Gathering Momentum? Not in the UK

Women in UK politics argon lagging behind the outside(a) community.

Last Friday, 8 March, marked, ostensibly, the 102nd celebration of International Women’s Day.

The theme this class was ‘The Gender Agenda; Gathering Momentum’.

Sadly, according to the defender, UK women argon not gathering momentum or having their day when it comes to politics.

The Guardian article examined the constitution-making standing of women in the UK and compargond it to other countries or so the world.

It was shocking, no – more badly depressing – to find out that the UK ar ranked 57th in the world for womanly political copy; Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand have a far healthier ranking.

Many of the countries that argon laid above the UK have far more serious economic, social and political problems to deal with than we have.

Many of them face war, po'erty, corruption and political unrest.

Some be also launching enormous battles against centuries of inequality and oppression of women.

Yet they are turning tides by opening the political doors to their women.

Brazil, Lithuania, South Korea and genus Argentina all have female presidents and in Bangladesh, the prime minister, her opposition leader and the foreign minister are all women.

In India, the dealer of the governing party, the leader of the opposition and the chief minister of Delhi are women.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, who compiles the international ranking tables for women in parliaments, Rwanda tops the league, with 56.3 per cent female representation.

At joint 57th position, the UK has al wholeness 22.5 per cent of women in elected parliament, or MPs.

Given that in 2001, the UK ranked 33rd, either the rest of the world is addressing their political gender gaps at a far greater tempo than the UK, or we have ground to a miserable and light-headed halt.

So what exactly is going on in Westminster. And indeed the devolved parliaments?

The ‘ ascertain Women In’ coalition published a report recently entitled ‘Sex and Power 2013 – Who Runs Britain?’

Well, we all know the nobble answer to that.

But the report also looked at the institutional possession holding up progress in our political system.

Thirty eld ago we were politically light years ahead of close to other countries when we elected our inaugural woman Prime minister – love her or loathe her.  Or loathe her.

Now, only 17.4 per cent of women occupy the Cabinet, a ten-year low.

In fact, and boy is this depressing, on that point are more millionaires in the Cabinet than women.

And exactly how is this representative of the countrified’s diverse demographic?

The ‘Sex and Power’ report also reveals that women make up exclusively 13.3 per cent of elected mayors, so political gender gaps are not just a national problem, but a local one too.

The Counting Women In coalition describe the UK as universe in ‘a political crisis’, where, at the current consecrate of progress, ‘a child born today will be drawing her pension before she has an equal voice in the government of her country.’

The report examines in detail the dearth of women at the top tables of public life and the impact this has, concluding that ‘excluding them [that's us to you and me] from politics and other areas of public life means miss out on the substantial benefits greater involvement of women would bring, eon also wasting the huge investment made in women and girls by the education system and beyond’.

It also says that ‘a more diverse body politic with a wider air of expertise and reflecting the life experience of both halves of the human hasten would be better placed to lead us through the complex times that face us.’

The report also goes on to make a series of recommendations based on its findings.

These take on positive action measures, addressing old fashioned and sexist attitudes almost the role of women in public life and changing the finish of parliament.

‘The House of Commons,’ it points out, ‘routinely sits until 10 pm at night, there is no consistent agreed parental leave policy for MPs and little in the way of childcare hold back for Members.’

The bottom line is that a government needs to affiliate with its voters and understand who they are and what they need.

So how do a bunch of over privileged ya-ya blowhards think that they can possibly address the needs, requirements and problems of a society half of which is made up of women?

We are seriously going to have to address this problem if we are forever to have an elected government that is properly and demographically representative of the electorate they serve.

That’s right Cameron, serve.  You-all are there to serve us.

Let’s cod if he keeps his promise to have one third of women on his Ministerial roll call by the end of his first term as Prime Minister.

Then let’s see if he can get realistic and up that fig to an equal and demographically representative one.

 

Materials taken from Womens Views on News