Gender Parity in Parliament?
Not with Preferential Ballot (aka Alternative Vote)
The lessons of Australia are very informative. With the same people voting in Proportional and Winner-Take-All elections at the same time, it’s a perfect petrie dish for studying the difference between STV and AV.
Without its Proportional Senate, there wouldn’t have been any women at all elected between 1951 and 1965. And look how few women are elected to the House of Representatives.
This graph (based on Australian government data) demonstrates the truth of Fair Vote Canada’s maxim
that “fair voting elects more women naturally.”
Countries electing the truly representative Parliaments possible with Proporttional Representation don’t need to rely on quotas, or Prime Ministerial largesse in order to include women’s voices in democratic governance.
Source: Representation of women in Australian parliaments
Find out more about Proportional Representation at Whoa!Canada