The results are in… and the gender imbalance from the local elections remains… stagnant. The total percentage of women voted in was 38%, and the number of women in the population is 51% – so why on earth are we accepting such inequality in our elected bodies?
Women made up just 34% of candidates selected to stand across the main political parties, which means we have reached a frustrating plateau. We are committed to change, and progress has been made over the last 10 years since 50:50 Parliament was established, but it’s too slow. The sense of urgency to reach equal representation seems confined to small circles. The question is, why are we all happily sleepwalking into continued gender inequality? If the Covid-19 enquiry taught us anything, it’s that we need more women in the room, not because there are DE&I targets, but because women’s lived experience is crucial in decision-making.
One issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of transparency and accountability regarding candidate selections. Gender, ethnicity and disability aren’t being monitored; we know that only 36% of women are being selected, but we don’t know how many women are putting themselves forward, and we should. To say that you want equality in your political party is one thing – to show how you are working towards it and to put stakes in the ground is another thing entirely. Centenary Action is calling for the enactment of Section 106 [of the Equality Act], which would require political parties to publish diversity data. We both want this to be extended to local authority elections, also.
Big Issue is demanding an end to extreme poverty. Will you ask your MP to join us?
We must address the barriers preventing women from standing. We need more women MPs, and there are 34.5 million of us in the UK, so the talent pool is not exactly small. However, we need to create a workplace and a campaign trail that appeals to the brightest and best women in the UK in all of their diversity. This will empower and enable women to stand up and be counted.
The 50:50 community has indicated that the biggest barrier for women who want to stand is the culture, which, from the outside looking in, is often viewed as misogynistic, and women don’t want to be in that environment. We need to tackle this, and one way to do this is to create a safe space, and a proper, independent system, for women to be able to say when things aren’t right.