Democracy Lab: Exchange is a platform for people to share ideas and make connections around supporting community-led action.
For our July 2021 forum we discussed the topic of Represent! We began with short talks from our speakers Tracey Evans, Sophie Bazzano and Morgan Cataldo who each presented their perspectives before moving on to a larger group discussion.
What emerged was a thought-provoking conversation which unpacked some of the complexities around the topic of representation. Below is a short summary of what was discussed, it captures some of the key points made by speakers and participants.
Why talk about representation?
It is widely acknowledged that people who tend to take up representative roles and participate in decision-making are usually those with relative privilege and better resources. This spans all types of representation, from elected representatives and community leaders to advisory committees and advocacy groups.
Fortunately, there is increasing emphasis on engaging with, and involving people, with diverse lived experiences in these representative roles. There has been an emergence of more participatory practices like deliberative engagement, and a lot more attention is being paid to who is actually at the metaphoric ‘table’. This is no doubt encouraging, but we do need to be careful about the representative claim these processes make. Making room for those from under-represented groups may not automatically be creating space for them to fully participate and bring their perspectives to the fore. Equally, the way representatives understand their role, and how they ensure they are truly representing the needs of those they aim to ‘speak for’ needs to be considered.
We started with a discussion around representatives and how they understand their roles.
People have trusted me to represent them, to do the right thing on their behalf.
Tracey
It may seem self-evident, but processes often overlook the fact that just because a person might belong to a certain demographic group, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have the mandate to speak on that group’s behalf. Aside from the limitations around framing what an individual brings to the table around only one lens – e.g. culture, age, gender, lived-experience – the speakers consistently noted that representatives need to be self-reflective and consider deeply whether they actually have the authority or mandate to speak in that space.
This was particularly highlighted for spaces where representatives are selected based on their demographic data rather than elected. As both Sophie and Morgan pointed out, even when we engage representatives from cohorts that are traditionally under-represented, the individuals selected for those roles can tend to be those that are nevertheless more mobilised and have learnt how to ‘perform’ within existing systems.
In terms of how this might be addressed, to begin, there needs to be acknowledgement that individuals may not have the ability or mandate to speak for a whole community group, and therefore, assumptions cannot be made about their ‘representative claim’. This doesn’t imply that processes which involve non-elected community members are not valuable, they can be, but context around how much we can draw conclusions around representing the views and experiences of larger groups needs to be recognised.
Following on from this, all speakers highlighted that representatives should consult with their communities and be in constant discussion with them to make sure they speak with authority on issues.
No one enjoys a mouthpiece that’s hell bent on speaking on behalf of all within a group without any consultation process. And you don’t want to run the risk of the echo chamber effect – it shouldn’t be the ultimate goal of being a representative is this sort of cheap sloganeering or bulldozing opposition type thing.
Sophie
Lastly, there was quite a bit of discussion around the responsibility of representatives, or leaders, to make space for others:
It takes a lot of self-awareness and critical reflection to say “I don’t know if I’m the best person to be speaking about this. How about I come in and facilitate an opportunity for people who are closer to that issue to speak?” … you have then opened up more space that other people can occupy.
Morgan
What can we do to improve representative spaces?
Even when we manage to bring people into a space, they might not feel comfortable participating in a meaningful way. There are many assumptions we sometimes make about why participants might be quieter, such as a lack of confidence or capacity. Rather than focus on the individual, and create a deficit mindset around that person, we should also be asking ourselves what is it about this space that made them feel that they couldn’t speak up? We need to examine the context rather than blame the individual, work with them around what is needed to make the space more inclusive.
Connected to this, speakers talked about how it takes courage to stand up and speak out in large groups, especially when the perspective you bring is different from the status quo. To fully support people to do this, sometimes we might need to make sure that people who are traditionally more marginalised are actually ‘over’ represented in a representative group so that they have the critical mass, and safety in numbers, that can support them to be more vocal.
Additionally, we need to be mindful that this might cause some disruption for individuals who have traditionally had power, especially if they haven’t had to do much for that power because it is tied to their identity. These individuals might respond to spaces where their voice is mitigated as a threat to their power. In this case, it is important to acknowledge this and to call it out if needed.
Finally, we talked about what it might look like if rather than ‘create’ new spaces we connected with community-led spaces and the benefits of that.
When they really want to know what’s going on with the traditional owners, we take our executives on to country… Sure, we could sit in a very bland governmental room, but that’s not how our people operate…we sat down and had coffees with the elders, we sat outside, so you take it to the people, you create the space.
Tracey
Throughout all these discussions, the importance of building relationships was highlighted. What was particularly stressed was how building connections and spending time with communities doesn’t necessarily require large budgets, but it can have significant results.
They may tell you your goals should be to enter the mainstream. Don’t. Tell the mainstream to grow wider and more inclusive. We want a wide stream, not a mainstream. (Pat Deegan)
What came through a lot in the forum for me was rather than making representation about the numbers, make it about the people, their values and what they bring. Acknowledge the differences, and instead of trying to ignore them to find commonalities, use them to enrich the conversation because they may in fact be where the greatest potential lies.
Some thoughts in chat from the night:
It’s not about looking at the table, counting the chairs and being part of the scrum to grab a seat… it’s about turning around and looking at the community and thinking about how to create a safe space into which new voices feel they can step up and speak.
Open up more space, so more voices can be heard, which is really what I think a representative should be doing.
Keep check of the space I’m taking up
Some further information suggested at the forum by speakers and participants:
- Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy: Organising for Social Justice – where she discusses the ‘moving at the speed of trust’ approach.
- Cormac Russell Ted talk: Sustainable community development: from what’s wrong to what’s strong
- Brenda Happell and Cath Roper – The myth of representation: The case for consumer leadership