The gender gap in politics: striving for 51% representation

Hannah Stevens, CEO at Elect Her, discusses the need for greater gender representation in politics, celebrating progress and identifying challenges after the recent UK election. She highlights the benefits of diversity and calls for systemic reforms to achieve 51% female representation in political offices.

When is enough, well enough? Turns out the answer to that is 51.

It was that question that struck me when the results started to come in after the recent snap General Election. The makeup of parliament is now 41% women to 59% men. I was, I am, pleased, and it is worth celebrating, it is a solid step in the right direction.

And it isn’t only that MPs’ representation shift that matters, it is also that we have a woman chancellor for the first time and that 45% of the cabinet are women. That more diversity is at the top table, where policy is created, means we will all have better outcomes. That isn’t just intuition or personal bias, there is also extensive research to demonstrate just how important it is. The work of the King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership has shown that when there are more women in politics we see less corruption, better outcomes for local people and policy, and they provide more stability, at the extreme end that is demonstrated by the fact that they are less likely to go to war or to commit human rights abuses.

It is good to know that this latest snap election has helped us move towards equal representation in parliament. But it isn’t enough. We need a systematic giant leap.

More than 80 members of our Elect Her community stood in this snap election, and whether elected or not, every one of them made democracy work. That presence, those women, that is why we exist – to support women willing to put themselves forward to stand and then help them when they do get elected and/or if they don’t. All of this is critical to improving our democracy.

It is necessary because, unfortunately, in terms of candidates, parties aren’t doing enough, and at this snap election, they put forward wide ranges of representation from the lower end of 16% women at Reform, to 47% women for Labour, with varying levels in between. That we ended up with 41% is a matter of the context of this election and the specific party dynamics but it is not a demonstration of improved systems across the board. We have a long way to go to encourage women into candidacy, then into political office and to thrive once there. Systematic barriers to entry still exist – if anything that was made more evident in this ‘Big Change’ election – and it isn’t just at the national level; it is even more stark at the regional and local level too.

What is the local situation?

In the last few years, we’ve not seen women’s candidacy above 36% at local elections – those numbers are shockingly low, but for those of us who work in this world, not in the least surprising. We need that to change. All of these roles, all of these political appointments, hold power over people’s lives, and whether it is about access to skills, transportation, or bins, it all manifestly impacts the quality of life.

The issues behind the lack of diversity in politics lie in processes and procedures. For years, we’ve listened to women and heard what would help – both within parties and in the broader democratic ecosystem. As experts in the field, we’ve mapped the systemic change needed. From that, we have designed a roadmap with 51 distinct areas of reform that will help make politics more accessible and appealing.

That is why enough is 51. 51 changes, some small, some large but all part of our mission because it is only that way that we will attain the 51% of women in representative office that we need – locally, regionally and nationally.

About the writer

Hannah Stevens joined Elect Her in 2017 and has helped to shape the organisation from root to tip. Hannah has 15 years of experience working as a senior manager within the third sector, with particular experience in supporting the set-up and growth of charitable organisations. She spent more than a decade working in diversity and leadership in Cambodia. Hannah has sat on the board of several international organisations and is a strong advocate for diversity in public life.