Female candidates sweep polls

For the first time in seven years, Warwick students have elected a female majority sabbatical team to represent them.

Of the seven full time sabbatical officers, four will be women in 2013/14: welfare and campaigns officer Cathryn Turhan, education officer Erin Davies, postgraduate officer Lucy Gill, and sports officer Zoe Buckland.

The result marks the second consecutive year in which Warwick students have elected a female sports officer, a position that, along with the role of president, has traditionally been taken by a man.

Despite the absence of a female presidential candidate, and although none of the current female officers ran for re-election, women will be represented as a majority for the first time since 2006/7. The Union had three female sabbatical officers this year, but only one in 2011/12 and none the year before.

Brian Duggan was president of the last female majority team in 2006/7, and was one of only two male sabbs. He spoke exclusively to the Boar about the importance of female representation in a Students’ Union.

“Too often, SU elections are dominated by male candidates and male Sabb teams,” he said, “so it’s great to see women candidates take a clean sweep this year.

“Student politics is a great place to learn the skills and talents for national politics, so it’s great to see Warwick lead the way with its student movement.”

2012/13 Women’s Officer Alys Cooke said she was “so, so happy that so many women have got in”.
“They are so deserving and qualified. Next year, let’s get a female presidential candidate,” she added.

Louisa Ackermann, who will take over Cooke’s role in 2013/14 after winning Friday night’s appointments, agreed. “It’s so encouraging to see so many women elected as Sabbs this year,” she said.

“Hopefully it is a sign of the future, where women are equally represented in positions of power, although it is a shame that none of our presidential candidates were women.”

Others have been keen to point out that a male-majority team might not necessarily be a difficult place for a female sabb to be. Tom Callow, who was finance officer in a 2007/8 team that only had one female sabb, told the Boar that “there certainly wasn’t an especially ‘male’ or ‘laddish’ atmosphere in our team and we all got on very well”.

He added: “I think the most important thing for a Sabb team is, regardless of gender balance, to work well together. Still, it’s great to see more women standing in, and winning, Sabb elections.”

Many students saw the result as a great leap forward, and took to Twitter to express their pride in the progressive nature of last week’s vote.

Twitter user @MaireadLoftus said, “so happy that next year’s sabb team will have a female majority I felt it merited my first tweet,” while 2011/12 societies officer Matthew Rogers posted, “female sabb majority! Time this was replicated in national politics!”