Representation of women in politics has come a long way, but still faces obstacles. As more women are elevated to positions of authority and responsibility, two opportunities come to light to continuing the fight for gender equality in politics: aspiring politicians can learn from one another and be inspired by role models, and we can better understand the intersecting barriers that different women face, helping us figure out how to overcome.
On Thursday 21st March 2024, women from every level of UK politics gathered at the Leeds Civic Hall to take part in 50:50 Parliament’s event in collaboration with Chamber UK. Speakers included Shadow Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, and Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, alongside many local councillors and charity leaders. The event was kindly sponsored by Frog, with Head of Public Sector Kieran McBride joining the event in Leeds.
Getting Women into Politics
The event was introduced by the Chief Executive of 50:50, Lyanne Nicholl, and Cllr Debra Coupar, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Resources at the Leeds City Council. A fireside chat with the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP and Tracy Brabin soon followed, with both discussing their collaboration on policies to improve the safety of women, including setting up the UK’s first women’s safety unit in West Yorkshire. Both Tracy and Yvette made it clear just how central the safety is to their political work, with Yvette aiming “to halve violence against women and girls in the next ten years,” which both she and Tracy feel is possible, especially with their “burning urgency to make our country safer for women,” as Tracy put it.
Tracy and Yvette also spoke about the importance of encouragement, lived experiences, and male allies in getting more gender diversity into politics, both recalling the influence of inspiring mentors and role models in politics for them, such as Barbara Castle and Joanne O’Connell, an Irish trade unionist.
After this fireside chat, an insightful discussion ensued from the panel, with panellists including:
- Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
- Kieran McBride, Head of Public Affairs, Frog
- Laura Weldon, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Katherine Miles, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Oxford City Council
- Lauren Fabianski, Pregnant Then Screwed
- Fatimah Khan-Shah, Inclusivity Champion for West Yorkshire Combined Authority
The panel shared their experiences as women in politics, discussing the barriers faced in politics, the importance of having women’s voices in policymaking, and concrete examples of policies they have worked on, including policies surrounding safety, childcare, the gender pay gap, and more.
The key encouragement shared for women thinking about getting into politics was to just “have a go!” as Yvette Cooper and many others said on the day. The panel encouraged women of all backgrounds and experience levels to just go for it, with Tracy Brabin emphasising that their own lived experiences were a political “superpower” in itself.
Later on, Lyanne opened the floor up to the audience for some questions, which prompted positive conversation among the panellists about the need for better LGBTQ+ representation in politics, the need for reforms to parental leave policies, and how the panellists respond to the online abuse faced by women in politics.
Why We Need More Women in Politics
This event emphasised the importance of getting a greater gender balance into politics, as well as the importance of advocating for this to overcome the barriers to entering politics. But this begs the question, how do we get more women into politics? The key advice from the speakers at the event was encouragement, which may seem simplistic but can go a long way. All of our speakers explained how they would not have reached their current positions without great encouragement from their peers.
The panel also noted the need to be intersectional in how we encourage gender representation in politics, giving women from all backgrounds the space and opportunities to come into politics. This encouragement of diversity and intersectionality is crucial to inspiring more and more women to go into politics. Kieran McBride also spoke in support of acknowledging intersectionality to promote diversity and inclusion in politics to “prove that having empathy and more diverse perspectives on a problem gives you a much better solution”.
By holding events like this across the country, 50:50 Parliament aim to encourage and inspire women to be involved in politics. As Lyanne stated:
“Representation shapes policy, policy shapes lives.”
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This article was written by Bart Smallman.
