Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

7.1
7.2
Article 7 - Political and public life
Women’s equal participation in public, political and cultural institutions plays a pivotal role
in the advancement of women. However, women are all too often missing from politically
powerful positions in the UK and Britain is a country run largely by men. 1 If women are to achieve
equal representation among Britain’s 26,000 top positions of power, it is estimated that 5,400
‘missing women’ would rise through the ranks to positions of real influence. 2 Participation
in decisions, including policy decisions, that affect our lives is a key human right. As the
Government’s report notes, 3 women and women’s organisations play a crucial role across the
UK in bringing women’s voices to Government, advocating on behalf of women, campaigning
for change and delivering services. Yet in December 2010, the WNC was closed. (See Article 3
and Appendix: 3 for further information) Since then the Government has consulted on their
new strategy for ‘strengthening women’s voices in government’ which aims to “develop policies
that challenge barriers and make a real difference to women’s lives and where women’s voices
are brought into the heart of government”. 4 However, we have serious concerns that since the
consultation and subsequent response 5 was published in 2011, the Government has not yet
communicated its next steps to implement this strategy and take on board recommendations
put forward by the women’s sector.
Recommendations:
• We recommend that the Government announce its intentions to implement an
engagement strategy for women as soon as possible
• The Government must clearly communicate a mandate/set of priorities for the
Government Equalities Office’s Gender Equality Policy and Inclusion (GEPI)
team as it relates to progressing women’s equality. Stakeholders must have
a clear sense of the core work over the coming years and of how this has been
decided upon with priorities established through thorough consultation with the
women’s sector
Increasing the numbers of women in political life
Women remain starkly underrepresented in all walks of political life in the UK. 22.5% of all MPs
are women, 6 which is an increase from 19.7% at the General Election in 2005. 7 However, the
number of female members of the Cabinet was reduced by 20% in the 2012 reshuffle, with
women now only comprising 17.4% of all Cabinet members. 8 The level of women MPs has
increased by only 3.9% since the year 2000, whilst the percentage of women in the Cabinet has
1. Centre for Women and Democracy (2013) Sex and Power 2013: Who runs Britain? Counting Women In Coalition: London http://
www.countingwomenin.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Sex-and-Power-2013-FINALv2.-pdf.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_
source=WRC&utm_campaign=2282094_WRC+March+e-news&dm_i=4DW,1CWVI,BQJQT,4LVG0,1
2. Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011) Sex and Power 2011. EHRC: London http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/key-projects/
sexandpower/
3. Government Equalities Office (2011) CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women) report. United
Kingdom’s Seventh Periodic Report. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/international-equality/7thcedaw-report?view=Binary
Paragraph 87
4. Home Office (2011) Response to the public consultation ‘Strengthening Women’s Voices in Government’ http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/
publications/equalities/womens-equality/strengthening-womens-voices
5. Home Office (2011) Response to the public consultation ‘Strengthening Women’s Voices in Government’ http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/
publications/equalities/womens-equality/strengthening-womens-voices
6. Centre for Women and Democracy (2013) Sex and Power 2013: Who runs Britain? Counting Women In Coalition: London http://
www.countingwomenin.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Sex-and-Power-2013-FINALv2.-pdf.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_
source=WRC&utm_campaign=2282094_WRC+March+e-news&dm_i=4DW,1CWVI,BQJQT,4LVG0,1
7. Inter-Parliamentary Union (2005) Women in National Parliaments. http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif311005.htm
8. Martinson, J. (2012) ‘Cabinet reshuffle: a good day for Maria Miller but a bad day for women’, The Guardian, 4th September 2012 http://
www.guardian.co.uk/politics/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/sep/04/cabinet-reshuffle-maria-miller-women
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