Women and Men in Britain: Public and Political Life

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1 Women and in Britain: Public and Political Life Although 51 per cent of the population are female, women are poorly represented in public and political life. Without a better gender balance in participation, the development of a just society is hindered and the interests of women may remain unrecognised and unfulfilled. Thousands of people participate in public life by serving on the boards of various public bodies. Women currently hold around one third of these public appointments and although their number is generally increasing, they tend to occupy the lower status and unpaid appointments. Women currently make up 18 per cent of MPs at Westminster but a far higher proportion of members of the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales. A little over a quarter of local government councillors are women. Women bring with them different perspectives to politics and policy making than men, because of their distinctive life experiences. But there are many factors which may act as barriers for women who would like to take up public appointments or become involved in political life. These include: issues around family life, childcare and elder care; the financial costs, including the lack of remuneration in many public appointments; the necessary time to put oneself forward and to fulfil the required duties; the confidence to apply; encouragement from others; awareness of the process and availability of opportunities. Discrimination in the selection process has also been identified as a major problem within political parties 1. All these issues need to be addressed in order to ensure greater female representation. In addition, the EOC's research review, Women In Parliament 2, showed that positive action had made a decisive contribution to increasing women s representation in national politics. The number of women in the House of Commons doubled in 1997, due mainly to a policy of positive action introduced by the Labour Party between 1993 and The Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales introduced positive action measures at their foundation and, as a result, both assemblies secured high levels of representation of women. The EOC encourages the use of lawful positive action measures to raise women's awareness of public appointments and to encourage their participation in public life. The Government's intention to encourage greater diversity in public appointments is also welcome. We would like to see transparency in the appointments process, with objective selection criteria and unbiased procedures. Selectors should receive training in selection procedures and in equal opportunities issues. The EOC also welcomes the Government s introduction of the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act This removes the legal obstacles in the way of political parties adopting positive action measures. We hope that the parties will make use of the discretion that the new law provides in order to introduce positive action measures, thus improving women s political representation.

2 2 INTRODUCTION This briefing explores two very visible examples of gender imbalance, the involvement of women and men in both public and political life. It does this by looking at appointments to public bodies and other forms of public involvement, and through political representation at both a national and local level. PUBLIC LIFE Public appointments In 2001, there were around 30,000 women and men serving on the boards of public bodies 3. These are organisations which operate at a distance from Government but for which Ministers are still responsible. They include: nondepartmental public bodies (NDPB) of which there are four types - Executive, Advisory, Tribunal and Boards of Visitors to penal establishments; certain Public Corporations (nationalised industries); and National Health Service (NHS) bodies. Those in the devolved areas of Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the Scottish Executive or National Assembly for Wales. Appointments and reappointments to public bodies, 2000/01 ENDPB: Chairs Members NHS: Chairs Members OTHERS: Chairs Members Recent years have seen an increase in the number of board members who are women; from 26 per cent in 1992 to 34 per cent in During the 2000/01 financial year, 38 per cent of new appointments or reappointments were women 4, a slight decrease on the previous year. The percentage of women appointed varied between different public bodies. Nearly half of appointments and reappointments in the NHS were women compared with around 30 per cent in Executive (ENDPBs) and other types of bodies. However, women were less likely than men to be appointed as a Chair 4. The vast majority of male and female appointments were part-time. Over half of those in other bodies and nearly half of those in ENDPBs were unpaid, receiving expenses only. The ratio of women to men on the boards of public bodies differed according to which government department was responsible for them. The percentage of women ranged from a low of 13 per cent in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to 46 per cent in the Department of Health (DoH) and 47 per cent in the Scottish Executive 3. Total appointments to public bodies within selected Government departments, 2001 DEFRA DTLR LCD DTI DWP HO DoH Women Source: The Commissioner for Public Appointments Sixth Report , Table 1b 0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Women Source: Public Bodies 2001 (2002) The Cabinet Office, Annex B, Table 2.1 5

3 3 Even within Government departments, women and men tended to be in different types of organisations. Only 17 per cent of appointments to Executive and Advisory NDPBs in the Home Office were women, but 47 per cent of those to Boards of Visitors. Similarly in the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), 19 per cent of those on Advisory NDPBs were women compared with 31 per cent on Tribunal NDPBs 3. Despite ethnic minorities comprising around 8 per cent of new appointments made in 2000/01, only 5 per cent of people serving on a public body were members of an ethnic minority: 38 per cent of these were women. Ethnic minority appointees were more likely to be on public bodies in certain Government departments than in others. Twelve per cent of appointees in the DoH and nine per cent in the Home Office were from ethnic minorities, compared with two per cent in the Lord Chancellor's Department and one per cent in DEFRA. Overall, under two per cent of appointees had a disability (nearly half of whom were women) and a little over two per cent of new appointees. Other public involvement Involvement in public life is not only about membership of official public bodies. There are numerous ways in which women and men contribute to and participate in the life of Britain, but much of this involvement is unquantified. The ESRC is currently running the Democracy and Participation programme, one element of which is to conduct a citizen's audit on participation in Britain 6. Participation in voluntary activities, 1998 Women Charitable Religious and church related Political 2 4 Any other voluntary activity Source: Social Trends 31 (2001) Table Participation in public life includes, for example, being a school governor or a member of a community group. Women are particularly important in local community organisations, often due to the networks they have developed whilst caring for children and others 7. When asked about voluntary activities, women and men reported fairly similar rates of participation 8. POLITICAL LIFE Westminster House of Commons At the general election in June 2001, 118 women (17.9 per cent) and 541 men were returned to the UK parliament at Westminster. Of the women, 95 were Labour, 14 Conservative, five Liberal Democrat, one Scottish Nationalist and three represented Northern Irish parties. Over 80 per cent of women MPs were members of the Parliamentary Labour Party 2. The 2001 result saw the first decrease in the number of women in parliament since The number of women had increased from 60 in 1992 to 120 at the election in 1997 (18.2 per cent of the total number of MPs) and the primary reason for this large increase was the use of positive action measures by the Labour Party. Women MPs in the three main parties, % 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Labour Conservative Liberal Democrat

4 4 Between 1993 and 1996, all women shortlists were adopted for half the seats where a sitting Labour MP was retiring and for half of the seats which the party identified as the most likely to win from other parties (targeted seats). As a result, women won 49 per cent of the new seats targeted by the Labour Party at the general election in 1997, compared with only 17 per cent of seats which were untargeted, showing the impact of women only shortlists. The policy was dropped in 1996 following a successful legal challenge, but political parties should be in a position to introduce similar policies following implementation of the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act Where the three main parties selected women as candidates, the proportion of women who were selected in winnable seats differed substantially between the parties. Candidates by three main parties, 2001 Women Elected candidates candidates Women Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat Source: The Fawcett Society (2001) Selection Watch Following the 2001 general election, seven women became Cabinet ministers, the highest number ever appointed and 30 per cent of the Cabinet. Outside of the Cabinet, 23 women were appointed to ministerial posts giving an overall number of 30 women out of a total of 92 (this includes some unpaid positions). House of Lords Following changes to its composition in 1999, there were 710 members of the House of Lords in February These included 26 Archbishops and Bishops (all male), 564 Life Peers (of whom 113 were women) and 92 Peers under the House of Lords Act of 1999 (4 women). Overall, 16 per cent of members of the House of Lords were women 10. Initial recommendations on the future of the House of Lords published in a White Paper in November 2001 suggest that it should eventually consist of 600 Peers, the majority of whom would be political appointments 11, although it is possible that the eventual composition may differ considerably from these suggestions. However, the new Appointments Commission will be required to ensure that appointed members are broadly representative of British society, including ensuring that 30 per cent of new appointees are women. The European Parliament The proportion of UK Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who were women rose from 18 per cent in 1994 to 24 per cent at the European elections of A new electoral system of proportional representation (PR) based on regional lists had been introduced for these elections. However, the proportion of women returned was still considerably lower than in the majority of other EU countries 2. Women MEPs elected in 1999 Sweden 50.0 Netherlands 32.3 Finland 43.8 Belgium 32.0 France 40.2 UK 24.1 Austria 38.1 Portugal 20.0 Denmark 37.5 Greece 16.0 Germany 36.4 Italy 10.3 Spain 34.4 Luxembourg 0 Ireland 33.3 It also differed considerably by political party. The PR system did not substantially increase the number of women representatives because most of the parties winning seats did not place women sufficiently highly on their lists to ensure that they would be elected. Only the English Liberal Democrats zipped their party lists 12 ensuring that women and men had an equal chance of being elected. As a result, 50 per cent of their elected representatives were women.

5 5 UK MEPs by party, 1999 Women number Conservative 3 33 Labour Liberal Democrat 5 5 Green 2 0 Plaid Cymru 1 1 Scottish National Party 0 2 UK Independence Party 0 3 Northern Irish Parties 0 3 Total number Local authorities The 2001 census of local councillors 13 showed that there were around 21.3 thousand local councillors in England and Wales, 71 per cent of whom were men. A slightly higher proportion of female than male councillors were also engaged in other types of public activity, such as school governors, on public bodies and in unpaid voluntary or charity work. Local authority councillors in England and Wales by party, 2001 Labour Conservative Liberal Democrat Independent Women Source: National Census of Local Authority Councillors 2001, Employers Organisation for Local Government, London Note: Excludes those parties with fewer than 200 councillors Women councillors were more likely to be aged between 45 and 54 than their male counterparts (29 compared with 23 per cent), whereas a higher proportion of male than female councillors were aged 60 or over (46 compared with 39 per cent). Just over a quarter of women and men had caring responsibilities and 13 per cent reported that they had a disability. Overall, only two and a half per cent of councillors were from ethnic minorities and around 79 per cent were men. Women were particularly underrepresented amongst certain groups: they made up only 13 per cent of Asian compared with 35 per cent of Black Caribbean councillors. The vast majority of ethnic minority councillors represented the Labour Party. Twenty-five members were elected to the London Assembly in 2000, eleven women and fourteen men 14. London was divided into fourteen constituencies, each returning one member of the Assembly and of these, five were women and nine men. All the constituency members represented either the Labour or Conservative Party. An additional eleven members were elected on a London-wide basis (six women and five men) and not only were the two main parties represented by London list members, but also the Liberal Democratic and Green Parties. SCOTLAND Public appointments The Scottish Executive is responsible for nearly 3,900 public appointments to 186 bodies 4. Of all new appointments made by the Scottish Executive to public bodies in 2000/01, 68 per cent were men (60 per cent members and 8 per cent Chairs) and 32 per cent women (31 per cent members and one per cent Chairs). This is a reduction in the proportion of women appointees compared with the previous year. Overall, women chair only 15 per cent of bodies. Fairly similar numbers of women and men were appointed to the various public bodies covered by the Scottish Executive, but the gender balance differed considerably according to type of organisation 3. Over half of those on Tribunal

6 6 NDPBs were women (57 per cent of those on the Children's Panel), only 31 per cent of those on Advisory NDPBs. If Tribunal appointments are excluded, women comprised less than a third of appointees and were more likely than men to be in positions where they received expenses only rather than a salary. Ethnic minorities comprised half of one per cent of public appointees, people with a disability even fewer. Westminster In the general election of 2001, 11 women and 61 men were returned to Westminster representing Scottish constituencies, one woman fewer than in Women made up 21 per cent of SNP candidates and one woman was elected to parliament, representing one-fifth of all SNP MPs. The ten other women elected were Labour MPs. Scottish Parliament The first elections to the new Scottish Parliament were held in May The elections combined single member constituencies with a regional list and 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) were returned, 48 of whom were women. Women comprised 41 per cent of constituency MSPs and just under a third of those from regional lists. The gender balance in the various political parties differed considerably. One of the reasons for the relatively high number of women in the new parliament was because the Labour Party adopted a system of twinning in the constituency seats 15. Constituencies were paired with a geographical neighbour that was deemed to be equally winnable and for each pair, one man and one woman were selected. As a result, women won 26 of the 53 seats taken by Labour in the constituency element of the election. When it came to the regional lists, none of the parties zipped their lists by alternating between male and female candidates although a number of SNP women were placed sufficiently highly on the list to be elected. In contrast, none of the five Liberal Democrats and only three of the eighteen Conservatives elected from the lists were women. Members of the Scottish Parliament by political party, 1999 Labour Scottish National Party Conservative Liberal Democrat Women Regional list seats Constituency seats Regional list seats The original Cabinet included three women, but by 2001 this had risen by one, to four out of eleven Cabinet members. Women were conveners of seven of the seventeen parliamentary committees. Local Councillors Following the 1999 local council elections in Scotland, 23 per cent of councillors were women, a very slight increase on There were only three councils in which at least a third of councillors were women and there were considerable differences between the political parties. Women councillors in Scotland Constituency seats Labour SNP Liberal Democrats Conservative Independent/Other Total Source: Vesti, P. and Fitzpatrick S. (2000) Scotland's Councillors. SLGIU. Table 2.1

7 7 Only a very small proportion of councillors were from ethnic minorities, about half of one per cent compared with an ethnic minority population of about 1.3 per cent. Ninety per cent of Scottish councils had no black or Asian representatives at all. A higher proportion of male than female councillors reported that they had a disability, but twice the percentage of women compared with men stated that they needed to make special care arrangements to enable them to undertake council duties. WALES Public appointments The National Assembly for Wales is responsible for appointments to public bodies in Wales. In 2001, women comprised 233 of the 820 appointments (28 per cent) although the gender balance differed by type of organisation: 38 per cent women in NHS bodies compared with 23 per cent in ENDPBs 3. Two per cent of appointees were from an ethnic minority; just four people were disabled. In 2000/01, 63 per cent of all new appointments made by the Assembly were men (61 per cent members and 2 per cent Chairs) and 37 per cent women (33 per cent members and 4 per cent Chairs), a small decrease in the proportion of women appointees compared with the previous year. Women comprised 42 per cent of NHS appointments 4. Westminster At the general election in 2001, 40 MPs were returned to Westminster for Welsh constituencies. Only four were women, the same as in 1997, and they all represented the Labour Party. Of these four women, three had been selected during the period of all women shortlists and despite a number of seats becoming vacant at the 2001 election, no other women were selected. None of the 18 per cent of Plaid Cymru candidates who were women, were elected 2. National Assembly for Wales In the first elections to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, 24 women and 36 men were elected. As with the Scottish Parliament elections, they combined single member constituencies with regional lists. Women accounted for 48 per cent of those elected via constituency seats and 25 per cent of those elected from regional lists 2. The Labour Party adopted a policy of twinning 15 in Wales as it had in Scotland, with the result that women comprised 56 per cent of Labour Assembly Members elected to constituency seats. Both Plaid Cymru and the Labour Party zipped 12 their regional lists whilst there was considerable variation in the position of women on the Liberal Democrat lists. The Conservative Party failed to position any women highly enough on their regional lists to ensure election. Members of the National Assembly for Wales by political party, 1999 Labour Plaid Cymru Conservative Liberal Democrat Women Regional list seats Constituency seats Regional list seats Constituency seats The Cabinet contains more women than men and women chair 6 of the 16 Assembly committees. The National Assembly was unique in British political institutions for attempting to build gender equality into the parliamentary process from the beginning. Thus, meetings are held during the 'family-friendly hours' of 9.00 to 5.30, Assembly recesses match the school holidays, Assembly Members have access to nursery facilities and gender neutral language is the norm 17. Local Councillors According to the 2001 census of local councillors in England and Wales, 81 per cent of councillors in Welsh Unitary Authorities were men 13,18. Around

8 8 15 per cent of Welsh councillors reported that they had a disability and one per cent came from an ethnic minority, compared with an ethnic minority population in Wales of around two per cent. Substantially more councillors in Wales than in England were retired. Notes and Sources 1. Elgood, J., Vinter, L. and Williams, R. (2002) Man enough for the job? A study of Parliamentary candidates. Manchester: EOC 2. Squires, J. and Wickham-Jones, M. (2001) Women in Parliament: A Comparative Analysis. Manchester: EOC 3. Public Bodies 2001 (2002) The Cabinet Office* 4. The Commissioner for Public Appointments Sixth Report April 2000-March Published on: * 5. These are the total number of appointments made to the boards of Nationalised Industries, Public Corporations, NDPBs and NHS bodies in Ministries which have at least 1,000 appointees. DTLR (Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions), DWP (Department for Work and Pensions), HO (Home Office), LCD (Lord Chancellor's Department). 6. For information on the ESRCs Democracy and Participation Programme see: 7. Andersen, H. et al. (1999) Neighbourhood images in Liverpool (Ref. 479) and Silburn, R. et al. (1999) Neighbourhood images in Nottingham (Ref. 489) Joseph Rowntree Foundation published by YPS. 8. Social Trends 31 (2001) The Stationary Office* 9. The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002 is available from For the composition of the House of Lords see: * 11. The House of Lords. Completing the Reform. White Paper Cmd November 2001* 12. Zipping is where women and men are placed alternately on a party list. 13. See the Employers Organisation for Local Government website: plus the report 'Representing the People: Democracy and Diversity' (2001) Local Government Association and the LGA website: for proposals to take forward the report's recommendations. 14. See: Twinning is when neighbouring constituency seats are twinned, taking into account their likelihood of being won. Members of the constituency select candidates together and vote for one man and one woman. The man and woman with the most votes are selected, and agree who should represent each seat. 16. Vesti, P. and Fitzpatrick, S. (2000) Scotland's Councillors. Scottish Local Government Information Unit. 17. Feld, V. (2000) A new start in Wales: how devolution is making a difference, in Coote, A. (ed) New Gender Agenda. IPPR: London 18. See also Hall, D et al. (2001) Recognising councillors' worth to their communities. Report to the National Assembly for Wales by the University of Birmingham. Available from the Assembly website: * Data from these sources are Crown Copyright. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen s Printer for Scotland. Please contact the EOC's Research and Resources Unit on or by on: research@eoc.org.uk for the data used in the charts or for further information on EOC research and statistical work. The EOC has produced a series of briefings on Women and in Britain. These cover: pay and income; the labour market; the millennium; work-life balance; pensions and social security; sex stereotyping; the lifecycle of inequality; professional occupations; and management. All Briefings can be downloaded from the EOC website and are available free of charge from the EOC. ISBN EOC March 2002 Great Britain Arndale House, Arndale Centre Manchester M4 3EQ Helpline: Fax: info@eoc.org.uk Website: Wales Windsor House, Windsor Lane Cardiff CF10 3GE Tel: Fax: wales@eoc.org.uk Website: Scotland St. Stephens House, 279 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JL Helpline: Fax: scotland@eoc.org.uk Website: