When women fulfill their potential, everyone benefits. Equality means better politics – WEP

Only 23% of the worlds politicians are female. How are gender issues supposed to be understood when 77% of politicians will never even be able to fathom the idea of what women women go through on a daily basis. These statistics were from June 2012 and still not much has changed. The chart below are of countries with the most women in government, surprisingly Britain has not made it in to the top 10, 7 years later Britain is still not in the top 10 countries with women in government.

In Britain today Theresa May is the 2nd female Prime Minister in decades after being dominated by male Prime Ministers, is this a crack in the glass ceiling that is British politics?

However, although women are getting in to politics more, there is still a long way to go in Britain. This country works as a supply and demand, which means, due to the the majority of politicians being male, the supply is male dominated ideas and policies and the male ideals being met. The male demands are being met, for example an outdated one however still one which was still very old fashioned idea marital rape didn’t become criminalised until 1992. The government doesn’t look out for women, if it did there wouldn’t be women marching for the right to their bodies and to be believed in the case of sexual harassment, in Northern Ireland women aren’t allowed abortions. It’s not that women are not interested and engaged in politics it’s that no one is listening to them so the only way they get noticed is to protest.

March 4th, women came to celebrate 100 years of women’s right to vote, 1000s of women were arrested while trying to get the vote, the suffragette movement went on for many years trying to get women the vote and more equal rights many lost their lives while fighting for the rights of women. ‘Deeds to words’ was worn on sashes among many during the march on the 4th, a slogan during the movement. This was used a slogan due to the government not listening to the suffrage’s during the peaceful  protests so they took to different ways to be heard, 1866, first petition was submitted to parliament calling for votes for women, how this was dismissed. During 1912 the smashing windows campaign and arson campaign arose 1000’s arrested still none from the government , the first hunger strike when a suffragette was imprissoned happened in 1909 the prisons force fed them as they did not want women dying in prison. All this inhumane treatment and years of protesting they finally got equal voting rights with men in 1922.

Though 2018, 100 years after the first women could vote are we doing them justice ? Are we making our votes count? We are still very much in a partriarchial society women in politics are being forced to self censor in the fear of  coming across hysterical every time they raise their voice while a male in politics raising his voice is just passionate, where’s the comparison.

For most of history anonymous was a women – Virginia Woolf

When women talk about politics no one takes them seriously, they get pushed to the back, when young girls in school show a passionate for politics no-one listens this is not what they need they need encouragement. Both genders when they are young need to be encouraged equally, respect each others views and voice each others views and listen to one another’s views, it’s the only way anything will ever change. Even today age 21 I will sit at the pub with my male friends and they will be talking about politics. I will be sipping on my gin and tonic and say the occasional thing to them but not get into a heated debate. However, when I do, I do not get taken seriously they do not take me seriously they do not argue back like they would as if I was one of the lads, as they feel they i do not know what I am talking about, even though I am a sociology student in my 3rd year studying politics and have been part of the liberal youth group simce 6-form. At work they don’t take me seriously when I joke about breaking the glass ceiling and moving a girl up to management (it is a male dominated management team). Constantly being put down if I try to voice my views around brexit getting told I don’t understand the ins and outs, even though I understand greatly due to having a family member working in Europe , but of course I’m just trying to get involved in conversation which doesn’t involve  joke of “women belong in the kitchen not the table, mans talk happens at the table” or just a condescending “oh sweetie that’s cute”. Women left the private sphere along time ago and that needs to be accepted.