From Iceland — Young Left-Greens Unhappy with Gender Imbalance

Young Left-Greens Unhappy with Gender Imbalance

Published May 14, 2009

The Young Leftist-Greens have issued a press statement expressing
dissatisfaction with the imbalance of male and female ministers in the
current government, taking their own chairman to task.
“The board of the Young Leftist-Greens points out that the male-to-female ratio of MPs in the Social Democratic Party and the Leftist-Greens is even … and that there are about as many men as there are women in this country,” the statement reads in part. “To take part in a government where the gender ratio is uneven, where both parties appoint more men than women to minsterial positions, is a betrayal of the women’s liberation platform of the Leftist-Green Party.
“The board of the Young Leftist-Greens is bewildered and disappointed over the parliamentary resolution [refering to a national convention resolution, part of which called for an equal number of male and female ministers], which includes a chairman who is supposed to insure an equal gender ratio within the government, and was obviously ignored during the formation of the coalition. The board believes this raises the question of whether or not this a violation of party law. To ignore a resolution passed by the highest office of the party is rather undemocratic.
“The board of the Young Leftist-Greens deplores this result, which is a departure from the feminist and democratic values for which we voted.”
(Photo: mbl.is)

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