In this blog, Centenary Action Intern, Iman Ali, explores how women’s votes will be crucial in deciding the next election.
Women have long been overlooked in mainstream UK politics despite their potential to significantly impact political outcomes. They are more likely to be undecided and make their minds up later, so they should be seen as a key group for parties to target. A study run by the Women’s Budget Group last October found that a quarter of women are still undecided on how they will vote. In our recent Women Count event we brought together a diverse group of women to discuss their insights, how we can make the most of the election and the issues that women care about.
Despite the importance of women voters, their priorities are largely ignored by political parties. Women are seen as a “niche subgroup” despite them making up the majority of voters in Britain, according to Professor Rosie Campbell. This is why knowing our rights and power became a key theme of the discussion at our event. Young women are leaning more left on social and economic issues. Labour Together’s polling shows that Labour’s lead among women is significant but still not guaranteed. In 2019, 64 percent of women aged 18-24 and 54 percent aged 25-34 voted Labour. Without young women the last election would have been significantly worse for Labour. For Labour, (young) women are a key constituency to target. They are just as likely as men to turnout to vote as men but make up their minds during the campaign. Jemima Olchawski notably asserted that “if you fail to centre women in your politics your politics will fail”. This is crucial for parties to address but also just as important for women to recognise themselves as key voters. Helen Pankhurst imperatively added that “if you don’t vote you risk marginalising the power you have”.
It seems that women voters are more swayed by issues than political parties. So, if parties want to appeal to them then they must pay attention to and prioritise the issues that concern them. Health was an issue highlighted as being important yet overlooked by Rhiannon Evans and Timi Okuwa during our event. Both addressed maternal care as many women have had terrible experiences that gave them long-lasting physical and psychological impacts and this is especially worse for black women that have a high maternal mortality rate. Additionally, women are also in a worse position in the cost of living crisis. According to Anneliese Dodds, on average, women are £1,200 worse off per year now than in 2010. For women in their thirties, the figure rises to £4,000. This is the “motherhood penalty”, which is the pay gap between working mothers and women without children. Evans supports this by stating that users on Mumsnet feel concerned about the cost of living crisis and 25 percent are worried about finances. Eighty percent feel that the government is not doing everything possible, which will be taken into account in this election. This is notable considering Mumsnet has eight million users and therefore wields some political power. It is indicative of how women are political but not in political systems, as they are more community focused, according to Helen Pankhurst.
The primary issue currently is that women’s involvement in organisations does not always translate to voting and membership in political parties, according to Professor Rosie Campbell, however, this is vital. Jemima Olchawski argues if parties were to act on issues such as the gender pay gap and affordable, accessible and inclusive child care it would influence who they vote for. Violence against women has also been highlighted as a priority that political parties need to address according to Andrea Simon. This is especially crucial for BAME women as they are over represented by one fifth in domestic homicide rates. “We don’t want words, we want action” Baroness Shaista Gohir notably asserted. It is evident that women can be swayed to vote if the issues they care about are prioritised and addressed. This is something that parties will have to make clear if they want to win over undecided women voters.
Women make the difference by swaying the vote, especially in tight races. Dr Mona Morgan-Collins claimed that “if an election looks highly competitive, women are more likely to vote”. She added that they can be mobilised by women’s networks, which is an indicator of their power as a collective. However, for the last few years in mainstream British politics there has been a prevalent narrative about men in “left-behind constituencies”. This problematically excludes women despite them being on average more “economically vulnerable” and “more-likely to be in low-paid insecure work”, according to Professor Rosie Campbell.
Women need to use their voting power as their voice to avoid being marginalised. As the panellists crucially echoed, we need to know our rights and power as women voters, as we have the power to make a difference in elections. We need to continue to work together and amplify our voices so that our needs can be recognised and addressed by parties.