Political citizenship for all?Local political representation by disabled people

Ingrid Guldvik ingrid.guldvik@hil.no

Lillehammer University College

Why political representation by disabled people?

• Social representation – a mirror of the society

• Representation by social groups (cultural practice, specific needs/characteristics, marginalised/excluded) (Iris M. Young 2000)

• Representation will enhance and enlarge democracy

What do we know?

• Political behaviour among disabled people has received little attention

• Lower political participation due to– Problems with access – Impairments create limits– Services are not adapted for participation in

public life

Varying political participation among disabled people

• Men participate more than women• Younger persons participate more than older people• Higher education, higher participation• Persons who are active in other areas are also more active

in politics• Persons with more extensive networks are more active

than persons with smaller networks• Persons with severe impairments participate less than

people with less severe impairments• Participation increase if disabled people experience that

politicians are concerned with relevant topics

The Norwegian context

• Norway has 430 municipalities and 18 counties

• Municipalities administer a significant amount of the public budget allotted to welfare services

• Municipal councils are directly elected in a general election every fourth year

The empirical study

• A survey in 74 municipalities in 4 counties in Norway

• Answers from 767 (58 %) representatives in the local councils

Under-representation in local politics

• 14 % state that they have one or more impairments (109 out of 767)

• 10 % define themselves as disabled (75 persons)

• In public statistics 17 % of the population declare themselves as disabled

Research questions

Why are disabled people under-represented in local political assemblies?– Because of lack of material resources; like

physical accessibility and organising of meetings?

– Because of lack of recognition/respect; like specific expectations to the disabled representatives’ work performance and interests in topics concerning disability?

Social justice – two dimensions

• Parity of participation - requires social arrangements that permit all (adult) members of society to interact with one another as peers – Redistribution – requires distribution of material

resources to ensure participants’ independence and ‘voice’

– Recognition - requires institutionalised patterns of cultural value that express equal respect for all participants and ensure equal opportunity to achieve social esteem (Nancy Fraser 2003)

How is the physical accessibility adapted for people with disabilities? Per cent

Secretary of executive

board

Disabled repr.

Non disabled

repr.

High degr High degr High degr

Parking 74 47 52

Elevators 74 53 54

Ramps 72 37 42

Toilets 69 42 37

Meeting rooms

62 29 40

Door opener

51 32 33

To what degree does the organising of meetings take into account the needs of disabled people?

Secretary of executive board

Disabled representatives

High degree High degree

Accessibility to meeting rooms 60 31

Accessibility to speaker’s platform 50 26

Transport (meetings, inspections) 57 33

Sufficient number of breaks 52 18

Light in meeting rooms 47 61

Sound/acoustics in meeting rooms 44 17

Assistance 47 12

Duration of meetings 45 42

Indoor climate in meeting rooms 41 19

Sign language and interpretation 21 8

Disabled representatives’ experiences of expectations to their own work performance and non-disabled representatives’ actually expectations. Per cent

Disabled representatives Non-disabled representatives

”Mostpeople"

Other in one own’s

party

Other represen-

tatives

Lower than other representatives

5 8 18 5

Same as other representatives

66 65 82 93

Higher than other representatives

29 27 0 2

Sum 100 100 100 100

N = 74 (disabled) og N = 620 (non-disabled)

Disabled representatives’ experiences of expectations to their interest in topics concerning “disability” and non-disabled representatives’ actually expectations

Disabled representatives experienced expectations,

N=70

Non-disabled representatives actually expectations, N=620

Almost the same interest as other representatives

More interested than other representatives

63

37

53

47

Total 100 100

The material dimension - redistribution

• Poor accessibility is a main problem for stronger political representation

• Universal design is to a low degree on the local political agenda

• Universal design is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition

• The material dimension does not ensure representatives’ independence and ‘voice’

The cultural dimension – recognition

• Disabled representatives experience specific expectations to their political participation

• They are, to some degree, expected to be representatives for their group

• This cultural value may express inequality and misrecognition and may not ensure equal opportunity to achieve social esteem

Conclusion• More qualitative research is needed to gain

further knowledge about hindrances and opportunities for disabled men and women when entering the political arena