We are a group of Labour Women members from Bradford and would like to make the following comments about the role of women in the House of Commons

What are the reasons more women do not become Members of Parliament?

  Short summary:

— Women's perception of themselves—also now more often in full time work. Many find this is sufficient activity combined with bringing up a family.

— More likely to put families and children first.

— Many women have a role as a carer of older/disabled people.

— Often actively involved in and getting satisfaction from local communities.

— Women tend to be less ruthless and less competitive.

— Entry into politics sometimes via historically male dominated trade unions.

— Society can still be critical of women who succeed in public life.

— The House of Commons itself can seem like an "Old Boys Club".

  1.  Women's perception of themselves—although their role has changed so they are often in full time work this has not necessarily freed them up for them to feel they want to take on wider responsibilities as well. In some ways this mitigates against such a move. For most women working full time and bringing up a family is sufficient activity at any one time—so they are less likely to participate in local politics which can be a way into the national political scene.

  1.1  Women tend to put families and children first. In the main the women who have succeeded have no small children, are rich so may be less likely to follow a first career or have partners who are prepared to sacrifice their own careers. There is inevitably only a minority of women that meet these criteria and this is reflected in the number of women MPs.

  1.2.  More women than men take on the role of carers of older and disabled people. With the progress in medical science, people are living longer and women are likely to be involved in this role, for a greater percentage of their lives.

  1.3  Women are often actively involved in local communities and getting satisfaction from this—which can be more easily be combined with family and career—and so the attraction of national politics is less obvious.

  1.4  Women tend to be less ruthless—and naturally less competitive—otherwise women would be better represented in the higher management positions.

  2.  Entry to national politics has in the past sometimes been through the trade unions—and although this is changing, most union management posts have in the past been predominantly held by men.

  3.  Society's perception of women—society can still be very critical and judgemental about women who succeed—women are seen in very pejorative terms if they compete in a traditionally "man's world"—for example women are seen as "pushy" whereas a man would be "confident" in similar circumstances.

Women are still, by the majority of society, seen as remaining close to home whereas men are the bread winners.

  4.  The House of Commons itself is a very male dominated environment and the behaviour or some MPs—described as "braying" during debates, does little to entice women to join the fray.

What Actions could be taken by the Government to address disparities in representation?

  Short Summary:

— Ensure that entry in to the political environment is supported and sustained.

— Provide education about how the system actually works.

— Include education about the political process in the school curriculum.

— Support a national network of Women's Forum.

— Look at changes in the day to day management of parliament and local councils.

— Introduce reserved seats for women.

— Carry out further research to inform the debate about representation.

  1.  Entry into political environment is supported and sustained. Too many people find the political environment very confusing and unwelcoming. There is little nurturing of new members. There should be a consistent policy of providing mentors, buddies etc.

  1.1  The political system is a complex network of power and influence that is often a mystery to the newcomer—a commitment to providing education about how the system actually works may go some way to encouraging women to feel at ease and therefore able to make a contribution.

  1.2  A commitment to including political education in schools—this would be about the political process, pressure groups etc and the relevance of participation for all sections of the community.

  1.3  Vigorously support a national network of Women's Forum to provide local support for women and a link into the system. This would give women members a chance to get the support of other women members in what may be a male dominated constituency management group.

  2.  Changes to the day to day management of councils and the House of Commons. This could include more family friendly policies for the business of local councils to encourage more women to participate locally as again this is a common way into a more national political engagement. It would also include more family friendly policies for the sittings and business of the House of Commons.

  2.1  A more structured role for all MPs to ensure there are boundaries and a chance to have a life outside politics. This may encourage women to participate as they would not necessarily see becoming an MP leading to the end of "normal" family life.

  3.  Reserved Seats for Women. Unfortunately the above suggestions are only really tinkering around the edges—they may increase numbers marginally but without a wholesale re—think about the way the political process works they are unlikely to deliver any big changes in the gender make up of the political landscape.

Reserved seats for women could only happen by moving away from the tradition of representation by constituency. They would be grouped into some kind of micro region whereby we'd vote for a number of MPs—some of whom would be women. This has been done for European elections.

4.  Research into a number of aspects of the political system.

  4.1  Look at other countries that have a more representative system—how have they managed this?

  4.2  The selection process—how far are women involved on the panels?

  4.3  At what stage in the selection process are women under represented—is it at the beginning or does the balance change at any point?

  4.4  Look at successful women politicians who are also parents—how have they arranged their lives to achieve this. What would have helped more?

  4.5  A number of politicians are retired women—what support have they had and what support would have helped them more?

  Thank you for considering our views.