EOC Survey Confirms Support For Measures To Boost Numbers Of Women MPs - Summary of Early Findings

Three in ten parliamentary candidates (29%) were aware of prejudice or sex discrimination at some stage during the selection process, according to the early findings of a large-scale survey of male and female candidates, conducted for the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) by MORI. Forty-one per cent agreed that selection committees in their party tend to look more favourably on male than female candidates.

The overwhelming majority (91%) of interviewees in the survey, which is the first of its kind, believe it is important to achieve a more equal balance of women and men in Parliament, and more than half (56%) support the principle of using positive action to achieve that goal.

Julie Mellor, Chair of the EOC, speaking on the day of the second reading of the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Bill, said that the initial findings provided support for the view that political parties would need to use a range of measures to boost the number of women MPs:

"This bill will be decisive in enabling the political parties to increase the number of women MPs - an ambition they all share. Research conducted for the EOC comparing the position in the UK with six other countries has shown that the use of positive action measures is the single most significant factor in increasing women's representation."

"Our survey has also underlined some other important measures to help political parties ensure they are getting the best candidates available. Crucially, four in five of those questioned agreed that selection committee members should receive equal opportunities training. Almost half said that family commitments or childcare issues were a major reason why there were not more women in Parliament, and nine in ten want better childcare facilities to be available in parliament."

"I urge MPs from all parties to support this bill as well as considering other ways of removing potential barriers to the increased involvement of women in political life."

Awareness of Equality Guidelines

• Seven in ten (71%) are aware of written equality guidelines in their party regarding the selection of candidates, with almost all of these (90%) saying they cover sex discrimination.

The Selection Process

• Three in ten (29%) say they were aware of prejudice or sex discrimination at some stage during the selection process.
• Nearly four in five (78%) agree that selection committee members should receive equal opportunities training, including half who strongly agree.
• Four in ten (41%) agree that selection committees in their party tend to look more favourably on male than female candidates.
• Three quarters (77%) would like candidates to be given an open opportunity at some stage during the selection process to discuss combining a career in politics and family life.

Barriers to Women's Involvement in Parliament

• Almost half (48%) suggest that one of the most important reasons why there are not more women in parliament is their family commitments/childcare issues. Related to this, a third (32%) comment on the hours of work in parliament.
• One in five each believe that women don't put themselves forward for selection and that the culture of the House of Commons puts them off (20% and 19% respectively).

Increasing Representation of Women in Parliament

• The overwhelming majority (91%) say it is important to achieve a more equal balance of men and women in Parliament.
• Over half (56%) support the principle of positive action
• Support for other strategies to increase women's representation is strong:
  • almost nine in ten want better childcare facilities and training programmes for women organised by political parties (87% and 86% respectively);
  • over three in five (64%) support the introduction of "nine to five" hours, and over half (56%) would support the introduction of a proportional voting system to increase the representation of women.

Technical details

1. A detailed analysis of the survey findings, including breakdowns on the basis of gender, age, family responsibilities and political party, will be published in early 2002.
2. MORI interviewed 408 parliamentary candidates from across the major parties, including 51 new MPs, 204 unsuccessful candidates, and 153 with approved candidates who were not selected for any constituency in 2001/1997. Interviews were conducted by telephone using CATI between 8 September and 19 October 2001. Data are unweighted.
3. Fifty-five per cent of the interviewees were male, 45% were female.
4. Breakdown of interviewees by party:
   • Conservatives: 27%
   • Labour 27%
   • Liberal Democrat: 26%
   • Plaid Cymru: 10%
   • Scottish National Party: 11%
5. Women in Parliament: A Comparative Analysis was published by the EOC in August. It compared levels of women's representation in several countries and concluded that the use of measures such as twinning, zipping and all-women shortlists was the most important factor in determining the number of women representatives. The full report is available on the EOC website - www.eoc.org.uk. Hard copies are also available by telephoning the EOC on the contact numbers above.