with representation from Canolfan Bedwyr at Bangor University, in this very building, as it happens. Now, Canolfan Bedwyr, in my constituency, does innovative work with the resources available, but...
