SUMMARY

— Unbalanced representation in the House of Commons negatively affects political participation and voter attitudes.

— Disadvantaged young women are unlikely to become engaged with the political process if they do not believe their views or experiences are being represented.

— Disadvantaged young women still experience gender stereotyping and are not encouraged to look at political careers.

— Participation programmes need to reach the most socially excluded young women to help them learn about engaging with and influencing political processes.

— Lack of confidence, time, money and support are all important reasons why women do not actively engage in political processes or become MPs.

ABOUT YWCA

  1.  YWCA is the leading charity working with the most disadvantaged young women in England and Wales. We run services to support them and campaign with them to combat the discrimination they face. We want a future where disadvantaged young women can overcome prejudice against them and take charge of their own lives. Our work focuses on the hardest to reach and the hardest to hear. YWCA is committed to young women's participation being at the heart of all that we do

Are problems caused by the unbalanced representation in the House of Commons of different groups in society? If so, what are those problems?

  2.  The House of Commons is currently extremely unbalanced with not enough women MPs and very few black or minority ethnic MPs. The young women we work with cannot see representatives that reflect their own lives and experiences. Firstly, this reduces their faith in the House of Commons to be able to represent their views. Secondly, it reduces their ambition to be involved in political processes as they have not seen anyone go before them and feel it cannot be "for people like us". This in turn reduces their interest and participation in politics and democratic processes because they feel they are unrepresentative and therefore ineffective.

Is there a relationship between these levels of representation and voter attitudes to Parliament?

  3.  As outlined above, if young women cannot see political representatives who reflect their own lives and experiences, they are far less likely to think that representatives are acting for them and therefore far less likely to participate. This creates a distance between the electorate and representatives.

What are the reasons why more women, people from ethnic minorities and disabled people do not become Members of Parliament?

  4.  The issues outlined above again play a big part. Furthermore, the young women we work with are not encouraged to get involved in political issues. Many young people's participation projects are geared towards academically achieving young people instead of engaging all young people. Disadvantaged young women are still receiving gender stereotypical steers into the lowest paid jobs like cashiering, cleaning, caring etc. They are rarely ever encouraged to look into political careers.

  5.  Many young women feel it is pointless getting involved in political processes because they feel powerless. The more socially excluded a woman is the more powerless and disconnected from political processes she is likely to feel. Many women feel they cannot influence change and so do not want to get involved. Young women also often tell us that they cannot get involved because they don't understand political processes. In a 2003 survey of young people, only one out of 614 mentioned voting as a means to achieve change. This makes it clear that education about political processes and involvement in influencing and campaigning are essential. (See Annexes 1 and 2)

  6.  There is also a very practical matter of lack of time. Many more young women than young men have additional responsibilities in the home for caring and housekeeping. Such roles increase as women get older. These responsibilities reduce women's free time available to get involved in politics.

Why don't more from these groups consider standing for election? Or, if they do, why aren't more of them selected? Or, if they are, why aren't more of them elected?

  7.  Again, the points outlined above are key to answering this question. Also, standing for election requires money. The young women we work with often live in poverty. It also requires confidence, high self esteem and a high level of resilience. The young women we work with often have very low self esteem and confidence due to the problems they face in their lives, for example violence and abuse, mental health problems, drugs and alcohol abuse or teenage pregnancy. Many of the things that discriminate against women, for example violence against women, also remove their ability to participate as active citizens yet they are rarely tackled as part of a drive to encourage women into politics.

  8.  On a practical note, many political processes, from local party meetings to hustings, election events and then parliamentary work take part during family unfriendly hours. Many women MPs still speak about the sacrifices they have to make with their families to be MPs. This is not an acceptable situation and is very off-putting for many women. In addition, it is a well known fact that the culture of the House of Commons is still very male dominated and does not necessarily support women in their work. Much change has been called for but little has been affected. This again is very off-putting for young women.

What are the problems and practical difficulties encountered—at any point in the process of selection and election—by members of these underrepresented groups who are looking to become MPs?

  9.  Gender and racial discrimination are still very much live problems faced by the women we work with. Such discrimination first blocks their access to the skills, opportunities and social capital they need to do these things and secondly such discrimination damages their opportunity to be elected.

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

  10.  Women only training and networking events; targeted taster sessions and visits to the House of Commons for disadvantaged young women; mentors for young women; promotion of work with young women to build their skills and confidence from an early age; further funding for participation work for the most socially-excluded young women

What actions have been, or could be, taken by political parties, campaigning groups and others to address disparities in representation?

  11.  All the major political parties have taken steps to address disparities in representation of women and people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. We support schemes that seek to rebalance the numbers in decision-making institutions, for example all-women shortlists, but we also encourage further work to engage people at a much earlier stage. On top of our existing participation programme (see Annex 1), YWCA is currently looking at developing ways to expand this model to support young women to become community representatives, for example local councillors. We would welcome the opportunity to work with all political parties to develop this

What actions have been taken elsewhere in the UK and overseas, and by whom, to address similar concerns?

  12.  YWCA is committed to young women's participation being at the heart of all that we do. YWCA has created a participation programme called Wise Up.[115] This programme is designed to engage young women in democratic processes both within YWCA and in their communities. As they develop their confidence and skills, young women learn about campaigning locally and nationally. They learn to understand and use the media and lobbying and influencing tools and practice skills like public speaking and presenting ideas. The young women we engage come to us with complicated multiple problems, many are NEET (not in education, employment or training) and many are very socially excluded, struggling to access support services, let alone their policy makers and MPs. The unique opportunity of Wise Up is that it allows young women to join it at the entry level that is right for them and to build their skills from whatever starting point they are at.

  13.  YWCA has also organised events that promote young women's political participation[116] Again our success lay in making participation available to everyone and offering a wide range of entry and engagement levels.

  14.  YWCA deliverers support work in women-only safe spaces. Women-only spaces help young women build confidence and self esteem.[117]

  15.  YWCA promotes positive role models for young women. These help raise their aspirations and show them what is possible. We do this through our own youth workers and through working with local businesses and policy makers to make sure young women see a wide variety of inspirational people.

And how can the success of such actions be measured?

  16.  Young women's participation should be measured at a much earlier stage, for example through local authorities and school participation as this is the point at which confidence and skills need to be established.

  17.  Participation should then continue to be monitored by government and political parties.

116   Information provided, not printed. Back

117   Information provided, not printed. Back