Rise UP!

The Gender Gap in Today’s Government

In 1918, the women’s suffrage movement finally allowed women to vote, after a long fight of trying to gain the basic right (Parliament, 2024). However, only some women had the right.  Therefore, over the past century since this time, we have not seen gender equality in politics that the suffrage movement aimed to achieve. Governments should be representative of the diversity of their populations. Therefore, there needs to be gender equality in the government. But what would it mean to have gender equality? In this blog, I will discuss gender inequality in political engagement that is occurring today and propose some solutions to solve this issue. 

The United Nations (UN) defines gender equality as “the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female.” (UN, 2001) Women should have equal opportunities as men to be engaged in politics. However, on average throughout the world, women hold less seats in government than men. 

The table above shows the number and overall percentage of women seats in government in twenty-one countries. As you can see, the United Kingdom did not even make it in the top twenty-one countries for women representation. So, what is the status of the UK in regards to women in government? Women make up fifty-one percent of the whole population, with men making up forty-nine percent. (Gov.uk, 2023) Women make up a larger percentage of the population than men. Interestingly though, this is the opposite for the case of the government. 

The graph above shows the percentage of women MPs elected from 1979 to 2019. As you can see, the percentage has significantly increased from 1979. However, thirty-three percent is still a low number. Especially when you think about the sixty-seven percentage of the remaining seats being men.  The graph shows an increasing number of women being elected, however I still do not believe that having only thirty-three percent non-male MPs is gender equality. Men dominated government is a pattern. In other sectors of the government, the majority of the members are men. 

The graph above shows information from June of 2023. Sixty-Five percent of House of Commons members were male, while only thirty-five percent were female. In the cabinet, only twenty nine percent of members were women, and the other seventy-one percent were men. The cabinet shows the largest difference in number of men and women, with a difference of forty-two percent. The low number of women in the cabinet, with a large percentage of men, represents gender inequality in the government. This gender gap is substantial, why is this?

One reason for this could be the lower employment rate of women. At the end of 2022, women employment rate in the UK was 72.3 percent. Men’s employment rate was at 79 percent (House of Commons (2023) and ONS UK labor market data (2023). Women face challenges in balancing their family and career life often more than men. Due to gender stereotypes and discriminatory ideas, women often face sexism in the workplace more than men. Societal pressures of women to undertake caregiving responsibilities can inhibit them from pursuing jobs or careers. This corresponds directly because in order for more women to hold government positions, these discriminatory stereotypes must be broken. Women should feel comfortable and empowered in the workplace, and gendered stereotypes can block those feelings. 

Another reason there is a gender gap in governmental jobs could be because of the underrepresentation of women in the government. A lack of role models and women to look up too in the government does not provide support for aspiring female politicians. Since there may not be enough support or encouragement, it may lessen the likelihood of younger women to pursue jobs within the government. If there were more women representing other women in the government, more aspiring female politicians may feel empowered to run for governmental jobs.  

What is the Solution?

The gender gap is obviously a problem, so what could some solutions be? Equal pay and opportunities for women would ensure fairness and justice. It is also a vital move to build an inclusive and representative government. Equal pay for women would help to make sure that they are empowered to support themselves and families. If women have fair pay and equal opportunities in the workplace, they could be more likely to pursue a government career.

What Can YOU Do?

Confront gender stereotypes! Do not accept sexist language or behavior. If someone says something that helps fuel the fire of gendered stereotypes, put it out. On top of this, supporting women in government positions and creating positive portrayals of them could help to create a more positive environment around women in politics. Spreading awareness and sharing women’s voices to others around you can help to drive motivation for more gender inclusive governments! Vote for the people who you believe best represent you. Let your voice be heard by voting for people who will help to address and change the systemic issues of gender inequality. 

In conclusion, female representation in the government has slowly increased. However, there is still a large gender gap between male and female seats in governmental positions. Men outnumber women in the government, even though in the UK the population of women is greater than men. The reasoning behind this gender gap could be because of stereotypes about women caregivers, sexism in workplaces, lack of political role models for women to look up too. In order to eliminate the gap, solutions include ensuring equal opportunities and equal pay for women. Women’s voices deserve to be heard, and more representation of women in the government would help to bring those voices out. 

 

 

 

 

 

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