SYNOPSIS

  This short paper examines the issue of the representation of women at Westminster and briefly, in our town halls.

— Its considers what the differences are in terms of how men and women "do" politics and how our political culture and system still bends towards satisfying the way men engage politically.

— The move towards positive action by one political party has resulted in some changes to the political culture, policy direction and engagement of women. However unless this is adopted by all parties at all levels in the political system it will never produce parity.

— Furthermore greater participation and representation is hindered by occupational, status and financial barriers—an issue most pertinent to some black and ethnic minority groups.

— Fundamental changes have to take place for women at work to be able to produce the role models and raise the aspirations of women from all walks of life.

  1.  The UK faces a serious problem of lack of interest in the political system from the electorate. If politics looks old, white and male, it can seem irrelevant and dull to many people, and lead to lower participation rates and a reduction in democracy. And this is particularly true for women who look to those who can best reflect and represent their lives. This is born out by research by Laura Richards undertaken as part of the Electoral Commissions Gender and Political Participation project (2004) on political engagement.[35] This research shows that whilst women are over half the population they are less likely than men to become politically engaged or active although they are more likely to be involved in single issues

  2.  This has been further supported by turn out in general elections. Up until 1997 fewer women then men voted in a general election. This reversed in 1997 when 80.1% of women reportedly voted against 76.9% of men. By 2001 the difference was insignificant. However what is now increasingly noticeable is the low turn out amongst BME women.

  3.  There are some other important and distinctive features based on gender that should be acknowledged. Women are more sceptical of politics and politicians—they are more dissatisfied with political leaders and less likely to believe that the government is delivering improvements in public services.[36] Women and men continue to prioritise issues differently with women in particular placing high levels of priority on public services like education and healthcare. In addition, when asked, women place a higher priority than men on issues such as equal pay.[37]

  4.  Women consistently take longer to form a definite opinion of party leaders and when they do take a view, tend to be more negative. Although it is too early to reach a definitive conclusion, since Brown became PM satisfaction levels among women and men have been similar and if anything women have been slightly more positive about Brown.[38]

  5.  In a nutshell women "do" their politics differently but for too long politics has been packaged only to capture and woo men. As Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society said: "Politicians are right to be concerned about women's votes, but they need to be worrying about the long-term trends rather than the very latest poll. Women's dissatisfaction with politics and politicians has grown to crisis levels and politicians wanting to win women's support should be adopting a radical change in style and substance. Photocalls with Mums at the schoolgates and a few warm words about women's rights aren't going to cut the mustard."[39]

  6.  So has the presence of women as representatives increased women participation? The short answer has to be yes. In seats where women were elected in 2001 women's turnout was 4% higher than men's. Women are far more likely to agree that: "government benefits people like me" in constituencies where there is a female MP (49% compared to 34%). In other words having more women elected representatives actually encourages greater participation rates amongst women more generally.

  7.  The Electoral Commission research demonstrates that the convenience of voting also plays an important part in boosting turn-out. Women's reported turnout in all-postal pilot areas in May 2003 was 13% higher than men's. The report recommends that postal and convenience voting should be more widely available, to maximise the participation of women and those with parenting and caring responsibilities.

  8.  Further research throws up evidence that demonstrates how electing more women has changed the agenda.[40] Labour's women MPs, half of whom were selected on AWS (All Women Shortlists) has enabled the party to be seen as modern and progressive. Furthermore, with the emergence of modern gender gaps in voting—where women have turned away from their historic support of the Conservative Party—Labour's record women MPs are likely to be part of the explanation for Labour's support amongst women in the last three elections . There is also conclusive, albeit circumstantial evidence that the presence of greater numbers of women in the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) has led to the greater integration of women's concerns with the government's agenda : for example, childcare, domestic violence, and extended maternity and paid parental leave .This too is likely to have led to more women, especially younger women, voting Labour.

  9.  In the newly devolved institutions in Scotland and Wales the relatively high number of women has had a discernable impact on shaping their policy agendas. In both bodies, women parliamentarians have championed issues such as childcare, the social economy and equal pay. An increase in the number of women elected should lead not only to a more diverse policy agenda but also lead to a higher quality of decision-making.

  10.  But despite positive action measures the level of representation for women still falls short of an acceptable level. If we continue at this pace it will take a few hundred years to reach parity. And if we can't get it right for women—who make up 51% of the population—then how can we start to get it right for others who also feel under-represented and marginalised.

  11.  One of the biggest and most institutionalised barriers still has to do with money. Money equals power. Despite the fact that almost half of the British workforce is now women on average a women who works full time earn 17% less than men. In the thirty years since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act there have been many advances for women in work and society as a whole but equal pay is still a long way off.

  12.  This is re-inforced by gender segregation of jobs. Women workers tend to be concentrated into a narrow range of low paid occupations. Many work part time where the gender pay gap is stuck at nearly 40%. An Equal Opportunities Commission investigation "Free to Choose"[41] found that occupational segregation remained as entrenched as ever. The investigation focused on five sectors, including construction, where there are currently skills shortages and an imbalance in the concentration of women and men. Jobs which are classified as women's work command lower wages than men's work even when they require similar qualification levels, leading to inequalities in pay and income. The Just Pay Task Force Report identified occupational segregation as one of the three key causes of the gender pay gap. Add to this the tendancy for broken employment patterns and part-time working and the result is womens lower lifetime earnings.

  13.  Until women are equal players in all parts of society it will be hard to see how they can fully represented because they are coming from behind in the game that has to be played to get elected. Never more so is this apparent than at Boardroom level. Just a mere 12% of FTSE 100 directorships are held by women. There are interesting repercussions from this woeful gender imbalance. Last weeks Observer posed the interesting question: "If Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters, run by women instead of men, would the credit crunch have happened? As the report goes on to mention: "Both feminist and mainstream economists have pointed out that the credit crunch is quite literally a man-made disaster, a monster created in the testosterone-drenched environment of Wall Street and the City. There is a growing body of opinion that, if there had been more female decision-makers, the agony could have been avoided.[42]

  14.  So what can the government do? Well first of all the government needs to think long and hard about some of the messages it sends out. Trying to get more women into positions of power and influence in public life and yet at the same presiding over deregulation of the sex industry—notably lap dancing clubs—was at best stupid. At worst it has done huge disservice to women by undermining gender equality and adding to the abuse and discrimination that women face.

  15.  Let's be brave as well. In 2003, Norway passed a law requiring 40% of directors to be women by January 2008, and they have now exceeded that target—at 44.2%, Norway has the highest level of women board members in the world. Initially, there was considerable resistance to the new law, but once companies knew that they would be put out of business if they didn't comply, they set out to find women to fill the quota.[43] Why not legislate for this—now seems absolutely the right time.

  16.  Gender proofing for certain government initiatives is also much needed especially with funded projects that aid and assist communities. Interestingly in Ireland there are Gender Impact Assessment Guidelines to assist in the implementation of the National Development Plan.

  17.  In terms of encouraging more women into public life there is a continuing theme of the need to find and use ambassadors and role models for women, especially in socially and economically deprived areas or areas where there are large numbers of ethnic and minority groups. Women need to have role models to aspire to that they can relate to. Rachida Dati did women a huge disservice by coming back to work five days after the birth of her child. Women need role models that reflect their lives not raise the bar for male expectations.

  18.  At South Yorkshire Women's Development Trust we have been delivering Women Into Public Life courses for seven years and capacity building programmes for BME Women's groups for the last two years. Like all small voluntary and community organisations we face continual funding crises and bureaucratic hurdles that act as a disincentive to delivery. We need to put money into programmes that are aimed specifically at supporting women into public life. And we need more formal and accessible support and mentoring groups for women—especially for those who are starting out in business or work from home.

  19.  While a critical mass of women is necessary to ensure women's representation, the quality of the representation is just as important. Training is crucial to avoid the trap of electing "token women". In other words there has to be a system in place that identifies and supports women through the process—possibly for as long as two years with appropriate support and mentoring.

  20.  The selection process for becoming a councillor or an MP needs to be revisited. Parliamentary selections are lengthy, expensive and not all always scrupulously clean. We would not expect captains of industry to go through such a long process and there must be better, more transparent ways of selecting candidates. Indeed the way they are currently constructed favours those who have money and flexible work patterns. Indeed there is anecdotal evidence of some selections costing candidates upwards of £10,000. So if you have caring responsibility and no money you have little chance of becoming an MP.

  21.  The selection process for local elections is often a lottery with no money put aside for political parties to do what is most needed—to nurture and support aspiring candidates. What tends to happen is that selections are done at the last minute and in crisis mode with many branches ignoring positive action or simply being unable to comply with positive action because there are no women coming forward as candidates.

  22.  All Women Short Lists and positive action measures have many critics, sometimes from women themselves. They are blunt sticks to beat a deep-rooted and persistent problem of gender inequality. But at the moment they have been seen to work. They will only work, though if applied across the board in equal measures for ALL political parties and in all areas of public life. And greater representation at Westminster will only really work if we have alongside this measures to ensure more women in the Boardroom and in senior positions in the workplace.

What do the figures show?

  Doncaster comes out ahead both for women Councillors (41%) and women Members of Parliament, (two out of three).

  Rotherham is the worst with only 29% of women on the council and all three Members of Parliament are male.

Political Parties

  Labour has the highest percentage of women Councillors 38% in South Yorkshire. It is difficult to include the Independents in the statistics as they represent community groups or stand as individuals without any real party structure to influence selection.

Ethnic Minorities

  The position of women from ethnic minorities in all four South Yorkshire areas is appalling. It is not the most exact science but going on names alone there are no women from a South Asian background despite making up 2.6% of the population in South Yorkshire.

Overall—Local Government

  It is difficult to make a thorough assessment of the state of women in political life in South Yorkshire without the following information.

  How many female candidates and female candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds were selected to fight seats considered "safe"?

  It can certainly be considered "good experience" for candidates to stand in unwinnable seats, however, if women are repeatedly selected for these seats without progressing to a winnable seat it can interpreted as a way of meeting party quota's without depriving the "boys", of almost guaranteed positions in public representation..

Parliamentary Seats

  There are currently 11 male and four female Members of Parliament in South Yorkshire.

  At the 2005 General Election there were seventy seven candidates from all parties, in South Yorkshire. 61 men, and 16 women.

  Of the big three parties:

  Labour: stood 11 men and four women. The four women were in winnable seats and all won. 10 men won, all in supposedly safe Labour seats. One woman retired and was replaced by a winning female (Sheffield Hillsborough), One male retired and was replaced by a winning male (Doncaster North).

  Conservatives: 10 men and five women.

  Lib Dems: 13 men and two women. Won one seat—Male.

  Of the other parties standing 27 male and five female candidates were fielded.

36   For example, 34% of women (compared to 47% of men) think that the government's policies will improve Britain's economy while 49% of women (compared to 42% of men) think the NHS will get worse or much worse. Source: Ipsos MORI quarterly Delivery Index aggregate data (quarters 3 & 4 of 2006 and 1 & 2 of 2007). Back

37   Polling conducted by Ipsos MORI between 26 and 28 October 2007 for Fawcett and UNISON showed that 72% of women and 66% men said they were more likely to listen to a politician if they thought they were committed to ensuring equal pay for women and 59% of women and 58% of men said they would be more likely to vote for them. Back

38   The above October Political Monitor poll shows 40% of women (35% of men) declaring themselves satisfied with Brown as Prime Minister. Back

39   See Women's Votes: Myth and Reality Fawcett Society 7 November 2007. Back

40   This is what happens when you don't listen'36-All Women Shortlists at the 2005 General Election by David Cutts and Edward Fieldhouse, University of Manchester and Sarah Childs, University of Bristol Back

41   Equal Opportunities Commission-"Free to Choose"-March 2005. Back

42   http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/18/women-credit-crunch-ruth-sunderland. Back

43   For further information look at the Centre for Women and Democracy website www.cfwd.org.uk. Director Nan Sloane has done some excellent work on women and representation both here and abroad. Back