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Embargoed for 00.01 Thursday 11 March 2010: Women MPs: Public want more

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 10 March 2010

Nearly two-thirds of the public (63%) think there are too few women in Parliament, Minister for Women and Equality Harriet Harman will say in a debate in the House of Commons today to mark International Women's Day.

The new survey, commissioned by the Government Equalities Office, shows that nearly half (49%) think there will be equal numbers of male and female MPs within the next twenty years, however, at the current rate of change, the reality is that it will be 200 years before there are an equal number of women and men in the House of Commons. (1)

Other key findings from the survey include:

* Nearly three-quarters (73%) think that it is important that women and men have an equal say in political decisions on how Britain is run.

* More than four out of five people (82%) believe that the presence of women MPs help ensure policies and law reflect the needs of women as well as men, for example on maternity leave and pay, and on domestic violence.

* 88% think that men and women bring different experiences and perspectives to decision making about public services.

The Government is taking steps to enable more women to come into Parliament through the Equality Bill, which will allow political parties to extend the use of women-only shortlists to 2030. In addition, an amendment has been added to the Equality Bill which could require political parties to report on the diversity of their candidate selections, implementing one of the recommendations by the Speaker's Conference.

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, said:

"This poll shows that the public have turned decisively against men-only decision-making.

"They think that men and women should have an equal say over the political decisions that affect the way Britain is run. They think that international political decisions should be taken by men and women having an equal say.

"This shift in public opinion offers a massive challenge for everyone - for political parties, for business, and for the public sector - but it's a helpful challenge and one that we should welcome as providing the impetus for yet further progressive change."

Currently women make up nearly 20 per cent of MPs in the House of Commons, compared with nine per cent before 1997. This compares with women Members making up nearly half (46.7 per cent) of the Welsh Assembly, and 34.8 per cent of the Scottish Parliament. To reflect society, the House of Commons would need about 200 more women MPs (more than two and a half times as many) as there are now, of which there needs to be about 30 more black, Asian or minority ethnic female MPs (fifteen times as many) as there are now.

On local and International politics, the survey showed that:
* More than three-quarters (76%) think men and women should have equal say in international political decisions.
* The same proportion (76%) think men and women should have equal say in decisions that affect local services in their area.

In areas outside of Parliament:

* The majority (60%) think that there should be a good balance of men and women Judges, while in reality only about one in seven (2) High Court Judges are women.
* Two-thirds (66%) think teachers should be made up of a good balance of men and women, as should doctors (63%).
* Women were notably more likely than men to want a good gender balance for all the above professions; with ten to fifteen percentage points more than men in each case.
* The majority of people think both men and women should share decisions about how the NHS, schools, policing are run, although markedly more women think this than men - ranging from eleven to sixteen percentage points more in each case.

Ms Harman will open a debate in the House of Commons today, Thursday 11th March 2010, 'International Women's Day - Women's Representation'. It will address the need to build on existing work to improve women's representation and support the establishment of the new UN agency for women.

Ms Harman is also speaking today at the TUC woman's conference in Eastbourne.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Please contact the Government Equalities Office press office on 0207 276 1175 or out of hours 07500 816 959.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
* The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the Government's overall strategy, legislation, and priorities on equality issues. The Office also has direct responsibility for policy on gender equality, sexual orientation, and for integrating work on race. The Prime Minister announced the establishment of the Government Equalities Office (GEO) in July 2007 and it became a Department in its own right in October 2007. It works to Ministers Harriet Harman, Maria Eagle, Vera Baird, and Michael Foster.

* The research was commissioned by the Government Equalities Office and conducted by Ipsos MORI.

* Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,071 adults in Great Britain aged 16+. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 20-24 February 2010. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. The full research report will be published on the GEO website on 11 March 2010: www.equalities.gov.uk

* International Women's Day (8 March 2010) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. It is an opportunity for organisations, individuals and Government to celebrate the progress made in the past 99 years since the first International Women's Day but also to look forward to the other important action that needs to take place to ensure the lives of women both in Britain and all around the world are improved.

* The Equality Bill can be viewed here: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2009-10/equality.html

* Sex and Power: A snail's progress, 2008, EHRC found that it would take 200 years, at the current rate, for there to be an equal number of men and women in Parliament: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/here-for-business/working-better/sex-and-power/


1 Sex and Power: A snail's progress, 2008, EHRC
2 13.76% of High Court Judges are women (The Report of the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity 2010)

Contacts:

Government Equalities Office press office
Phone: 0207 276 0932
enquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk