What do we think about the plans for parity in Polish politics.

I think the congress of women might should show they aren't nuts by having parity in their own organisation first.

It's funny that the Środas, Jarugas, Szczukas and other feminist EQALITY seekers concentrate solely on parity in parliamant and greedily eye executive posts and other high-paying fat-cat jobs, but clam up when it comes to parity in the ranks of dustmen, sewer workers, street sweepers, ditch diggers, asbestos workers and other socially useful jobs, where there is a severe womanpower shortage. I guess it's like in Orwell's 'Animal Farm', where everyone was equal, but some were more equal than others.

Don't forget the huge nubers of women in lower paid jobs than men - the three Cs, cooking, cleaning and care, come to mind, plus the hundreds of thousands of female shopworkers.

Parity in parliament and public life won't stop this overnight, but it will slowly change both young women's aspirations and the political culture as a whole.

Members of parliament are elected. So, how do you see parity achieved? By a forced vote?

that was the case during the communism, wasn't it?


true. It will take time.


I don't know, how is is achieved in Scandinavian countries? I has been done.

Anyways, PO proposes 30 %/70% vs 50% vs 50%.

Any mechnaical division, if consistently coerced, can achieve parity, but what then? It will bring into politics women who aren't really cut out for the line of work, without broad vision and a sense of public service. That is true of any artifical leftist utopian schemes, be it the point system in PRL, where chidlren of peasnats and workers had it easier getting accepted to university, or affrirmative action programmes in the USA which pushed racial minorities through school despite their poor performance.

you call introducing legally enforced parity as "coerced"????or I misinterpreted what you were trying to say.


It may, or it may not. It is hard to say at the moment, but I bet there are as many male politicians who should stay at home instead of offering their services to the country. Are you saying that all male politicians are excellent ones? Or I, again, have misinterpreted what you were trying to convey in your post?


You call scandinavian democracies UTOPIAN, because those countries have the highest degree of parity not only in the government but in all aspects of life?


That was the case in Poland during the communist time where children of peasants had a chance for education - simple human rights case, although as you suggested: peasants should stay in the fields and woman at home. Or, again, have I misinterpreted what you were trying to convey?


all of them were performing poorly? Are you saying that ONLY white race can perform. I bet if you belonged to a different race, you would be singing a different song.

I think that your views are rather outdated, but everyone has the right to express their opinions.
SO, back to the topic: I believe that Polish woman deserve the parity since they make up half of the population in Poland.
quote from this site:
Political Empowerment

Women in Poland gained the right to vote and run for office in 1918. Women attained their highest numbers in Sejm (Poland's Parliament) from 1980 to 1985, when they represented 23% of parliamentarians. After the 2005 elections, women's representation dropped. While the number of women parliamentarians remained at a similar level to the previous term's (94), the number of women in the Senate went from 23 to 13, resulting in Poland placing much lower, 49th

(out of 139) in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's worldwide ranking (IPU).

wikigender.org/index.php/Poland

So in 1918 women HAD the power to vote and run for the office, so it has been almost a 100 years since then - that is a LONG time. I would say that achieving parity is the next step to Polish democracy. I might not agree with the legal side of it, but : cel uswieca srodki.

Probably polish women do not vote women because they know better.

People should be judged (graded in school), admitted to university, receive empoyment, be promoted, serve in government, etc. solely in the basis fo merit, not artificial criteria such as race, gender, appearance or whatever.

those are not artificial criteria and you have NOT answered my questions. You are obviously against parity/equality and so on. I am not.

The parity rule became a fact in December 2010.

According to the new legislation, at least 35 percent of all candidates on the lists of all parties running for seats in the 460-seat lower house (pol. niższa izba) must be women. The rule will not apply to elections to the 100-seat upper house (pol. wyższa izba), the Senate.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed the new regulations but said that setting the quota as 50 percent would be a better solution as it would ensure fully equal representation of men and women. At present, women account for (pol. stanowić) some 20 percent of deputies in the lower house and for only 8 percent of senators.

Taken from the site for law students.

englishforlaw.edublogs.org/2010/12/05/polish-parliament-promotes-gender-parity-pol-parytety/

Funny, but most comments there are negative :
Stupidity!! We're heading towards a country with EVERYTHING legalized. If someone wants to run for seats in parliament then he/she will do it and that's it. Why do we need a law for that? I think now a great search will start for women who want to start in election because a small party with for example 10% of women won't be able to participate in election. Maybe this law was meant to eliminate small parties?

I think that this is not a good idea. It shouldn't be that way. We shouldn't integrate indirectly into who will be elected as a MP. If there's only 20% of women there must be a reason. It's like in business. Women tend to win less prizes, achieve lower salary, start less profitable businesses. If the want to go there they should achieve that but their OWN determination and skills. There may be some facilities to allow women and other groups enter parliament, but artificially stating 35% in my opinion is bad.

This was the most stupid thing they could've ever done. Men are not preferential in the parliamentary elections. Woman can normally take part in the elections without any problems. The thing that there are much more men than woman in our government only means that men are better in this case. They might have better election platform, their ideas are seen as better in other peoples minds. So why should we choose women to the sejm only because they're WOMAN? even if they don't have any idea about politics...