What can the case of Sarah Everard tell us about gender inequality and the low representation of women in politics?

The government does not protect women.

The recent murder of Sarah Everard has brought women’s safety to the forefront of discussion but this not a new revelation at all. Women, including myself, are constantly in fear of men and this materialises itself in small ways like keeping your location on at all times and saying ‘message me when you get home’ to your friends. Sarah Everard’s story tells us that a lot more needs to be done by the government to ensure the safety of women but how can this be achieved when only 5 ministers in the cabinet are women (House of Commons Library, 2021).

Representation is very important because it adds legitimacy to democracy and allows a fairer approach to policy-making inclusive to minority groups. If there were more women in Parliament, there would be a push for the legalisation of paper spray or more scrutiny placed upon why misogyny was only officially classed as a hate crime this month. Consequently, Sarah Everard’s death brought more attention towards a new piece of legislation being rushed through parliament titled the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The bill will give more power to police by allowing them to digitally strip search survivors of gendered violence and have undercover officers in bars and clubs. Unsurprisingly, in the second reading, 80% of Ayes were by men (Votes in Parliament, 2021). These actions are more harmful than helpful towards women and highlight the lack of awareness at the hands of a male-dominated political body. It is clear that the government has no true regard for the rights of women and the lack of female representation in politics needs to be challenged if we are to strive for gender inequality.

Silent (social distanced) vigil in Sheffield prompted by the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard in London by a serving police officer. (Dennell, 2021)

Gender quotas do help but for the wrong reasons.

Gender inequality advocates demand women’s political presence for normative reasons: in terms of justice, for symbolic representation and in terms of substantive arguments (Childs, 2004). Gender quotas are a possible solution and their implementation to increase female representation in politics has been described as an important tool for giving women access to leading political positions (European Commision, 2000, cited in Squires, 2004). Gender quotas in the UK take form in voluntary All-women shortlists (AWS) which allow only women to stand in certain constituencies. The Labour and Liberal Democrat Party use AWS which is reflected positively in them both having a female majority and the former having more female MPs than any other party standing at 103 (MPs and Lords, 2021). It is argued that the presence of greater numbers of women has led to the greater integration of women’s concerns with the government’s agenda (Lovenduski, 2005): for example, childcare, domestic violence and extended maternity and paid parental leave (Campbell and Lovenduski, 2005; Childs, 2004). It is imperative that we proposition other political parties to follow suit if we are some semblance of fair representation and better engage in significant issues that concern women such as gendered violence.

(Kavanagh and Cowley, The British General Election of 2017 & previous editions, House of Commons Library, 2018 cited in House of Commons Library 2020)

Gender quotas provide a positive function in the representation of women in politics, but this is a broad description that does not examine the type of women who benefits which leads to the discussion of intersectionality. Quotas priorititse equal opportunities over equal results, the representation of ideas over the representation of identities, and the connection between ‘gender’ and other social identities (Squires, 2009).

Include intersectionality in your conversation.

The important conversation to have in relation to gender inequality is the concept of intersectionality which acknowledges those ‘other social identities’. Intersectionality is the relationship between social factors like gender, race, social class, and how they interact with one another. In principle, one cannot exist without the other because they exist in frameworks of numerous, interacting forms of oppression and privilege. Therefore, when evaluating the success of gender quotas we must ask ourselves if they benefit all women. Black feminists argue that it’s problematic to conceptualise women as a group: focusing attention of the inequalities and differences between men and women tended to marginalise the inequalities and differences among women (Collins, 1990, Mohanty 1991, Spellman 1998 cited in Squires, 2004). Furthermore, poststructuralist critique argues that taking women as a category prevents intersectionality and fails to recognise the fluidity and mutability of social identities. For example, while the AWS promotes female political representation it fails to tackle underlying issues and so the AWS recipients are majority white and middle-classed which clearly does not represent ALL women. Furthermore, the End Violence Against Women Coalition protests that the government hasn’t done enough to protect women and girls amid the pandemic and this highlighted by the increase in female domestic homicides; shown below.

(Railings and Thrasher, British Electoral Facts, 1832-2006, House of Commons Library, CBP7186 General Election 2015, British Future, 2017 and 2019 cited in House of Commons Library 2020)

(Violence Against Women: COVID-19 Response, 2021)

(Domestic abuse during Coronavirus, 2020)

Gender mainstreaming is the solution we need.

Gender mainstream policy aims to integrate a gender perspective into all policy-making. Mainstreaming requires that the various values, interests and life experiences of different groups of women be taken into account when mechanisms for political participation are devised and practiced. Gender mainstreaming seeks to dismantle the institutions which hinder women and so unlike gender quotas create an environment where both women and men can participate equally. The diagram below highlights what is being considered by the European Union called the ‘equality stool’:

• Guarantee women the same rights and the same opportunities as men in the public sphere, through statutory and mandatory legal instruments.
• Inspire initiatives that recognise women as a disadvantaged group in society, who deserve and require particular treatment and specialist provision in order to rectify their past experience of discrimination, which has become institutionalized.
• Promote actions that aim to transform the organisation of society to a fairer distribution of human responsibilities by acknowledging the differences between women and men (Booth and Bennett, 2002).

The ‘Equality Stool’

Final thoughts

If we are to achieve gender equality in the UK, we need to have more women in politics and this can only happen if we recognise that the problem is multifaceted and aim to gradually adopt the three-part ‘equality stool’. The implementation of such a process would help us have more women in power who can address our concerns and avoid future cases like Sarah Everard; formally recognise the disparities between women rather than the inaccurate assumption that there is only conflict against men.

Bibliography

Channel 4 News (2021) Why women feel unsafe on Britain’s streets. 11 March. Available at: https:/youtube.com/watch?v=DtrqkseiTSA

House of Commons Library (2021) Women in Politics and Public Life. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01250/ (Accessed: 23 March 2021).

Votes in Parliament (2021) Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Second Reading. Available at: https://votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons/Division/981?byMember=False#ayes (Accessed: 23 March 2021).

Dennell, T. (2021) Vigil for Sarah Everard in Sheffield. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shefftim/51033478096 (Accessed: 23 March 2021).

Childs, S. (2004) New Labour Women MPs. London: Routledge.

Squires, J. (2004) Gender Quotas in Britain: A Fast Track to Equality?, Working Paper Series, 1.

MPs and Lords (2021) Find MPs. Available at: https://members.parliament.uk/members/Commons?SearchText=&PartyId=&Gender=Female&ForParliament=0&ShowAdvanced=true (Accessed: 23 March 2021).

Lovenduski, J. (2005) Feminising Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press.

House of Commons Library (2020) Social background of MPs 1979-2019 (CBP 7483). UK Parliament: United Kingdom. [Tables].

Fat Beehive (2021) COVID-19 Response. Violence Against Women: United Kingdom. [Table].

Kent Surrey & Sussex (2020) Domestic abuse during Coronavirus. United Kingdom: Seetec Justice.

Squires, J (2009) Gender Quotas and Models of Political Citizenship, British Journal of Political Science, 39(4), pp. 781-803.

Booth, C. and Bennett, C. (2002) ‘Gender Mainstreaming in the European Union: Towards a New Conception and Practice of Equal Opportunities?’, European Journal of Women’s Studies, 9(4), pp. 430–446.

Squires, J. (2004) Gender Quotas in Britain: A Fast Track to Equality?, Working Paper Series, 1. [Diagram].

Citizenship education in the UK is not a priority and needs to be made one!

On the 8th of March, schools reopened as part of Boris Johnson’s roadmap to ease us out of lockdown and it made me think about how politics is taught in the higher education system. More specifically, the role schools play in the political participation of the masses. I don’t like the education system in this country because it’s eurocentric but most importantly for this post, it does not support working-class students and this affects how they engage in politics.

The role of the school in helping political engagement should present itself in two forms, participatory learning processes such as mock elections and knowledge acquisition through citizenship education classes where students are directly taught to engage in a democratic society and question its processes. Schools that have a higher disadvantaged intake, report participating in fewer political activities at school and have fewer experiences in an open classroom climate. This directly correlates to political participation in the form of voter turnout where those who came from a lower social group are less likely to vote.

Often people who don’t vote are shunned and I believe it’s important to find out the reasons why and factors that contribute towards this. Democratic inequality is hugely prominent within the UK and individuals from marginalised groups don’t want to participate because they feel their voice is not heard and have little faith in our political bodies. These thoughts often stem from a lack of education in the subject of politics it is imperative to understand that educational establishments play a crucial cognitive and social role in the development of political understanding (Flanagan and Levine, 2007).

The education system needs reform!

There is a lack of emphasis on citizenship education in school because it is not compulsory and this can be fixed if a greater priority is placed upon the subject, allowing disadvantaged students to gain knowledge and feel more inclined to engage in politics in the future. Furthermore, disadvantaged students should be identified and have specific activities catered to them to help their existing knowledge flourish. The teaching of the actual subject should be rectified by having staff specialised in the subject teaching it so that the content they provide actually stays with the students and allows them to formulate their own ideas confidently. These activities are even more important when you consider the ‘mitigating effect’, the notion that socioeconomic inequality in political engagement passes on from one generation to the next through the process of primary socialisation in the household (Schlozman and Brady, 2012). This means that disadvantaged pupils have more to gain from these specialised tasks in comparison to their peers who already experience this learning through cultural capital in their own homes. For example, Berstein identified that middle-class students tend to be brought up in an environment where open debate is the norm and young people’s autonomy in decision making and language skills are enhanced (2003).

This tells us that it is imperative for disadvantaged students to get efficient learning about politics in the classroom if we wish to see an increase in improvement and give a fair opportunity to all students. I believe that not giving students this opportunity is an infringement upon human rights, how can individuals exercise their right to participate in free elections if they are not properly taught about it enough to make an informed decision. I believe if we apply these changes to our current education system, we will see improvements made on the results of the 2019 general election where 18-34-year-olds who were in the lowest DE social grade had a turnout of 43% which was lower than any other group (IPOS Mori, 2019) as shown below:

Additionally, previous voter turnout for past elections and the EU referendum show this to be a recurring problem as shown below (IPOS, 2017):

Don’t blame schools, blame the lack of policy!

It is easy to blame schools for certain inadequacies but what it comes down to is the policies put in place to improve political engagement amongst the youth. Schools are simply following government guidelines and often can’t go above and beyond due to limited funds as a result of budget cuts. The current government in power does not value working-class people and the failings of the education system make that very clear. How are young people meant to challenge our democracy if they do not have the resources to cultivate their thoughts? Let alone those disadvantaged individuals who really need to be heard?? The House of Commons Library found that real-term spending on schools and colleges had slumped from £95.5bn in 2011/12 to £87.8bn last year, a total fall of £7.7bn (Independent, 2019). The Conservative government’s continued austerity measures mean that the prospect of citizenship education being taught effectively is on the back-burner but that does not mean we should not continue to hold the government accountable for its shortcomings.

If we want to see a change in socioeconomic inequality of political engagement we need to tackle the institutions which legitimise it and that starts with the government. Disparities in political engagement lead to public policy that favours the elite and enhances social exclusion (Gallego, 200) and if we are to end this, the institutions need to be dismantled and reformed.

Bibliography

Flanagan, C., and P. Levine. (2010) Civic Engagement and the Transition to Adulthood, The Future of Children, 20(1), pp. 159–179.

IPOS (2019) How Britain voted in the 2019 election. Available at: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2019-election (Accessed: 9 March 2021). 

What can the A-level protests of last summer tell us about political engagement amongst young people in the UK?

Protests outside the Department for Education in London on Sunday over last week’s A-level results. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

COVID-19 saw the cancellation of secondary education exams across the country last year and in response, the official exam regulator Ofqual produced a grades standardisation algorithm that downgraded a large portion of A-level student results. 36% of results had a lower grade than teachers recommended and 3% of student results went down by two grades (BBC, 2020). There was a widespread outcry that saw hundreds of students out on the streets in protest which directly lead to a U-turn from both Ofqual and the government.

The A-level protests display the importance of political participation as an act for change. Trends suggest that young people prefer non-electoral forms of participation. Marsh and Kaase (1979, cited in Barnes and Kaase, 1979) argue that they offer the kinds of satisfactions…beyond those attainable through traditional pathways of political action. Furthermore, they offer new possibilities for attaining political goals. MacManus (1996) acknowledges that young people believe protests are favourable in influencing the government and engage in such activities for instrumental rather than expressive reasons. This rhetoric has been achieved through the A-level protests as we saw the government and exam body recognise public opposition and act accordingly. The revision saw a 10% increase in the number of top grades awarded (inews, 2020).

How successful of an indicator are the A-level protests in measuring youth political engagement?

However, critics would argue that while non-electoral forms of participation are increasing, voting is the main activity that matters and is often undermined by those who wish to seek alternative methods to politically participate. The 2016 EU referendum saw young people (18-24) have the lowest turnout of 60%, as shown in the graph below, and the 2019 General Election saw a turnout of 47% young people; a decrease of 7% when compared to 2017 (89 Initiative, 2020). The lack of voter engagement by young people is a great cause for concern. Protests can’t change the result once made. If more young people reject voting, political inequality will expand and more minority groups and their issues will be ignored? Liberal democracies require citizens to participate in both forms of politics and non-electoral participation cannot serve as a substitute for electoral participation (Milner, 2010).

Is increased voter turnout the only solution?

Perhaps voting shouldn’t be the defining factor in determining public attitudes towards political parties and who should be in power? More research needs to be conducted into why young people are disinterested in voting and prefer to take more direct action in expressing their views. Zukin et al. (2000) suggest that there is a subtle but important shift in citizenship away from a focus on the government and elections as the mechanisms for determining public good and towards alternative avenues.

One argument for reform is increased citizenship education, it is believed that young people’s low level of political engagement is due to lack of knowledge and not being taught to appreciate democracy in the classroom. Citizenship refers to the legal rights bestowed upon an individual denoted by their nationality (Marshall). While citizenship education has been compulsory in the national curriculum since 2001 between the ages of 11 to 16, this does not mean it is being taught correctly. Often there are no teachers specialised in the subject and so it is randomly allocated, showing the low value placed upon it amongst faculty. Moreover, not all schools have to follow the national curriculum, academies and free schools are exempt. This shows us that teaching young people about civic education is not prioritised which contributes to low election turnouts.

The theory of increased participation is very important, from my experience not a lot was learned in the classroom as we were being spoken to rather actively involved in making a difference. It has been recorded that learning through open dialogue and practicing political engagement is an effective way to learn the skills for political engagement (Hoskins and Janmmat, 2019). Furthermore, critical pedagogy should be promoted in the classroom if we wish for young people to not be passive and actively engage in politics. Questioning the power structures of our society is a valuable lesson and one I did not learn consistently when in school. A big flaw of the education system in this country is the eurocentric curriculum and I believe it is imperative to push for its decolonisation, in order to provide students with a fair account of history.

My final thoughts

The U-turn decision of A-level results was a huge success and encourages non-traditional forms of political participation but does not evade criticism of youth political engagement…Perhaps, the government would not have led to such an unfair decision if the views of young people were better represented in Parliament. But we should not blame young people for their lack of enthusiasm. We need to ask ourselves why this is such a prominent issue in the first place and question if voting is even the best way to determine the views of the people; decide who has the power to govern our country. Aaron J. Martin (2012) describes tackling youth political engagement as complex but I think the first step should be to tackle the education system and offer efficient learning in citizenship.

How do you think we should tackle this issue?

Bibliography

BBC (2020) A-levels and GCSEs: How did the exam algorithm work? Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53807730 (Accessed: 23/02/21).

S. H. Barnes and M. Kaase (1979) Political Action: Mass Participation in Five Western Democracies. (eds.) Beverly Hills: Sage.

MacManus, S, A. (1996) Young v. Old: Generational Combat in the 21st Century. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

inews (2020) A-level results 2020: 39% of teacher predicted grades downgraded by algorithm amid calls for U-turn. Available at: https://inews.co.uk/news/education/a-level-results-2020-grades-downgraded-algorithm-triple-lock-u-turn-result-day-578194 (Accessed: 23/02/21).

The Independent (2020) Students protest A-level results and demand Gavin Williams’ resignation. 14 August. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cgb_wXR4ec&feature=emb_title (Accessed: 23/02/21).

89 Initative (2020) Youth turnout – How does the UK compare to other European nations? Available at: https://89initiative.com/youth-turnout-uk-europe/ (Accessed: 23/02/21).

House of Commons Library (2019) Political disengagement in the UK: who is disengaged? (CBP-7501). Available at: Political disengagement in the UK – UK Parliament

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk › CBP-7501 (Accessed: 23/02/21).

Milner, H. (2010) The Internet Generation: Engaged Citizens or Political Dropouts. Metford, MA: Tufts University Press.

Zukin, C., Kerter, S., Andolina, M., Jenkins, K. and Delli Caprini, M.X. (2006) A New Engagement? Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American Citizen. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hoskins and Janmaat, J.G. (2019) Education, Democracy and Inequality: Political Engagement and Citizenship Education in Europe. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Martin, A., J. (2012) Young people and politics: political engagement in the Anglo-American democracies. Routledge

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