Women face obstacles at every stage getting into Parliament
Women face obstacles at every stage of trying to get into Parliament, a study has said.
There is particular resistance against female candidates from “gatekeepers” in political parties, research by the Fawcett Society said. Women experience multiple barriers to being selected as candidates simply because of their sex, according to the report.
The Fawcett Society, which describes itself as a charity campaigning for gender equality, surveyed 113 MPS of both sexes, and used focus groups of politically involved women as part of its study.
Women seeking political office are still being asked about their martial status and children, the report said.
Local parties resist women because they are seeking a preconceived “ideal candidate” who is white, male, middleclass and able-bodied, according to the study.
Many female candidates experienced “abuse or harassment from the media, the public and from members of their own party”, the Fawcett Society said. Fawcett Society chief executive Sam Smethers said Dame Laura Cox’s report into a culture of harassment at Westminster had been a “massive wake-up call”.
Ms Smethers said: “A century on from the first women standing for Parliament, our research shows that for many the ‘ideal candidate’ is still a white, able-bodied man.”