KUALA LUMPUR (July 1): There is an emerging class-gender dynamic appearing in voting behaviours of the Malaysian electorate as seen in the recent 13th general election, political analyst Bridget Welsh said.
According to Welsh's research, there was still a persistent gender gap in voting patterns but what's becoming more evident are social cleavages that are adding different dynamics to observable gender differences in voting behaviour.
Some social cleavages that Welsh described were class, ethnicity, age, regional variation and marital status.
"You can't just talk about women as one group. You have to recognise the social cleavages within that. There is a class-gender gap that is emerging in the election results," Welsh said at a recent forum on the role and participation of women in politics.
Welsh, who lectures political science at the Singapore Management University, said that women voters generally tended to favour the Barisan Nasional.
This was especially true amongst Malay, Indian and East Malaysian women but not Chinese women.
Welsh also observed a narrowing of the gender gap within upper class and middle class Malays but a widening of gender differences within Malays of lower income groups.
Crucially, the class-gender gap is likely a reflection of the election campaign that happened, Welsh said.
The general election campaign saw various cash handouts deployed, the fear factor, the opposition's inability to reach out to some rural areas and political messaging that did not seem to connect with women voters.
Welsh stressed that women voters made a difference in the final outcome of the recent May 5 general election.
This is because women, who make up slightly over half of the total electorate, tend to have higher turnout rates than male voters.
There are about 6.66 million women who registered to vote, according to Election Commission data. This means that women form 50.23% of the total 13.26 million electorate.
States with the highest proportion of female voters include Kedah, Perlis and Penang.
Women vote more but participate less
According to Welsh, there are also significant gender differences in terms of political participation.
Women tend to participate in politics less even if they are more likely to vote than men.
"Women participate less, they feel like they can effect less change, they are not as involved as local problems.
"Political parties are no longer engaging women in the same degree as in the past," said Welsh.
However, Welsh's research found that women's participation in politics depends on the networks that they are in and the type of social capital they have.
As an example, Welsh noted that women who use the Internet more were found to be more likely to vote and participate in politics.
PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin, who also spoke at the event, said that most women still feel reluctant to take part in politics.
"Like it or not, politics is still a game for the men. I have urged women to go into mainstream politics and head political party divisions. That is where the power is.
"We are looking for more women to come and join politics but they say no, no it is not for me.
"So we position politics as something to take care of the welfare of the people and to serve, not something for position, power and wealth," said Zuraida.
The Ampang MP said there were also hurdles when it comes to fielding women candidates during elections.
As an example, Zuraida said PKR had earlier identified 48 women candidates to contest in the 13th general election. But only 28 women candidates were fielded after some had to make way amid seat negotiations between aligned political parties.
"When it comes to suggesting women candidates, the men will ask what is her qualification to be the candidate. This is not asked when it is a male candidate," said Zuraida.
In a similar vein, former Wanita Umno deputy chief Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim pointed out that the structure of political parties does not encourage women to participate because the environment is still largely male-dominated.
"In parliament, only 10.4% of representatives are women. This is low considering the fact that women make up 49% of the population and 46% of the work force.
"So it is a good question. Where are the women?" asked Kamilia, who recently resigned from Umno after she was not fielded to contest the general election.
She stood as an independent in the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat but eventually lost. Kamilia, who has been active in politics for three decades, said Malay women in rural areas are very interested and active in politics but are merely relegated to being foot soliders during elections.
Kamilia argued that women should be aiming to contest and win parliamentary seats because that is where laws are made and policies are checked.
"Women should have a bigger say, including in the national budget. If half of the MPs are women, can you imagine what you can do?" said Kamilia.
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