Should More Women be Encouraged to Enter Politics?

The political domain has always been dominated by men, but the idea that this is how it should be has been increasingly challenged by the media and by wider society. It hardly seems fair that in a country where, in numerical terms, men and women are more-or-less equal there are far more men in parliament than women. Why should that be so when, ostensibly, males and females have equal access to education and the same opportunities? It is either the case that women are opting not to enter the world of politics or otherwise their sex is somehow holding them back.

In some countries, such as Sweden, there have been attempts to implement quotas to increase the number of female politicians. Is it really that important that there are female more representatives at the higher echelons of society? After all, does a person’s sex have a perceptible influence on how they believe a country should be run? Surely, individuals, regardless of whether they are male or female, have different life experiences that shape the way they think and feel. Unfortunately, it often seems that the men and women who end up as politicians come from a similar background of private education, university and high-flying jobs.

It could therefore be argued that it doesn’t really matter whether politicians are male or female, since they mostly subscribe to the same world-view, anyway. Of course, it would be quite good to see the political balance redressed in terms of men and women, but the chances are even with more women in parliament, the same ridiculous decisions will be made! Simply recruiting more women isn’t going to improve the calibre of politician or make politicians act in the best of interests of the people they purport to represent. Focusing on gender as a major issue detracts from the fact that social mobility is at a very low level and that parliament is not representative of society.

When everyone has a similar kind of education and upbringing, they all tend to see things in the same way and there is no one to challenge them and put forward different ideas. It is this which makes politics stale and inhibits innovation and change, rather than the fact that parliament is dominated by men per se. To reach a situation where there is a more diverse mix of politicians, political parties are going to have to make more of an effort to recruit wider and foster talent, instead of always choosing the seemingly safe option.