FOREWORD

  The House of Commons is the heart of our representative democracy. But to represent the British people, the House of Commons must reflect the British people. This means not just reflecting our geographic differences, but also our diversity in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability and social class.

  If the question for the Speaker's Conference is, "How effectively does Parliament reflect our nation?", then the answer must be not very well. There are five times as many male MPs as women MPs. Black, Asian and minority ethnic citizens are four times less likely to become MPs as white citizens.

  Our belief in equality, fairness and justice does not stop at the entrance to the House of Commons. We will tackle discrimination and prejudice and discrimination wherever it is found, and this includes on our own doorstep.

  Fairer representation will help to promote confidence in our democratic institutions and could help tackle voter apathy. The election in 2008 of the first black US President reaffirmed, renewed and reinvigorated American democracy, even before Barack Obama set foot in the White House.

  A more representative House of Commons will also help inform debate and improve decision making. It will also ensure we are examining the real issues which concern the British people. It was the 1997 intake of women MPs which put issues like childcare on the political map.

  For these and other reasons, a more representative House of Commons is not just a nicety, it is a necessity.

  The Government has already taken steps to improve representation. We have brought forward legislation to allow women-only shortlists. We outlawed discrimination on the grounds of disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief. As announced in the New Opportunities White paper, we are considering legislating to tackle the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.

  But Government action alone is not enough. In agreeing to convene this conference, Mr Speaker has taken an historic step forward in the drive to bring Parliament into the 21st century. For hundreds of years, every single MP in this country was white and male. We have come a long way but there is still much further to go. There are difficult issues for this conference to face, but I hope they will be tackled head on. For there is a huge prize at stake: securing the democratic mandate of the House of Commons for many hundreds of years to come.

Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP, Minister for Women and Equality

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  Democratic institutions exist to represent the British people. But to represent the British people, they must reflect the British people. This document explores the reasons behind under-representation, examines the existing barriers to diversity and exposes the various actions already being taken to address these problems by the Government.

1.  The benefits of more diversity in public and political life

  More diversity in public life will bring three important benefits:

— Fairer representation: our democratic institutions will mirror the communities they serve which means they will be more able to debate issues with the full range of views represented;

— Better decision making: our democratic institutions will be more able to make decisions that benefit the whole community; and

— Wider participation: a wider range of individuals in the community will become involved in public or political life, contributing their thoughts, views and ideas on issues which affect them.

2.  The barriers to getting involved

  Operation Black Vote, Fawcett Society, and the Councillors Commission have published reports citing a number of factors limiting the involvement of underrepresented groups in political life, including:

— Personal barriers— many people want to participate but don't have the confidence either to put themselves forward for election, or to deal with the media scrutiny that comes with a public role;

— Cultural barriers—including the lack of role models for under-represented groups

— Practical barriers—work and family commitments can be difficult to juggle with the long hours keeping Council meetings or in Parliament. Infrastructural issues, such as transport are a particular issue for disabled people;

— Institutional barriers—including the selection and election processes, and the ways in which Parliament and Councils operate;

— Financial barriers—lack of investment from political parties, and lower economic levels experienced by underrepresented groups

  We are aware that socio-economic background impacts on an individual's ability to overcome these barriers. It is not surprising that under-represented groups including women, Black, Asian and disabled people are amongst the least well-off in society. Individuals from better-off backgrounds can feel more confident about taking the financial risks associated with standing for election, are in a stronger position to raise the finance required, and better able to afford childcare or to reduce the hours they work.

  To increase the number of women, disabled and Black, Asian and minority ethnic MPs, socio-economic disadvantage as a root cause of under-representation also needs to be addressed.

3.  Government action

  The Government has taken a number of steps to increase diversity in public life:

— We introduced the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 so that political parties can, if they wish, take special measures to boost the number of women candidates in elections;

— We gave the Commissioner for Public Appointments new powers to take steps to promote diversity in the appointments procedures within her remit;

— We established a cross party Taskforce to increase the numbers of ethnic minority women local councillors;

— We announced that we will set targets on gender, race and disability in public appointments;

— We published a white paper on Lords reform and are considering measures for increasing diversity in the second chamber.

  In addition, the forthcoming Equality Bill will:

— Extend the time available to political parties to use women-only shortlists;

— Include a broad range of positive action provisions that will allow political parties and public bodies to take a range of steps to encourage involvement amongst under-represented groups.

  Government is also taking more wide-reaching action:

— The New Opportunities White Paper was published on 13 January 2009. As a part of this, we are considering legislating to tackle the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage;

— We established the National Equality Panel chaired by John Hills, which is exploring how family background interacts with characteristics like your race, age and gender to impact on life chances.

— We are committed to launching the "Take Part" programme to develop the skills and self-confidence of would-be councillors; taking forward new powers to allow more flexible ways of attending meetings and more financial support to take on senior councillor roles;

— Introduced a new strand in the secondary curriculum so students learn about how modern Britain has been shaped by, and continues to be shaped by, political, social, economic and cultural changes;

— published the "Review of Voting Systems: the experience of new voting systems in the United Kingdom";

4.  Action taken internationally

  There is much we can learn from other countries on how to tackle under-representation. With 125 women MPs, the UK is ranked 60th out of 189 countries by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and 16th out of the EU member states. This document therefore examines the range of interventions used. These include quotas, reserved seats, and involvement of women's organisations.

1.  The benefits of more diversity in public and political life

(i)  Better quality debate on issues that affect everyone

  Democratic institutions which mirror the diversity in society will be better placed to make decisions that benefit whole communities. That is why we need to ensure that all groups—ethnic minorities, disabled people, women, lesbian, gay and bisexual people and others—are properly represented in our local councils and in Parliament. But in Parliament alone, to achieve that balance, there would need to be around 65 ethnic minority MPs and approximately 330 women MPs. There are currently 15 ethnic minority MPs and 125 women MPs.

  It is a first principle of any democracy that every individual must have the same right to be involved in public life. Unfair barriers not only deprive certain individuals of their human rights, it undermines our democracy and weakens our society. A more diverse House of Commons which taps the nation's talents will ensure that decisions are made which benefit everyone.

If elected representatives are not as diverse as the populations they represent it is likely to "reduce the quality and variety of debate and to reduce legitimacy in the eyes of constituents" —(Professor Jean Hartley and Professor John Benington of the Institute of Governance and Public Management at Warwick Business School , Hartley and Benington, 2006)".1

(ii)  Better decisions that benefit the whole community

  A more diverse Parliament has the potential to change the culture of political life and improve the quality of policy and decision-making. A report by Hansard Society "Women at the Top:2005" showed that it was senior women ministers who championed key policies on childcare, the extension of maternity and paternity rights, flexible working, equal pay and domestic violence.

  The Councillor's Commission, set up by the Department for Communities and Local Government, reported in December 2007 and argued strongly that there would be benefits for society as a whole if councils became more representative.

  The Councillor's Commission report said that:

"councils benefit from having a range of age, background and human experience among their elected membership which reasonably reflects their population, on two broad counts: symbolically, for notions of fairness, the importance of role models of resemblance, and enhancing trust and legitimacy in the political process; and substantively, different core interests and concerns can be fed directly into the democratic process, be reflected in policy-making and can be important for social cohesion."

  The Councillor's Commission report said that: "councils benefit from having a range of age, background and human experience among their elected membership which reasonably reflects their population, on two broad counts: symbolically, for notions of fairness, the importance of role models of resemblance, and enhancing trust and legitimacy in the political process; and substantively, different core interests and concerns can be fed directly into the democratic process, be reflected in policy-making and can be important for social cohesion."

(iii)  Greater involvement

  There is also evidence that more diverse democratic institutions encourage greater involvement in public and political life.

  Research from the Electoral Commission showed that, in seats where a woman MP was elected in 2001, voter turnout was 4% higher amongst women than men. Evidence from two different Hothouse reports suggests that having more ethnic minority candidates would increase ethnic minority turnout in Britain. It is certainly clear that the recent election of a black President in the US has galvanised interest in politics in that country.

2.  The barriers to getting involved and standing for election

  The Fawcett Society, Operation Black Vote, Office of Disability Issues and the Councillor's Commission[161] have published reports citing a range of factors that could limit the involvement of under-represented groups in political life. These include:

— Personal barriers—Confidence plays an important role in determining whether people move on and up the political ladder. There is a lack of role models for women in general and ethnic minority women in particular. According to a Fawcett Society report, many ethnic minority women only step forward as councillors because someone asks them.

— Cultural barriers—The political environment is less appealing to some groups than others. Councillors and party politics have negative connotations for some groups. Political debate is frequently portrayed as needlessly aggressive and confrontational. There may also be a lack of interest and awareness of local government.

— Practical barriers—It can be hard for some people to offer the time associated with the councillor role. Civic duty has an impact on their work and family responsibilities. There is not always fair recompense. Many women come to politics later in life. It can be difficult to juggle caring with other responsibilities; and infrastructure issues such as access can act as barrier to disabled people.

— Institutional barriers—There are a number of institutional procedures and rules which can inadvertently distort representation. There are restrictions on council employees becoming involved in politics. There is legislation that prevents political parties adopting affirmative action. There are issues about the way political parties recruit and select election candidates.

— Financial barriers—there can be a lack of investment from political parties in women's campaigns.[162] This is particularly an issue for ethnic minority women. Income levels are lower among some ethnic minority groups than they are for the rest of society— 55% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi households are in the bottom layer of income distribution.

  Research from the Councillor's Commission identified that some of these barriers "disproportionately disenfranchise specific groups. For example, women often face additional time-related barriers because of caring responsibilities, employed people find it difficult to balance being a councillor with work life, people from ethnic minority communities may be disproportionately affected by barriers related to deprivation and social exclusion, and people with disabilities may face additional access and mobility-related barriers."[163] (See Annex B for a summary of the barriers faced by specific groups as identified in the research)

  Socio-economic background impacts not just on women, but on anyone who is considering standing as a councillor or MP. Individuals from better-off backgrounds can feel more relaxed about the financial risks associated with standing for election. They are in a stronger position to raise the finance required to launch a successful campaign. They are more likely to be able to afford childcare or to reduce the hours they work to attend engagements. It is therefore unsurprising that the most socially disadvantaged groups are the most democratically under-represented groups.

  Disabled people are also held back from participating in civic life by time pressures. A study by the Office of Disability Issues showed that ten per cent of disabled people mentioned at least one attitudinal barrier to them getting more involved in clubs, groups and the local community. In addition, nine per cent of disabled people said that issues related to access prevented them from getting more involved, including transport or travel problems.[164]

3.  Government action

  The Government has taken a range of measures to address under-representation at national and local level.

(i)  Legislation and institutional reform

— The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 enables political parties, should they wish, to take special measures to boost the number of women standing in local, national and European elections. This helps all women, including ethnic minority and disabled women. The legislation allows for positive measures including training and mentoring, techniques known as "twinning"[165] and "zipping",[166] and women-only electoral short-lists. Before 1997, women made up just 9% of MPs. The use of women-only shortlists in the lead up to the 1997 election resulted in this figure doubling to 18.2%. There are currently 94 women Labour MPs (27%), 17 women Conservative MPs (8.8%) and 9 women Liberal Democrat MPs (14.3%).

— The Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament have made great progress in achieving fairer gender representation. 46.7% of Welsh Assembly Members are women. To a great extent, these results can be attributed to the Welsh political parties using special measures to select female candidates, such as twinning and women-only shortlists. In Scotland, Labour used twinning in 1999 and women-only shortlists in 2003. Women currently make up 34.1% of MSPs.

— The forthcoming Equality Bill will extend the right for political parties to use women-only shortlists, covering a minimum of five further national elections. This could lead to a critical mass of approximately 200 women MPs. The Equality Bill will introduce similar positive action provisions for political parties to use across all protected grounds, excluding the shortlist provisions. This will allow parties to:

— carry out an audit of political party membership to identify where there are gaps in representation;

— set targets for recruitment drives;

— carry out general, specific or targeted recruitment drives;

— run mentoring and leadership programmes;

— set targets for increasing the proportion of politicians and staff from under-represented groups;

— establish and support in-house forums for under-represented groups;

— reach out to community and faith organisations;

— support local young Mayors and youth parliament;

— support non-partisan voter registration initiatives and democracy week.

  The Government has announced that it will consider legislating to make clear that tackling socio-economic disadvantage is a core function of key public services. Further work is ongoing to determine the best way of tackling this disadvantage.

(ii)  Wider Representation

  In July 2008, the Government published a White Paper on Lords reform. We are considering how far measures designed to increase the diversity of representation in the House of Commons might be relevant to elections to the reformed second chamber.

  The Government also provides direct funding for Operation Black Vote to support MP shadowing schemes for people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and their work in encouraging more ethnic minority people to register to vote.

  The Ministers for Women have made it a priority to increase the representation of ethnic minority women in public life. In May 2008, the Government launched a cross-party taskforce to take practical action. The Taskforce, made up of 16 former and current Black, Asian and minority ethnic women councillors, is leading a programme of outreach events in communities. They will raise awareness of the role of local councillors, provide information on the benefits of taking up such a role and encourage more women to step forward. The Taskforce is working with organisations such as the Local Government Association, political parties, Operation Black Vote and the Fawcett Society.

  In response to the Councillors Commission report, the Government is also launching the "Take Part" programme. This will develop the skills and self-confidence of would-be councillors. We will also be taking forward new powers to allow for more flexible ways of attending meetings and more financial support to take on senior councillor roles.

(iii)  Children and Young People

  It is particularly important to provide children and young people with positive role models. Citizenship lessons are helping to develop young people's knowledge and understanding of their roles, rights and responsibilities within the democratic process. There are many opportunities for young people to engage in political activities, such as in school councils and the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP). It is encouraging that in 2006, 53% of UK Youth Parliament's Members were female.

  In January 2007, Sir Keith Ajegbo published a review of Diversity and Citizenship in the Curriculum. One of his principal recommendations was that a new element "Identity and Diversity: Living Together in the UK" be introduced to the secondary curriculum for Citizenship Education. The new strand was incorporated during a recent review of the entire secondary curriculum and taught for the first time in September 2008.

  This new strand explores the multiple identities that may be held by groups and communities in a diverse society, and the ways in which these identities are affected by changes in society. For example, students could learn about how life in the UK today has been shaped by, and continues to be shaped by, political, social, economic and cultural changes.

  Parliament is supporting this work and recently launched the Parliamentary Education website. The Parliamentary Education Service aims to inform young people about Parliament, thereby engaging them in our democracy and empowering them to take part.

(iv)  Gathering evidence

  Socio-economic disadvantage is a root cause of under-representation. People's life chances can be adversely affected by their background. The Government established the National Equality Panel, chaired by John Hills, to gather more evidence on these links. Interim findings of the panel will be available in late Spring 2009, and will inform Government's thinking on future actions to tackle inequality.

  The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) has commissioned the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to develop a new longitudinal disability survey of Great Britain, called the "Life Opportunities Survey" (LOS). The survey will explore the barriers disabled people experience in a range of life activities, including social and civic participation. Survey fieldwork will begin in summer 2009, with first results available before end 2010.

(v)  Public Appointments

  In the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Government made a new commitment to address under-representation in public life with a new equality Public Service Agreement (PSA) covering the period April 2008 to March 2011. The Government announced the intention to set targets on gender, race and disability in public appointments. We have given the Commissioner for Public Appointments a stronger diversity role, with the power to take steps to promote diversity in the procedures for making public appointments within her remit.

  In addition the Equality Bill will include a broader range of positive action provisions that will allow employers and public authorities to take a range of steps to encourage those who are under-represented in public life to get involved. For example, these measures could be used to encourage more lesbian, gay and bisexual people to apply for a public post.

(vi)  Voter registration

  The Electoral Commission has carried out extensive research into voter registration. This suggests that around 3.5 million eligible citizens were not registered to vote in 2000. The Electoral Commission examined which groups are least likely to register. There is little disparity on the basis of ethnicity (or gender). There is however a significant gap between the rich and the poor. Non registration is highest among private renters, the unemployed, those without qualifications and those in non permanent employment.

  People from some minority ethnic groups had a relatively high likelihood of non-registration, but rates among Asians (those from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities) and black Caribbean people were similar to those for white people. The level of non-registration among Asian people fell between 1991 and 2000.

4.  Action taken internationally

  It is useful to consider the range of actions used in countries outside the UK to address diversity of representation in democratic institutions.

  Sweden introduced "Zipper Lists" in 1994. This is where a list of male candidate names is "zipped" or alternated with a list of female names. 47% of Swedish MPs are women. There is one woman in every other political position.

  Rwanda has the highest proportion of women in its parliament in the world, with 48.8%. A commitment to gender equality has been enshrined in the Rwandan constitution. Women's organisations and NGOs fed into the drafting process. However, these high figures occur in the context of a new democracy operating in a post conflict situation. They are consistent with other similar scenarios across the world.

  Canada, which uses the first past the post system, achieved a relatively high level of representation of ethnic minorities in its lower house in the 2000 election. This has been attributed to a number of factors including the candidate selection process used by the major parties which "allows for the participation of resident non-citizens" and the "mass recruitment drives to sign up as many new party members as possible before the candidate selection meetings begin"[167]

  Argentina has raised female representation to over 30% in its lower house because of new constitutional and statutory provisions. This includes a quota system known as "Women's Share" which ensures that at least 30% of the names on party lists are women.

  The allocation of reserved seats in national parliaments is another important means of ensuring female [Rwanda] and ethnic minority representation [New Zealand]. In Pakistan, there are "three categories of seats in the National Assembly": 272 general seats; 60 seats reserved for women; and 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims. The last two are elected on the basis of a proportional representation system.

  The type of electoral system can also contribute to the diversity in representation and there are a range of views on this subject. For example, the Inter-Parliamentary Union asserts that, according to research, there is a link between electoral systems and women's representation, such as the link between proportional representation and women's representation. However, others view that this is not necessarily the case for ethnic minorities.

162   http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/documents/The_four_Cs(1).pdf Back

163   Haberis and Prendergrast, Research Report 1: Incentives and Barriers to Becoming and Remaining a Councillor-A Review of the UK Literature Back

164   The Office for Disability Issues study into the Experiences and Expectations of Disabled People 2007 Back

165   Twinning: Constituencies with the same likelihood of being won by a political party are paired and then a male candidate is placed in one constituency and a female candidate in the other. Back

166   Zipping: Where a "list" electoral system is used, parties alternate male and female candidates on their list. Back

167   The Political Representation of Women and Ethnic Minorities in Established Democracies: A Framework for Comparative Research [McMaster University 2003]: Karen Bird. Back