Women’s Political Participation in England and its Impact on Gender Relations in Parliamentary Politics (1945-1997)

Abstract

The bicameral parliament in England, before 1918, was managed by male MPs and male Prime Ministers only without any possibility to include women. Allowing women to stand as MPs to be elected in 1918 represented a turning point in the history of women’s political participation. After WWII, the female employment opportunities were maximized, however their increased political integration remained in question. The aim of this research is twofold. On the one hand, it attempts to investigate the female political immersion from 1945 till 1997 shedding light on the ups and downs women went through in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. On the other hand, it tries to elucidate the nature of gender relations and the impact of the female entry to the “Men’s House” on male-female political relations. To meet this end, the qualitative method is relied on through resorting to books, articles, blogs and archive materials. The findings show that the female involvement in parliamentary politics was overshadowed by a lone criterion which is underrepresentation. Despite some high ministerial positions granted to women, the female appointees continued to represent the elite and underrepresented minority in the bicameral parliament. Put simply, the female integration’s impact was dual. It was a double-edged sword. It strengthened fruitful male-female relations and, inevitably, triggered hostile and unstable reactions in other cases.