The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Politics can be a hostile environment for women – no wonder so many leave
SThey are walking away from elected life at a younger age
cotland’s first minister is a serious bibliophile. Reading books is how she likes to spend her very limited downtime. And if you follow her on social media, you’ll know that she gets a great deal of peace and enjoyment from this particular pastime.
She’s so well read that she’s now a regular at various literary festivals across the United Kingdom.
And while it’s always interesting to hear her talk about her love of literature, these environments are also where she gives some of her most personal and revealing interviews.
Her comments at this week’s Hay Book Festival are no exception.
In conversation with the BBC’s Europe editor Katya Adler, the first minister offered some very personal insights into her twenty-plus years in elected politics, which started when she was just 28.
Elected as list MSP to represent Glasgow for the first time in 1999, she faced a lot of criticism about how she dressed and carried herself.
The first minister revealed she didn’t smile much because “subconsciously, I was trying to behave like and fit in with the men around me”.
The expectation was that as a young woman, she would be bubbly and light, rather than a serious politician. It’s a charge that was never levied at any of her senior male colleagues.
And it speaks to an inherent degree of misogyny that has always existed in politics, an environment heavily dominated by middle-aged men.
That was Scotland in 1999, when the country’s brand new parliament was the most representative in the country’s history.
But is it so different now? Twenty-three years on, Nicola Sturgeon is the most powerful politician in Scotland.
She smiles when she wants to and is unquestionably a role model for young women of all political persuasions. She made it and she has endured.
And while her record in government could be picked apart from any angle, few could argue that she has done anything other than advance the cause of women in public life.
So when she offers a warning about what the future might hold, we should listen.
In the same interview at Hay, the first minister spoke of a hostile environment in politics at the moment, which is “starting to make women think long and hard about whether they want to go into politics”.
She went on to reflect that social media is making it easier for critics to attack and troll female politicians.
It’s a statement that will be obvious to anyone who has spent much time on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
In our experience at the John Smith Centre, where I am director, the online abuse faced by female politicians is the single biggest issue that turns women off standing for elected office.
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been told by talented, courageous women that they simply wouldn’t dream of standing because of it.
They are committed to their community and country. Many already make a substantial difference to the fabric of our lives through businesses or their campaigning work.
They are already making a difference. They just choose to do it somewhere other than political life.
And that’s a shame, because they see the abuse the politicians get in their own timelines, but do they see enough of the good stuff ?
What about the ability to write and shape the laws that govern the country, the privilege of meeting dozens of new and interesting people every week, and the honour of making representations on behalf of people who want to believe that you can help them and make a difference?
How about spending every day attempting to tackle the injustices you see, or advancing the causes you care about? The thrill and buzz of elections and democracy in action?
Even with that sales pitch, I understand that political life isn’t for everyone. But neither should it just be for one particular group of people either.
The more people turn away from the prospect of standing for elected office, the easier the path is for those who hold the reins now to consolidate their power and influence.
Women will lose out as a consequence of that trend. In fact everyone will.
That’s because all the evidence suggests our decision makers make better decisions when they best reflect the country they seek to lead in all its diversity.
The progress that women have made in politics over the past 20 years is phenomenal. But it’s also extremely delicate.
At both the last Scottish and UK elections, we saw high numbers of women leaving politics. They are walking away from elected life at a younger age and with fewer years served than their male counterparts.
For many of them it was an active, positive choice.
They chose to do something different, they decided to re-prioritise.
But for many others it was because of an environment so hostile that even the most powerful woman in the country feels it and understands.