Women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there, and in some cases, where this is not available, they need to create their own table. We need a global understanding that we cannot implement change effectively without women’s political participation.” – Meghan Markle

Since the dawn of democratic society, politics has never been the most inclusive. It has in fact been the complete opposite. It was a system essentially created for rich, older, white men. Politics historically excluded people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, women, ethnic minorities etc. The list goes on and on. And it was only after excluded and marginalised communities fought for their right to vote that they were allowed to participate. The right to vote has impacted the way in which people participate in politics. Although there has been many improvements within the British political sphere there are still evidence of inequality which impacts on peoples political engagement.

In this blog I will first start by illustrating the contemporary representation of women in politics and go on to showcase inequalities through the lens of intersectionality. I will further access women’s political participation on a global spectrum and evaluate how I believe gender quotas are a solid solution for tackling this long existing crisis.

Representation 

In 1918, the Representation of The People Act was passed which expanded suffrage across Britain (U.K Parliament, n.d.). For the first time ever (some) women over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote (U.K Parliament, n.d.). This monumental act increased the electorate from 7.7 million people to 21.4 million people. Despite the vast advancement and progression that women have gained in contemporary society, something is amiss when looking at women’s representation in politics. When looking at the data it is very clear that women are doing better than ever before in politics. In the 2019 general election, 220 women MPs (out of 650 total MPs) were elected to the House of Commons (House of Commons Library, n.d.). Women in the U.K make up over 50% of the general population but only represent 35% of the house of commons (House of Commons Library, n.d.).

This indicates that women are extremely underrepresented in British politics despite being the dominant gender in the general population. This means that women’s voices are underrepresented in positions of power that ultimately make decision and determine legislation that do not have woman’s interests in mind.

Representation is not only important so that women have a seat at the table, but in many cases experts argue that representation is a key inspiration in influencing young girls to engage in politics. The gender development theory suggests that children are introduced to gender attributes at young ages (Maccoby, 2000). The theory argues that children are socialised through gendered social behaviours and they observe how society and people react to behaviours that deviate from the status quo (Maccoby, 2000). In simple terms and in the words of feminist author Chimamanda Ngozi:

We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man.”

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a term coined by feminist Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw and is defined as the intersections of peoples layered identifies creating a unique form of oppression within society (Crenshaw, 2016). Women’s fight for representation and equality in politics cannot be achieved without recognising the specific challenges faced by women of colour.

When viewing the figures I mentioned earlier through an intersectional lens you can quickly see that women of colour are at an even worse disadvantage. Britain saw its first woman MP Nancy Astor in 1919 (UK Parliament, n.d.). Its first Black woman MP was Diane Abbott in 1987 (Bunce and Linton, 2020). Yes, thats a 68 year gap of not having a seat at the table. Women of colour face a unique and multifaceted version of discrimination and inequality that is often unrecognised. In the 2019 U.K general election there were 220 women elected. Only 12 of them were black women (Aworo, 2020). Their struggle doesn’t end there because there has been a plethora of reports of discrimination faced by women of colour in politics from both the public and their own political parties. Take a look at the graph below that demonstrates the disproportionate amount of abuse faced by Diana Abbott in comparison to the other top 5 most abused female MPs on twitter (Amnesty International UK, 2017).

Just recently Nusrat Ghani a former conservative minister who is an Asian, Muslim woman claimed she faced discrimination when she was told her “muslimness” made her colleagues uncomfortable and that she was sacked for her religion (Mohdin, 2022).

Global Issue

Gender inequality in politics is not limited to only Britain but can actually be attributed across the world in both the Global North and South. Take for example in the U.S. The recent ‘Heartbeat Bill’ that was passed in Texas and other southern states, which restricts access to abortion from when the heartbeat of the foetus is detected (North and Kim, 2019). This bill not only restricts women’s access to abortion, this law also criminalises any medical professional that facilitate an abortion (North and Kim, 2019). This law was passed in Texas by a majority white and male senate (North and Kim, 2019). In the Texas legislator women only hold approximately 27% of the seats (Ura and Astudillo, 2021). This is alarming given the fact that women continue to suffer through legislation and bills that focus on their bodily autonomy and these decisions are made sometimes exclusively by men.

Here’s a visual representation of men and women in the Texas legislator since Texas became a state in 1885 (Ura and Astudillo, 2021). White represent men and purple represents women:

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⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣

Thats 5444 men that were elected to serve in the legislator and 179 women (Ura and Astudillo, 2021).

I want to specify that during the House of Representative vote for this bill 7 women voted in favour. This is just to showcase that women don’t all share the same views and values (Austin American-Statesman, n.d.).

If you are interested in finding out more about this topic, here’s a few articles worth reading.

Abortion ‘Heartbeat” Bills Explained

Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law one of nation’s strictest abortion measures

What can be done to change this?

There are many different ways in which this gender imbalance in political institution can be addressed. There is in fact one controversial solution that many countries are introducing. Gender quotas are being introduced in various nations in a variety of different ways (Dahlerup, 2009). Some countries are ultimately reserving political seats for women to hold at least 30%, 40% or sometimes 50% of all positions (Dahlerup, 2009). Others are putting through policies that require women to represent 40% of the electoral list candidates (Dahlerup, 2009). Gender quotas aim to force institutions that historically underrepresented women to increase woman’s political participation. The reason this is controversial is that many people argue that it opposes the principle of meritocracy and gives women an advantage over men (Dahlerup, 2009).

In my opinion I believe women have historically over the entirety of the globe been oppressed and held back within patriarchal systems. And I view a system such as gender quotas as a step in the right direction as it not only gives women the ability to be represented but in a way it is restoring a balance denied to women for centuries.

What do you think should be done?

References

Amnesty International UK, 2017. Black and Asian women MPs abused more online. [online] Amnesty.org.uk. Available at: <https://www.amnesty.org.uk/online-violence-women-mps> [Accessed 24 March 2022].

Austin American-Statesman, n.d. Here’s who voted for (and against) Texas’ new abortion law in the House and Senate. [online] Eu.statesman.com. Available at <https://eu.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2021/09/03/texas-abortion-law-heres-how-lawmakers-voted-heartbeat-bill-legislature/5706081001/> [Accessed 23 March 2022].

Aworo, E., 2020. We need more black women in British politics. [online] Kcl.ac.uk. Available at: <https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/we-need-more-black-women-in-british-politics> [Accessed 19 March 2022].

Bunce, R. and Linton, S., 2020. How Diane Abbott fought racism – and her own party – to become Britain’s first black female MP. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/29/how-diane-abbott-fought-racism-and-her-own-party-to-become-britains-first-black-female-mp> [Accessed 19 March 2022].

Dahlerup, D., 2009. Gender Quotas | International IDEA. [online] Idea.int. Available at: <https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas/quotas#pros> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

House of Commons Library, n.d. Women in Politics and Public Life. [online] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Available at: <https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01250/> [Accessed 16 March 2022].

Maccoby, E., 2000. Perspectives on gender development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, [online] 24(4), pp.398-406. Available at: <https://moodle.roehampton.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/2153940/mod_resource/content/1/gender%20development%20theory.pdf> [Accessed 18 March 2022].

Mohdin, A., 2022. Nusrat Ghani’s allegations reignite claims that Tory party is Islamophobic. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jan/23/nusrat-ghanis-allegations-reignite-claims-that-tory-party-is-islamophobic> [Accessed 20 March 2022].

North, A. and Kim, C., 2019. The “heartbeat” bills that could ban almost all abortions, explained. [online] Vox. Available at: <https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/19/18412384/abortion-heartbeat-bill-georgia-louisiana-ohio-2019> [Accessed 19 March 2022].

U.K Parliament, n.d. 1918 Representation of the People Act. [online] https://www.parliament.uk/. Available at: <https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/case-study-the-right-to-vote/the-right-to-vote/birmingham-and-the-equal-franchise/1918-representation-of-the-people-act/> [Accessed 16 March 2022].

UK Parliament, n.d. Women in the Commons. [online] Parliament.uk. Available at: <https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/womenincommons/> [Accessed 19 March 2022].

Ura, A. and Astudillo, C., 2021. In 2021, the Texas Legislature remains mostly white and male. [online] The Texas Tribune. Available at: <https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2020/2021-texas-legislature-representation/> [Accessed 19 March 2022].

Hopkins, P., 2018. What is intersectionality? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1islM0ytkE.