Another male-heavy DA leadership raises doubts on commitment to gender equality

So not only is the DA “colour-blind” because it claims not to see race, but it has proved again that it is “gender-­blind” too, as South Africa notes that the party’s new top leadership structure elected last weekend is made up predominantly of men, with only Siviwe Gwarube representing women.

This was always going to draw attention, particularly when parties like the ANC and EFF have 50-50 quota systems that speak to an effort to achieve equal representation for men and women.

The DA’s position on gender representation has been that it selects people based on merit, not gender quotas.

Of course, this is not the first time that this has come up. Most notably we remember when in 2009 the DA’s Helen Zille, who was Western Cape premier at the time, appointed an executive council made up only of men. Responding to the shocked criticism that ensued, she defended the decision, saying: “In terms of my analysis, for what is needed I’ve got the best fit with the jobs and the people that I could find.”

Her appointments also rightly prompted backlash from the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), a Chapter 9 institution, which said: “The appointment of an all-male [executive council] not only is questionable to those who seek to monitor and promote gender equity and equality, but to the women of the Western Cape, in particular those in the DA.

‘Patriarchal attitudes and beliefs’

“What does this move say about whether the DA has competent women available with appropriate skills to lead, like their male counterparts? Is the party not advancing stereotyping that seeks to promote the belief that only men can deliver, thereby entrenching patriarchal attitudes and beliefs?

“The CGE seeks to remind the leadership of the DA of the pledge that was signed with us. We trust that the party, and others who divert from SA’s national policy framework on gender equality, will be engaged robustly by civil society organisations that strongly believe that gender equality has been undermined.”

So, in this latest episode of gender in­equal­ity, are we to believe that there really are no capable women leaders in the party able to assume federal positions other than Gwarube, who notably is also the only ­woman DA representative in the Government of National Unity in her role as minister of basic education?

It is worth highlighting that such actions point to a subversion of our constitutional imperative to redress inequality, which explicitly seeks to promote the achievement of equality for people disadvantaged by unfair discrimination, who include women.

They also undermine UN Sustainable Development Goal 5, to which SA is a signatory. The goal says that “achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is not just the right thing to do, it’s essential for sustainable development”.

So if the DA’s assertion is that there are not enough capable women from whom the party can choose, it would be good to hear what measures are in place to promote and nurture female leaders, and above all to meet the constitutional and UN obligations.

And if there aren’t any, why not? DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.