There is a large gender disparity in parliament, and this can lead to young women not feeling represented. I would argue this lack of representation begins in schools; going to an all-girls grammar school myself I know we didn’t learn much, if anything about politics. Meanwhile the all-boys’ grammar schools would be having mock debates and ‘prepping themselves for the future.’ And don’t even get me started on the lack of education on politics in primary schools! How can a government made up of men represent the interests of women? They don’t.
As seen in Figure 1, women are largely under-represented in parliament with only 35% of the House of Commons being made up of women, with the Conservative Party having the lowest number of women in every category of elected body. These are worrying numbers, as if there are not a proportionate number of women where decisions are being made then women’s voices will not be heard. The number of women in each elected body for the Conservative Party are all below 30%, and seeing as the Conservative Party is currently in power and they don’t represent women as a party themselves, it shows how our current government does not represent the interests or needs of women.
Why is there this gender gap in government?
There are multiple barriers to women getting into government and often when they do, they are still not representative of all women. Reports have shown that ‘The white, middle class and male dominated environment of British politics (both national and local government) is a major barrier to widening participation among women and other under-represented groups.’ (Maguire, 2018: 6). This further proves my point that the current government is not representative of the wider public and most definitely does not represent women. Would you say that a ‘white, middle class and male dominated environment’ should be running our country? Because I wouldn’t.
So, are women less interested in politics than men?
The short answer is yes. As seen in Figure 2, both in terms of age and education women declare themselves as less interested in politics than men. However, when looking at the data in figure 2 it can be seen that interest in politics increases with age, especially from the ages of 15-25, and by form of education, not only for men but women too. From this, we can very clearly see that women do have interest in politics but it grows as they do, rather than being taught to have interest from a young age.
From early on in life, schools are not doing enough and I hold the view that women, and all people in the UK in general, learn to politically engage from a young age. Whether this begins in the home or is learnt at schools through citizenship education, it is relevant for shaping a young girl’s future in politics. The increase from women’s interest in politics from primary school to university is roughly 20%. This, even on its own shows that women are more likely to be interested in politics as they grow up and in a university space, where they have more autonomy over their learning!
An active learning environment would benefit women
Obviously, the lack of women in parliament is an issue, both on a large scale and a more personal scale. Many young girls and women, may feel incredibly underrepresented in parliament and then may be less likely to be interested in politics themselves. On a large scale, I believe that learning needs to be more engaging and that we need a more engaging form of learning in schools, one that teaches all of us about politics from a young age. Not only did I not learn much in high school whilst boys were, but in primary school I don’t remember learning anything about how to be politically engaged! What we don’t need is an education system that splits boys and girls learning and chooses what is relevant, but we need more active citizenship education from a young age.
Citizenship education is an ‘approach’ which ‘focusses on learning through civic engagement and nonformal political participation’ (Zivkovic, 2019: 54). This form of education focuses on teaching people about politics from a young age in unconventional forms, like mock debates and less formal ways than lessons and tests. And I believe this is the best way to learn about politics as it keeps people engaged, and this active citizenship education being there in primary school would help keep things fair between men and women. If we all learnt about politics from a young age, then we would all be interested and the divide of men and women in government would be much closer to 50/50. This is what we want!
What can we do to have our voices heard in politics?
We need more women in parliament, and this gender gap will get wider if more women don’t have interest in politics! And it’s not our fault, it’s all due to our education. If the government isn’t going to educate us about politics, then it’s down to us! Take it upon yourself to learn about politics and be engaged with what’s going on, speak up about it, be loud, vote, and most importantly just TAKE AN INTEREST IN POLITICS, even if they don’t want us to!
I have included a very short video clip on the UK Parliament structure being explained. This shows the importance of having women in these roles, such as in the House of Commons, as they are making important decisions on and passing laws regarding our present and future.
Perhaps this can get you started on understanding the UK Government better and making a difference…!
Bibliography:
Maguire, S (2018) Barriers to Women Entering Parliament and Local Government. Institute for policy research. Available at: https://www.bath.ac.uk/publications/barriers-to-women-entering-parliament-and-local-government/attachments/barriers-to-women.pdf
The Economist (2019) Are women less interested in politics than men? Availiable at: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/18/are-women-less-interested-in-politics-than-men (Accessed: 15th March 2023)
Uberoi, E and Mansfield, Z (2023) Women in politics and public life. House of Commons Library. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01250/SN01250.pdf
Zivkovic, S (2019) The need for a complexity informed active citizenship education program. Australian Journal of Adult Learning. 59(1) pp53-75