UK Elects Highest Number of Women Lawmakers to Its Parliament

This year a record number of women were elected as the lawmakers in the general election of Britain, with women’s rights campaigners cheering the result, at the same time saying progress towards equal representation in the Parliament must speed up.

In British Parliament, women now represent more than a third of all members of parliament (MPs) thus occupying 220 seats out of the total 650 seats in Britain’s lower house compared to 208 in the past election, after a dramatic turn of events that saw the ruling of Conservative party making major gains. One seat is yet to be declared.

Sam Smethers, the chief executive of the women’s rights group, The Fawcett Society said, “More women MPs than ever before is very welcome but we are inching forwards, up from 32% to just 34%. Instead of congratulating ourselves for extremely slow progress let's see a commitment from all the political parties to action to make the step change that is needed. It is time for equal power”.

Political parties are facing growing scrutiny over the diversity in their candidates, but women’s campaigners are adamant and saying that the toxic politics and high level of gendered abuse are driving away female MPs from the political system.

Two-thirds of the female lawmakers told a survey by the Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee in the month of November that progress on tackling violence and online abuse against women in politics has impacted the willingness to stand for re-election in the country.

In the December election, a large number of female candidates choose not to fight in the election again with several candidates citing high levels of abuse they had experienced in the role as a factor.

The rise in the female representation has largely come from the encouragement in the female MPs from the ruling Conservative party, though only about a quarter of its seats are filled by women.

Meanwhile, the left-wing Labour party was left with a majority of female members of Parliament, 104 to 98 men after night, which saw the party suffer heavy loss.

If the current rate of progress continues it will take another decade or so to reach the level of equality, said the campaigners at the 50:50 Parliament group, which has run a campaign to encourage more women to participate in the election for the parliament.