Gender, Race and political engagement

Are women politically engaging in society?

One of the most significant and important developments in the history of the women movement in the United Kingdom was in politics. Personally, I have been voting since I turned eighteen years old due to the fact that I believe it is crucial for me to take the opportunity to be part of the decision making that will impact me as an individual in society. However, if it wasn’t for the bravery of the women who took part in the mass suffrage movement to gain this right, I and every other female in the United Kingdom would not have the chance to be involved in voting or being part of parliament. Women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom was a movement which aimed to fight for womens right to vote which finally succeeded in the year of 1918. Their aim was to produce gender equality which refers to men and women opportunities, rights and responsibilities; not depending on whether they are born a male of a female. This implies that the interests, needs and priorities for males and females are taken into consideration whilst also recognising different diversity groups of men and women (Un.org,2019).  Since then, women have come a long way from voting to even having women in charge of political parties.

However, women are still underrepresented in politics and the lack of of women participating in UK politics isn’t adequate enough to represent the female population as a whole which therefore leads to inequality in the political system (Sawer, 2012). Women have historically been underrepresented in politics, nevertheless, recently in most years, the proportion of women participating has increased. Although in most cases men remain overrepresented, especially in more senior and higher  positions. This can be supported by the census that was undertaken in the year of 2011. The census highlighted that with the gender demographics, 51% of UK were female, which portrays that the female genderthe most dominant one.

Appendix A, shows that not until the year of 1997, the seats held by women managed to increase higher than 10%. On the other hand, in 2019 the number of seats held by women in parliament reached a percentage of 32%!  This is the highest its ever been (Browning, 2019). Eventhough this was the highest percentage achieved, it does not mean women are represented enough in the political system. For example about 36% of local authority councillors in England are women, 26% in Northern Ireland are women and 28% in Wales (Browning, 2019). These are still extremely low percentages which indicates that society is being ran by patriarchal views and not representative of women perspectives.

Why is this?

Women tend to be labelled as the gender that should be the ‘housewife’ and ‘nurturing’  by their families. In many cultures, women are not encouraged to take part in the education system or to take on highly paid job. Instead they are encouraged to learn how to cook and clean. This unfortunately then leads to many women not being able to receive the opportunity to engage politically. Adding to this, Liberal feminists would emphasise the cultural norms and values which are reinforced by the family and other institutions; in society are sexist. Which is then transmitted within these institutions making society an overall patriarchal one Andersen, (1975). This can lead to women being underrepresented in the political system.

Appendix B ‘ The political recruitment model’ is a visual representations of obstacles women may face if they aspire to work for the parliament. For example, in relation to ‘ eligibles’; if  a society’s social structure limits women’s attainment of personal, financial and educational resources, there will not be many women who can run for office. Adding to this, in relation to ‘candidates’ political parties may actually want to  work to recruit or nominate different levels of female candidates but voters may or may not support those female candidates (Paxton, P. and Hughes, M. M. 2014).The political recruitment model proposes that even if women do get the education and opportunity to work for parliament, they still will suffer from different types of obstacles. This can be reasons for the lack of women participating in politics.

The most recent protest that hundreds of women took part in was the one regarding Sarah Everads death. The reason that this case was hugely shocking is the man charged with her murder was a metropolitan police officer by the name of Wayne Couzens (ITV News 2021). The main aim of the protest was for women to emphasise the fact that they should feel safe everywhere they go. Many signs displayed by protesters wrote ‘ She was just walking home’. This case is deeply concerning as a police officer is someone that should be protecting us in society, women especially are more likely to be followed home, sexually assaulted or become a victim of domestic abuse. The fact that this protest occurred shows that women in this generation are engaging politically in different forms to get their point across. But this still doesn’t mean women are politically participating consistently in society. So how can we increase women politically engaging?

More information on Sarah Everads case can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56384600

Recommendation

I believe that motivation within institutions such as education and family would increase the likelihood of women wanting to participate in politics. If they are socialised in knowing that they can also make change this could guide more women in wanting to work for the parliament and vote.

Do you think women would feel more safer in society if more women were in charge?

Feel free to share any thoughts below!

References

• Andersen, K (1975). Working Women and Political Participation, 1952-1972. American Journal of Political Science, 19(3), 439-453 (Online) Available at https://doi.org/10.2307/2110538  Date accessed: 03/04/21
• Browning, S. (2019). Women in Parliament and Government. [online] Researchbriefings.parliament.uk. Available at: https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN01250  Date accessed: 04/04/2021
• ITV News(2021), Hundreds of protesters gather in London in wake of Sarah Everads death, (Online Video) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qncSpEWMLQDate accessed: 02/04/21
• Paxton, P. and Hughes, M. M. 2014. Explaining the Political Representation of Women—Culture. In: 2014. Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective, 2nd edn, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 100-122  Online Available at: http://dx.doi.org.roe.idm.oclc.org/10.4135/9781452275482 Date accessed: 06/04/2021
• Sawer, M. (2012). What makes the substantive representation of women possible in a Westminster parliament? The story of RU486 in Australia. International Political Science Review, 33(3), pp.320-335.
• Un.org. (2019). OSAGI Gender Mainstreaming – Concepts and definitions. [online] Available at: https://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/conceptsandefinitions.htm Date accessed: 01/04/21

 

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