Representation in public life

Women, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender people are under-represented in senior and decision-making positions in politics and across the public, private and voluntary sectors. For example:

• Following the General Election in May 2010, 143 women MPs were elected out of a total of 650 MPs (22%)  [1] [2].
• 26 MPs (of which 8 are women) are from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background [3] (4% compared to 7.9% of the UK population [4]). 
• There are 2 out lesbian MPs and an estimate of about 15 out male gay MPs (2% compared to estimates that 6% of the population are gay, bisexual or lesbian [5]). The majority of lesbian and gay people expect to experience discrimination if they seek selection by a political party to run for parliament[6].
• There is no accurate data on the number of MPs by ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or transgender status (see footnote 2).
• The 2008 Councillor Census found 30.8% of local councillors were women; 3.4% of councillors were from ethnic minority backgrounds (of which 0.8% were ethnic minority women) and 13% had a long-term illness or disability [7].
• In March 2009, 32.6% of public appointments were held by women, 6.9% by ethnic minority people and 3.5% by disabled people[8].
• Levels of civic engagement[9] vary: ethnic minority groups, disabled people and young people are under-represented. The gap between the proportion of ethnic minority people and young people involved in civic engagement compared with the general population has increased since 2005. For disabled people it has decreased.
• The majority of people believe that it is important whether men and women are equally represented in government and on the senior management teams in companies (73% and 81% respectively)[10].

Speaker’s Conference

On 12 November 2008, the House of Commons agreed to establish a Speaker's Conference. This enquiry considered and made recommendations on how to improve representation of women, disabled, and minority ethnic people in the House of Commons, so that it better reflects society. The Speaker’s Conference’s final report was published on 11 January 2010. The Government published its response to the report recommendations on 10th March.

• More information about  the Speakers Conference

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Women Councillors Taskforce

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women are still under-represented in the democratic life of this country.  At the time the taskforce was set up we had only two women MPs from minority ethnic communities, (risen to 8 MPs with recent 2010 Elections).  BAME women account for less than one per cent of England's 20,000 Councillors while they make up more than 5 per cent of the population[11].  To create a more representative picture the number of BAME women councillors needs to increase more than five-fold – from just 149 to nearer a thousand.

A cross party BAME Women Councillors' Taskforce was established in May 2008 and ran to July 2009 to help make local councils more representative of the community. Members were women from a wide range of backgrounds and experience from every region in England and from Scotland and Wales.

The Taskforce explored and developed practical ways to encourage BAME women to become councillors and champions of their communities.  

The Taskforce worked closely with partner organisations such as the Local Government Association, Operation Black Vote, the Fawcett Society, including the political parties to promote and deliver its objectives as well as a series of events around the country to attract and engage women (for a full list of partners, view our Taskforce Partners and Useful Links page).

• The Task Force published a report of its work and findings in October 2009.
• Printed copies are available from:  womencouncillorstaskforce@geo.gsi.gov.uk

Operation Black Vote in partnership with the Taskforce, developed a mentoring scheme funded by the Government Equalities Office to demystify the functions of local government. The programme provided tailored support to BAME women taking the first steps to become active in political life, and ran from October 2009 to March 2010. In addition to this work, BAME women were given the opportunity to gain a Certificate in Community Leadership. The course was delivered by SOLACE.

A total of 60 women were selected nationally for the mentoring scheme.  In the recent 2010 local and national elections, 8 of these women stood as councillor candidates and 1 stood as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. 4 were successfully elected as local councillors (1 Conservative, 1 Labour and 2 Liberal Democrats).

An evaluation report on the overall Taskforce programme which will cover both the mentoring and the leadership course will be published in Summer 2010.

We want to work closely with the political parties in supporting potential candidates and we will continue to track and monitor the numbers of BAME women who are put forward for selection, publishing the success rates and celebrating achievements. Click here for a link to Useful Political Contacts.

Vitally important to encouraging women to see themselves as community champions is the promotion of positive role models.  Taskforce members have agreed to be ambassadors and will continue to support this work.

Diversity in Public Appointments

There are around 12,500 appointments made to the boards of UK public bodies. As at 31st March 2009[12]:

• women held just under a third (32.6%, down from 33.3% in 2008) of public appointments, despite making up half the population.
• 6.9% of public appointments were held by members of minority ethnic groups.  Of these, around 38% were women.
• 3.5% of public appointments were held by disabled people.  Of these, around 37% were women.

The Government Equalities Office has 180 Ambassadors who play a vital role in sharing their experiences and story to really help others build the confidence and self-belief they need to apply successfully for a position on public boards.

The public appointments website [link to www.direct.gov/publicappointments] provides a single source of information about public appointments vacancies at national, regional, and local levels across England and the UK. You can search the site by area of interest, government department and by location to identify the vacancies of most interest to you.

Downloads & related links:

• New Public Appointments- April to September 2009
• Public Appointments vacancies website
• Diversity of representation in public appointments- A study by Common Purpose
• Public Appointments - awareness, attitudes and experiences
• List of Public Appointments Ambassadors 

Public Appointments Mentoring Schemes sponsored by the Government Equalities Office

The About Time Public Leaders courses, sponsored by the Government Equalities Office, are designed to increase the diversity of public body board members and the pool of talented individuals ready to take up public appointments. The schemes were launched in January 2010 and will run until June (Public Leaders Advanced) and November 2010 (Public Leaders).

To find out more visit: http://abouttime.commonpurpose.org.uk/public-leaders-courses/. For more information about public appointments generally, or to find out about current vacancies, please visit: http://www.direct.gov.uk/publicappointments.