{"id":13536,"date":"2024-07-11T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/?p=13536"},"modified":"2024-09-24T13:27:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T12:27:13","slug":"experiences-of-women-in-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historyofparliament.com\/2024\/07\/11\/experiences-of-women-in-parliament\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Manly Place\u2019: Experiences of Women in Parliament after 1997"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 19 March 2024, the History of Parliament Trust hosted the second in a series of events<\/a> drawing on their groundbreaking Oral History Project. This event, in partnership with and funded by Keele University, explored women\u2019s experiences in parliament and whether they have changed through time. The event was organised by the project\u2019s research team, Professor Helen Parr (Keele University), Dr Emma Peplow (Head of Oral History, HPT), Dr Shalini Sharma (Keele University), and Dr Grace Heaton (University of Oxford).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside the organisers, a distinguished panel of historians and political scientists, Professors Sarah Childs, (University of Edinburgh), Helen McCarthy (University of Cambridge), and Rainbow Murray (Queen Mary University of London) gathered at Portcullis House to reflect on the changes in the lives of women parliamentarians entering parliament in or just before 1997. Drawing on a range of interviews from the History of Parliament\u2019s Oral History Project, the panel questioned whether the increase in women MPs has altered the culture and working practices of parliament. They also reflected on whether the presence of more women at Westminster has made a difference to how women talk about their lives as parliamentarian<\/em>s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Grace Heaton looks back on the event and what the new cohort of female MPs might be able to take from their predecessors…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Dame Rosie Winterton introduced the event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 2018, the Women and Equalities Committee described parliament as \u2018a manly place\u2019. In the 100 years since the first woman, Nancy Astor<\/a>, took her seat in parliament in 1919, women have never been equally represented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1979 General Election, in which Margaret Thatcher became Britain\u2019s first female Prime Minister, only 3 per cent of all MPs were women. Prophesising the impact more women MPs would have on parliament, in 1987 Labour MP Clare Short argued in her Briefing for MPs<\/em> that: <\/em>\u2018Increasing women\u2019s representation in parliament is essential if we are to build a House of Commons which more truly represents the whole population. As more women come into the Commons, the culture will change, the agenda of politics will broaden, and the institution itself will be transformed\u2019. That same year, 41 women were elected to parliament and Diane Abbott<\/a> became the first Black woman to serve as an MP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 1990s, the Labour Party sought to increase the number of female MPs via the controversial practice of All Women Shortlists for candidates chosen to fight the 1997 General Election. Despite a legal challenge temporarily halting the measure (during which two Labour activists accused their party of sexual discrimination<\/a>), the increase in women candidates combined with a Labour landslide led to a breakthrough. 120 women MPs (18 per cent of all MPs) were elected in 1997 and began to seriously challenge Westminster\u2019s culture<\/a>. This number has slowly increased in recent years to 22 per cent in the 2010 General Election, and 34 per cent in 2019. In the 2024 General Election a record-breaking number of female MPs were elected, now sitting at just over 40 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the History of Parliament Trust\u2019s rich Oral History Project demonstrates, experiences of parliamentary life varied hugely. Yet, when discussing their lives, interviewees touched on remarkably similar themes: of what drew them into politics and how they practically entered politics; how they felt about the Chamber and how they experienced the social life and culture of parliament; and how they combined politics with their lives outside parliament. Led by these testimonies, the panel\u2019s discussion was split into three sections: Becoming an MP; Experiences of Parliament; and Balancing Politics and Family Life.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The panel listen to a clip from the History of Parliament’s Oral History project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Becoming an MP:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the benefits of the life-story approach used by volunteers working with the History of Parliament Trust is that rich insights are gained into the family backgrounds and political heritages of MPs. These formative years often shaped their decisions to enter politics in later life. As Helen McCarthy noted, family members (and often specific relatives) inspired, taught, and encouraged political engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Cryer, a Labour MP for Keighley 1997-2010, for example, recalled her grandmother\u2019s involvement in the women\u2019s suffrage movement; Baroness Angie Bray, a Conservative MP for Acton and Ealing 2010-2015, reflected on being taught how to debate by her father; and Susan Elan Jones, a Labour MP for Clwyd South recalled taking part in her uncle\u2019s election campaign for the Conway constituency in 1979:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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