Women’s and Young People’s Participation in Local Politics in the UK:

Barriers and Facilitators

Dr Evanthia LyonsSocial Psychology European Research InstituteUniversity of SurreyGuildfordGU2 7XHUnited Kingdom

Aims of the Presentation

1. To give a brief picture of levels of participation of women in local government in the UK

2. To provide some background information about youth councils

3. To discuss potential barriers to women’s participation

4. To discuss possible responses to the barriers

Women’s participation in government – Some figures

House of Commons

% of Women MPs

Labour Conservative LibDem

1983 4.8% 3.3% 0%

1992 24.2% 6.0% 4.5%

1997 24.2% 7.8% 6.5%

2005 27.5% 8.6% 16.1%

Total No of Women MPS: 19.8% (N= 128)

Women’s participation in government – Some figures

Compared with other European countries, the UK is ranked 14th within the EU (25 countries)

Compared with other countries listed by the Inter-parliamentary Union, UK is ranked 50th (184 countries)

Women’s participation in local government – Some figures

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

GENERAL LONDON ASSEMBLYTotal N % Women

Labour 7 57

Conservative 9 22

Liberal Democrats 5 40

Green 2 50

Veritas 2 0

Total 25 36

Region % Women

East Midlands 25.6

East of England 27.7

North East 27.7

North West 30.4

South East 30.6

South West 29.9

West Midlands 26.5

Yorkshire and Humberside

31.4

TOTAL 29.1

Women’s participation in local government – Some figures

Barriers to Women’s Participation in Local Government

1.Prejudice against women in politics

2.Discriminatory practices

3.Lack of family friendly arrangements

4.Exclusionary male networks

Barriers to Women’s Participation in Local Government

5.Domestic responsibilities

6.Low self-rated political importance

7.Low political self-confidence

8.Low political efficacy and activism

Why should we care about gender equality in elected institutions?

Increase in the number of women elected would

• lead to a higher quality of decision-making

• impact on the policy agenda

• lead to greater participation (voting) rates amongst women

• enhance the legitimacy of the elected decision making bodies

Why should we care about gender equality in elected institutions?

5.Change the style of making decisions

6.Provide advantages for political parties

How Can We Increase Women’s Representation In Local Government?

•Changing Societal Culture

•Changing Political Sub-cultures

•Changes in Selection Procedures

•Empowering Women

Changing societal culture

•Change stereotypes of gender roles

•Foster active citizenship

•Change media attitudes and

coverage of women candidates and

politicians

Youth Councils

Youth councils usually describe groups of young people who come together in committees to discuss issues relating to their communities.

Types of Youth Councils

Youth councils emanate from

•Youth service

•Local authorities

•The community

These groups focus on either

•Specific issues relevant to most young

people in general, or

•Highlight the needs and concerns of

particular groups of young people, or

•A wider remit, enabling young people’s

ideas to be taken into account alongside

others within their communities.

Youth councils are linked to adult decision-making structures either

•directly as a feeder organisation or

•as a parallel body that shadows and existing adult-based committee or

•as a free standing consultative group set up explicitly in order that young people’s views are locally represented.

Factors likely to contribute to the success of a youth council

Commitment to enhancing youth participation rather than setting it up because of political expedience

Ensure that membership of the council reflects the diversity of community in terms of sex, class, ethnicity and ability

Communication training

Setting of the youth council

Agenda setting

Timescale

Transparency of decision making

Training of adults to understand the potential of young people as equal and mutual actors

Strategies for Encouraging Women’s Participation in Local Government

Changing Selection Procedures •All women shortlists for selecting candidates

•Quotas

•Twinning

•Zipping

Change in political sub-cultures

•Change attitudes of colleagues

•Change working procedures and

practices

Empowering women

•Self-confidence

•Possible political selves

•Beliefs about the efficacy of the

political system

•Training of particular skills

Women often regard local government as a waste of time: full of meetings with few positive outcomes, little opportunity to build a profile and make a difference.

“local councillors were simply trying to further their own careers using the local council as a springboard’

Concluding Remarks

Changing the levels of women representation in local government is a necessary concern for those interested in the legitimacy and vibrancy of local democracy

However the process of change is likely to be slow and complex

Most importantly, research shows that political parties can do a lot to bring about change and whatever the limitations of taking positive action it is a necessary first step.

Thank you for listening