Centenary Action Intern Iman Ali reflects on our recent ‘Making Parliament Work for Women’ parliamentary event. The event was sponsored by Dame Maria Miller MP, Conservative MP and Chair of the Women in Parliament All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). At the event we heard from civil society experts making recommendations and parliamentarians sharing their experiences.
After the General Election on 4th July a new cohort of female MPs will take up their seats in Parliament. But what kind of a workplace will they join? Whilst the numbers of women in Parliament have been steadily rising and they have pushed for changes to make it more inclusive, there is still more progress needed. Women MPs still suffer significant levels of misogyny, on and off-line, Parliament does not do enough to support those with caring responsibilities and systems are not in place to properly tackle sexual harassment. This leads to many women cutting their time as MPs short as it takes too much toll on their wellbeing. The recent Open House report from the APPG on Women in Parliament highlights how efforts to improve gender equality in Parliament have been slow, and whilst many recommendations have been made, only a handful have actually been implemented in full. To push this forward we brought together a diverse group of women from civil society with women MPs to discuss how we can make Parliament work better for women.
Inclusivity was a key topic discussed at the event. Alesha De-Frietas, Director of Policy, Research and Advocacy at The Fawcett Society, shared research which found that “only 37 percent of women MPs say that the culture in Parliament is inclusive for people like me”. The Fawcett Society is calling for statutory sex/gender quotas for parliamentary candidates to be introduced in order to progress gender equality in parliament. They also want to see further legislation to allow for party quotas in selecting other under-represented groups. The parliamentary panel discussed the importance of improving candidate selection processes for women and making sure that women feel that they can succeed in a career in politics and are empowered to stand.
A key recommendation from the Open House report is the establishment of a new body to drive diversity and inclusivity reforms in the House of Commons. This would involve reviewing recommendations made to date and leading and pushing forward the gender sensitive Parliament agenda including overseeing regular future audits. At our event Alesha highlighted the importance of this body having proper legitimacy and authority otherwise… “we will dependent on the personalities of the people in charge”.
Fazilet Hadi, Head of Policy at Disability Rights UK, echoed the importance of diversity and inclusivity by focusing on disability. She said it was key to increasing representation that the environment in Parliament is improved for disabled people by removing physical and digital barriers. Additionally, she called for the reinstatement of the Access to Elected Office Fund, as it is crucial for ensuring that disabled people get the funding they need to contest elections on a level playing field with other candidates. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Crossbench Peer, added that it is very difficult for disabled people to stand as MPs, but the House of Commons “has to be more diverse”.
Changing the culture and working practices of Parliament is essential and appeared as a running theme in the recommendations and discussions of the speakers. Baroness Carmen Smith, Plaid Cymru Peer, raised the issue of the rules and regulations of the House of Lords being not only gendered but also disadvantaging those with access needs. Alesha recommended making improvements to the predictability and flexibility of work for parliamentarians. Tanni shared that the unpredictable hours in the chamber make it difficult for many, including working mothers. She saw this as a key issue that needs to be addressed, as it may deter many women from wanting to join Parliament.
Addressing abuse and harassment is vital in discussions on encouraging women to join Parliament. Su Moore, CEO of The Jo Cox Foundation, called for the Government to implement and resource a central unit to address abuse and intimidation of all elected politicians. There was strong support from the parliamentary panel for addressing abuse, with Ashley Dalton MP, Labour Shadow Minister for Women, emphasising that “Parliament should be a safe place for women to be”. Kirsten Oswald MP, SNP Spokesperson for Women and Equalities, added that women are often forced to change their actions because of abuse and intimidation, which is unfair and can deter them from Parliament because of the toxic atmosphere. Additionally, Carmen pressed on the importance of supporting women through the difficult times when they get elected, as “we need more women in the room”. Su also recommended mandatory, properly resourced training for elected representatives and their staff on addressing abuse.
It is clear there is more work to be done to make Parliament work for women so that it is a place where women want to stay and more women feel encouraged to join. Our panel of parliamentarians were united in calling for greater action, with Maria declaring that “this is a cross party issue” and the “process has to change so Parliament is better for women”. Kirsten warned against complacency as “progress is not guaranteed”, and we have to ensure that the gains made so far are not lost. Carmen stressed that we all have a part to play in ensuring progress as “Every conversation, every action matters”.
We will continue to take forward the issues raised at the event and keep working towards improving Parliament for women, with the hope that the next government will take the necessary action.