Formal and informal parliamentary roles are often allocated by established rules and procedures. There is, nevertheless, some room for influence and intervention which women should maximize. For example, women MPs should make a point of nominating and voting for women in internal elections, of suggesting women's names for informal positions, and of drawing attention to the absence or relative absence of women in key positions. Particular attention should be given to opportunities available in committee work, as there is considerable evidence

Invest in committee work;

from the long-established democracies that women do better in committee work than in debating chambers. Having said this, women should not abandon debating chambers since this is where parliamentary reputations are often made and where the media often direct their sustained attention.

but don't abandon the debating chambers.

The skill of debating in general is a particularly important one and can be encouraged and sponsored through parliamentary networks linked up to schools, i.e., through the curricula, as well as through leadership institutions. Women's parliamentary networks can also play a crucial role in supporting women speakers and in changing to less adversarial styles of debate.

Push for and establish equal opportunity positions in government, and ministries for women's affairs.

Since government careers tend to follow from legislative careers, the advancement of women through the range of committees and through the legislative hierarchy is an important component in their qualification for high office. Equal opportunity positions in government and ministries for women's affairs, and their shadow counterparts in opposition parties, are other positions that have been well used by women politicians to advance their interests and their careers.

For example, between 1992 and 1997 four Labour women MPs in the UK were shadow ministers for women. All four were appointed to important government positions (two at cabinet level) when Labour won the elections in 1997. This indicates that such positions need not be a ghetto for women, but may instead be a means of advancement.

Representation

Rules have been used to increase women's representation in a number of ways. In this area, a three-track strategy has proven effective:

• Pressure political parties to ensure that women are nominated for winnable seats in the legislature.

• Design procedural mechanisms to ensure the presence of women in the full range of parliamentary positions.

• Design legislation that creates new structures to insure that women's interests are represented.

The expansion of political structures has proven an especially useful means of securing women's representation. In the Indian Government of June 1997, four posts were created in the central Government Ministry to introduce women into the newly created positions. In Britain, during the 1990s, the shadow cabinet was an elected body. Following pressure from women's advocates, Labour increased the size of the shadow cabinet and introduced a requirement that all ballots cast in shadow cabinet elections must include a minimum number of votes for women (first three, later expanded to four) or they would be invalid. This mechanism both ensured women's membership of the cabinet and their representation of various constituencies. As we mentioned above, when Labour won the general election in 1997, women members of the shadow cabinet were given full cabinet positions.

In Costa Rica, a practice that the Vice-President should be a woman has been established. Dutch experience shows that the creation of parliamentary committees on women's issues is one way of making positions available for women. Such committees scrutinize all legislation for their gendered content, and thereby aid the extension of women's agendas. They also enhance awareness of the gendered nature of many political issues. The committees feed into the legislative process and also play a part in generating public discussion on such issues.

Serve on women's ministries to gain valuable experience.

Concern has been expressed by women deputies in many countries that such devices may serve only to separate and "ghettoize" women's issues and the politicians who support them. Although ghettoization may be a risk in the short-term, experience indicates that over time, such work becomes accepted, and in fact, affirms and legitimizes broader gender issues. Moreover women gain valuable experience by serving on women's committees, reserved places, and women's ministries.

carry this increased awareness to other positions.

They may then extend their influence by working with other committees on different issues, for example by monitoring the implementation of the "Beijing Platform for Action" or the "European Union Medium-Term Action Plans on Equality between Women and Men".

Use this experience as a basis to launch careers in other areas.

Women's committees need not be seen as permanent structures, but while in existence they enable women to display their skills and thus serve as launching platforms for careers in other political areas. Moreover, women who have experience on sex equality portfolios carry this increased awareness and knowledge of women's issues to other ministries, thus advancing the process of mainstreaming women's concerns. ⁸

As we have said before, how much can be accomplished necessarily depends on the number of women who are actually elected to parliament. But even small numbers of women MPs can have a major impact. Where there are only a few women the advantage of high visibility can be used both in placing women in key positions and in raising women's issues. High visibility sometimes brings unexpected benefits. One example is when UK Labour opposition leader Neil Kinnock was unable to subject Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to sustained pressure, because although a gifted orator and debater, he felt inhibited by Thatcher's sex and his ingrained habits of courtesy toward women. While he used his skills against powerful male adversaries, he was never able to direct them at her. Such benefits are likely only to be a temporary advantage.

Impact/Influence on Output

Knowledge of procedural rules has frequently been used to influence the parliamentary agenda by introducing women's concerns into otherwise gender-blind debates ­ forcing debates on issues such as reproductive rights, equal pay, childcare ­ as well as by proposing sex equality legislation and amendments. Parliamentarians have established public enquiries into women's status and condition, then used the results to push through legislative programmes.

Establish public enquiries into women's issues - and use findings to push through legislation.

Once the issues are on the agenda, the behaviour of other politicians changes. After all, it is more difficult politically to come out against equality for women than it is to prevent equality issues from getting onto the agenda in the first place. The classic example of this occurred in the American Congress debate on the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. In order to prevent the bill from becoming law, anti civil rights representatives proposed that sex equality be added to the race equality provisions of the bill. Their belief was that sex equality would help to sink the bill. In fact, once the sex equality amendment was accepted, few politicians were willing to oppose it publicly. Ironically, sex equality provisions may have helped the bill to pass.

Speak in favour of, sponsor, and co-sponsor bills.

In some cases, activities such as co-sponsorship, speech-making, and sponsorship of bills by women have been much more effective than their actual votes. One study looking at the support for women's issues in the 101st U.S. Congress found that, although differences in roll call voting on feminist issues between women and men were small, women were significantly more likely than men to co-sponsor feminist bills, to make speeches on behalf of feminist legislation and to sponsor feminist legislation. ⁹

Reveal linkages between women's issues and all other issues.

There are many instances in some parts of the developing world however, where women MPs shy away from any association with bills on women. This is largely due to the lack of a critical mass, as explained earlier, as well as to a certain stigma associated with "those feminists". This further underscores the need for raising awareness about the interlinkage between women's issues and every other issue handled by parliament. The budgetary and economic interests for example, are not and should not be seen as only "male" concerns since they affect everyone. Similarly, health, social welfare, and education do not only affect women. It is interesting to note that such limited perceptions of social issues may actually reflect an old political hierarchy which places "external affairs" on a higher pedestal than the internal condition of citizens ­ a reason why the current, and largely scholarly, concern with issues of citizenship deserve the attention of both men and women deputies.

Discourse

In certain countries, cultural norms of equality between men and women, or discourse on rights, meritocracy, and conventions about representation may be avenues that can be used to alter parliamentary balances. For example, research in the U.S. on legislative elections following the Anita Hill ­ Clarence Thomas ¹⁰ hearings reveal a major increase in the number of women candidates, in support for women candidates from women voters, and in public and media attention that women candidates received. Public discussions of the Hill ­ Thomas hearings highlighted the absence of women from the Senate and from other high offices, the research suggests. Images of a male Senate committee cross-examining Anita Hill about her experiences of sexual harassment contributed to making the representation of women in government a major theme of the subsequent election in 1992, which the press dubbed the "year of the woman".

Danish women deputies have also succeeded in altering the parliamentary discourse. Drude Dahlerup notes how prior to the entry of significant numbers of women into the Scandinavian parliaments, most politicians did not have the vocabulary to speak about issues such as discrimination, inequality, sexual harassment or sexual violence. Most had problems even using the word for women and preferred to use euphemisms. Today, Nordic politicians know how to say the word "woman". Over time in the Nordic states the increased presence of women has altered the style of campaigning bringing in expressions of warmth and compassion as well as family references. ¹¹ This does render it less adversarial. In The Netherlands, study of legislative debates reveal how women's interventions have been associated with changing the way in which abortion policy is debated, notably its shift from a medical or religious issue to an issue of choice. ¹²

Get involved in international conferences to highlight women's potential and capabilities.

The participation of women politicians in major international conferences has also had an important effect on challenging public notions of what women can do. One example is the way in which perceptions about the women's movement in Egypt and in other Arab countries changed following the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) that was held in Cairo in September 1994. Prior to this conference, many Egyptian women MPs, and indeed the general public, had at best been ignorant of the women's movement and at worst been downright disdainful of its capabilities. Those involved in the women's movement held a similar view of women parliamentarians. The ICPD was an opportunity for women MPs to actually witness what women's non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had managed to accomplish and to network with them on issues of common interest. It also enabled the women's movement to realize that they could have potential allies in women MPs since they shared many interests and goals. Regardless of what may have actually happened later on, at least there was a perceptible change in awareness on the part of both the MPs and the women's organizations. Equally important was a shift in public awareness and perception of women as activists and as politicians. The ICPD demonstrated to the general public that women's issues (whether it was changes in family law, reproductive rights, or female circumcision) were part of their general concerns, and that rather than a bunch of loose women clamouring for change, those articulating these concerns were capable and intelligent women who deserve to be listened to and taken seriously. Women's issues and the women's perceptions gained a certain credibility that was not on the agenda of public consciousness prior to this international networking event.