The fresh Industrial and Business Party (INP) is sailing with a tailwind. But at the same time as it is poised to enter municipal councils across the country, the party is struggling with what many perceive as a masculine image. The leader of the party is a man. There are women on the central board, but the 1st and 2nd deputy chairpersons are men. And they are far from an even gender distribution on the municipal and county council electoral lists. Leader Owe Ingemann Waltherzøe would have liked it to be different. Leader of INP, Owe Ingemann Waltherzøe. Photo: Petter Strøm / news – We are not very proud of it, and we have worked quite hard for several women. The door is wide open, he says. I think the name seems harsh In Rogaland, 75 percent of the list candidates are men. – We have had a problem there, and we don’t like it. We have tried our hand at charm and flirting, but we must try a different tactic, says county leader Jan Inge Selvik in Rogaland INP. Jan Inge Selvik, head of INP Rogaland. Photo: Øystein Ellingsen / news He has a theory about what can scare female candidates away. – The name may be a bit intimidating. It might seem a bit harsh. But this is something we have struggled with across the country. INP is on the rise, especially in Western Norway. The 2021 parliamentary election was the first time the party stood for election. Then they got a support of 0.3 percent. But since then the number of members has increased sharply. The party now has 100 local teams, and soon 8,000 members. Almost 900 people have signed up this year alone. In comparison, the Liberal party had around 7,200 members at the end of 2022. But it is mostly men who sign up. In Haugesund, 14 men and 1 woman are on the lists, while in Hå på Jæren there are only men. So where does that leave the women? The election’s big talking point Political commentator on news Tone Sofie Aglen, believes that INP reflects the professional group they address, which is dominated by men. In addition to the fact that the cases tend to appeal mostly to men. Political commentator at news, Tone Sofie Aglen. – They are concerned with energy policy, district policy, preparedness and security, and these are areas where men are probably more engaged than women. In addition, there is a party that targets a certain amount of climate skepticism, and it is probably also something that particularly well-grown men are overrepresented, says Aglen. In addition, she has noticed a slightly special thing on the party’s website: – They address people with life experience and professional experience. It is very rare to read that a party does that. Often you have a goal of, for example, recruiting young people, she says. – Will it be too narrow and masculine? – Some will probably say that, but then it could be that it is precisely the pointed profile that makes them stand out. In any case, I feel that of the smaller parties, the INP is the big talking point so far in this election campaign, she says. A few women Leader Waltherzøe is satisfied that they have female list-toppers in densely populated areas such as Oslo, Viken, Vestfold and Telemark, Bergen, Trondheim and Nordland. And there are a few women in the party. Elisabeth Thomassen (36) is top of the list for the party in Klepp på Jæren. – I have always wanted to get involved politically, says Thomassen. And when she read the programme, she felt that it was right for her. Elisabeth Thomassen hopes more women will get involved in INP. Photo: Privat Now she hopes to bring more women along. – I suspect they think it’s scary. You know you’re going to end up in the limelight too, it’s a new party. And if you don’t have experience in politics, it’s a bit scary in any case, she says. But she has not thought about the fact that the party name can be perceived as masculine. – If you read the party programme, it is not masculine. It is the policy that is important, not the name, she says. Not a “man’s party” Jan Inge Selvik hopes people don’t think that the INP is a man’s party. – For God’s sake not! I hope they read the programme, he says, highlighting health policy as a softer issue. – It is very good, I think. And then there are girls who are engineers and civil economists. There is room for them in this party too, says Selvik.
ttn-69
The Industrial and Business Party is struggling to recruit women – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
