Ed to address Shadow Cabinet gender imbalance

By close of play yesterday, Labour MPs had put their names forward for the Shadow Cabinet.

Out of 49 nominations, there are 14 women, and Rosie Winterton is nominated for chief whip.

Among prominent female MPs standing are Diane Abbott, Yvette Cooper, Caroline Flint and Tessa Jowell, and sisters Angela and Maria Eagle.

According to the Independent yesterday, women are set to make up almost half of Ed Miliband's top team after he privately urged MPs to elect large numbers of female candidates to his Shadow Cabinet.

New Labour rules guarantee that a minimum of six of the 19 elected places will go to women in next week's contest (equivalent to 31.5 per cent of its total membership). But they could gain as many as eight or nine positions following Ed’s intervention.

In his speech to the conference on Tuesday, Ed said: “And think of how we challenged the idea of a male dominated Parliament with All-Women shortlists and made the cause of gender equality central to our government. We were right to do so.”

The influx of so many women into the Shadow Cabinet means that 40 men – including nearly 30 ex-ministers – could be vying for just 10 or 11 places.

Swiss progress

Switzerland's parliament has voted a new minister into the government, giving the cabinet a majority of women for the first time.

In a country where women only got to vote on a national level in 1971, Ms Sommaruga becomes the fourth female in the seven-member Federal Council.

It’s just a shame the BBC reported it was though it was an alien invasion: ‘Women dominate new Swiss cabinet’.

Men have dominated since time began and no one has expressed surprise. Women edge towards equality and the media get in a tizz. If women really dominated, I wouldn’t be writing this blog.

Delilah...

...is on holiday

Labour will lead for women

Fabian Women’s Labour leadership hustings

“It’s the famous five of Britain,” said Mary Riddell, columnist and a political interviewer for the Daily Telegraph, and chair of the Fabian Women’s Lead4Women hustings in Westminster this evening.

With just a few weeks to go before the winner is announced, the leadership candidates came together on a panel to tell us what they would do for women.

Mainly focusing on women in parliament – increasing numbers and changing the culture – all five talked about their support of quotas and ideas for helping to encourage more women to enter politics.

Diane said: “In the 1980s, I campaigned for all-women shortlists and we are now ahead of other parties.”

All five have voted to support the call for between 30 and 50% women in the shadow cabinet by 2012. Ed Balls wants to see 40% right now (indeed; why wait?), while being more cautious about the prospect of job shares.

David has a brave and admirable plan to introduce job share into shadow ministerial team.

Job shares will send out the right message to men and women, he said. “We want to be human beings as well as politicians.”

Culture is an important factor which is damaging to female politicians. Andy Burnham said: “We got shortlists, but didn’t change culture.”

(He also said that his wife told him she was put off politics because of the late hours culture, and I wondered why it hasn't occurred to Andy that he should do some of the childcare too, and that's where the culture needs to change.)

So how do the others think culture can be improved? Ed Miliband wants to get rid of factions – the Blairites and the Brownites. Diane wants young women to see women at the top of the party. “We have to smash the notion that it’s only men in suits at the top.”

And she should know.

As the division bell signalled their departure, all the Fabian Women in the audience smiled for the camera, proudly wearing our Labour Lead4Women sashes.

After all the promises we've heard, let’s hope the candidate who wins does that too.

Summing up soundbites (shouted over the 7pm division bell):

Andy: “I want to fight for a different type of Labour party: a fairer spread of health, wealth and life chances.”

Diane: “I have always stood out [on what I believe is right]: ID cards, Iraq. (Pointing to herself.) This is what the future of the Labour party looks like.”

David: “I scare the Tories. I will make us not just an Opposition, but a credible Government too.”

Ed Balls: “I want my daughter to have as many choices as possible.”

Ed Miliband: “We have to change radically.”

The female candidate hasn't lost yet

Language is damaging.

I read the Times today and thought I was back in the nineteenth century.

In an opinion piece about the Labour leadership line-up, a female journalist (Rachel Sylvester) writes the following:

Whoever wins the leadership risks the fate of William Hague in 1997 – unless he can reach out to normal people.

And

As Labour Party members vote in the leadership contest, are they choosing a future Prime Minister or a man who will only ever be leader of the Opposition? It's too early to write off the next Labour leader - whoever he is - just yet.

May I remind Rachel Sylvester that we have one female candidate and she hasn’t lost yet.

Throughout history, society has assumed that leaders would be male, and they have been. Now, we have potential female leaders, but they are treated as invisible.

Ironically, it is this 'invisible woman' who scooped Rachel Sylvester with the Hague point. She told the Labour List website last Friday that the Tories made the mistake of choosing Lady Thatcher's 'heir' - William Hague - as their leader in 1997.

No women, no progress

If women are not included, society will not change for the better