Votes for Women: 100 Years On, How Far Have We Come?

On 6th February 1918, the Representation of the People Act received Royal Assent, giving women in the UK over the age of 30 who met a property qualification, the right to vote (it was 10 years later that all women over the age of 21 were able to vote and women finally achieved the same voting rights as men).

I couldn’t think of a better topic to write about for my 100th LinkedIn article than looking at how far women’s progression has come in the past 100 years.

We are 100 years on, but how far have we really come in terms of gender parity?

What else has happened towards gender equality in the past 100 years?

It is hard to believe that only 100 years ago, women were prevented from: -

•       Applying for a credit card or loan in their own name
•        Working in the legal profession and civil service
•        Inheriting and bequeathing property on the same terms as men
•        Claiming equal pay for doing the same work as men
•        Prosecuting a spouse for rape

In the past 100 years, we have had 2 women Prime Ministers and there are currently 208 women MPs out of a total of 650 members of parliament. Whilst this is a significant improvement and a record high, at 32% it is still not representative of the gender split of the country. The 2017 Office for National Statistics estimates report for the UK shows a split of 50.7% women and 49.3% men. 

For more on the historical move towards gender equality for women, see this timeline courtesy of Manchester Metropolitan University.

Change is too slow

One hundred years on, the pace of change has remained slow, despite the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (replaced by the Equalities Act 2010) that made discrimination in employment, education and the provision of goods, facilities and services illegal.

When it comes to employment at a senior, decision making level, gender inequality remains a significant cause for concern today. As someone who used to be against quotas in order to address this, because the pace of change is so slow, my view has shifted.

Countries in Europe that adopted a legislative approach around 2011 (when the UK adopted a voluntary approach), have fared far better than the UK with progress in the number of women at senior levels.

Last year, the World Economic Forum reported that global gender parity is an estimated 217 years away. And whilst the Institute for Fiscal Studies reported that the gender pay gap here in the UK has dropped from 30% in the 1990s, it still remains at 20%. A significant reason being part time workers, for whom a significant number are women (and women with young children at that) who miss out on the increase in pay from experience gained, like that of full time workers.

Not only does gender parity make sense from a social justice perspective, a 2015 McKinsey report stated that it would add $12 trillion to global economic growth.

Whilst we have seen an increase in the number of women on FTSE100 boards from 11% in 2007 to 28% in 2017, unfortunately, the majority are non executive directors. Only 9.8% of executive directors of FTSE100 companies are women.

Could it be that men feel threatened by women in power?

A major contributor for gender parity being so slow has been cited as a lack of involvement from men. Men need to be part of the conversation and need to be positively active in making it happen. They are the ones holding the majority of senior positions and are the ones with the power to make change happen more quickly.

Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, Hilary Clinton, all had to deal with media attacks because of being women in a position of power. When one feels threatened, a natural instinct is to lash out in defence. Could this be what is happening when it comes to women holding positions of power? Do some men feel threatened by this?

Studies have shown that men who hold high precarious manhood beliefs (i.e. when they don’t feel masculine) are especially likely to discriminate against women in positions of power and authority.

Could precarious manhood beliefs have anything to do with the reason why it is taking so long for gender parity to be reached?

Or, is gender homophily the reason why? Namely, birds of a feather flocking together, in that selection to senior roles is done on the basis of an association with those who are similar to those doing the selecting, with unconscious bias influencing their decisions.

Men need to be actively part of the conversation

Studies suggest that the reason why men often tend to not to get actively involved in gender parity initiatives is due to a lower psychological standing on issues of gender parity. They feel it is not their place to engage with such activities

When communication about gender parity initiatives show that all employees have a vested interest in the conversation, men have greater psychological standing on the issue and are more engaged in participating.

Without the active involvement of men, change isn’t going to come about quickly enough.

What with #NeverthelessShePersisted, #MeToo, #TimesUp and the recent Presidents Club debacle and various others, the past year alone has seen women (and men) across the globe take a stand against the injustices and inequalities that continue to exist for women today.

Social media and the use of hashtags, provides a platform to quickly create a movement that can be a force for change. Imagine if social media had been available 100 years ago, what impact it would have had on the suffrage movement and other civil rights movements that have taken place over the years.

It is important that we do raise our voice and call out injustices when they happen and remember, there is power in the collective voice.  

As we celebrate 100 years of women’s right to vote, lets give thanks to Millicent Fawcett, Emmeline Pankhurst and all the others who stood up for what they believed in and paved the way for us today.

#Vote100 #100years #VotesforWomen #Suffrage #100LinkedInArticles

ABOUT ME:

I am The Coach for High Achieving Introverted Women, an Executive, Career, Business Coach, Writer, Speaker, LinkedIn Top Voice UK 2017 and the founder of Abounding Solutions . With over 25 years coaching and leadership experience, I help women (with a particular emphasis on introverted women) to be authentic, bold, confident leaders and excel in their careers and businesses.

I also help organisations develop the talent pipeline of female employees so that more women make it to senior management roles.

Are you a high achieving introverted senior woman? If so, join my new LinkedIn community for high achieving introverted senior women, who are members of senior management teams or executive teams. It is a place to discuss issues relating to your career and how to thrive in environments that don't view introversion as a strength. Come and join the conversation here.

All high achieving women who want to be authentic, bold, confident leaders and excel in their careers and businesses are welcome to join my other, more general community of High Achieving Women here