Where are all the women in the cabinet?

"I just think it does women no good if people think that the only way they get a top job is positive dicrimination. "

"Patting her on the head and saying whoppee we have one of our own in a position of power to get us better maternity rights and stick up for us is hugely patronising to women "

Aren't you missing the point of a democracy, minthumbug?
If we are a democracy then 50% of women need to be represented in parliamenti.e the same proportion that exists in society. UNtil 50% are women we are not a democracy.
"Women" aren't one homogenous group. Women have different views and ways of looking at life. They all need to be represented within that 50%.
The chance of a white, male MP representing my world view is probably nil. If 50% of those who run for government are women, then there's a hell of a bigger chance that it will be.
If you listen to a lot of male MPs talk, you realise they're thick; and blinkered. I laugh in the face of people who tell me they got there because they were "better".
The working culture of politics is designed to keep women out.

scottishmummy just want to correct you on one little point

Positive action (your example of advertising in certain sectors of press to encourage applications from particular groups) is obv widespread and good

Positive discrimination is illegal yes ? but with 2 exceptions

1. The Met ? positive disc is used to try and get more black and minority ethnic police officers

1. All-women shortlisting for parliamentary candidates - that is legal and has specific legislation allowing it. I have no problem with it at all, I think it?s a blunt tool and is open to criticism but the overall benefit is greater than its limitations

Dittany you are absolutely right of course ? it does boil down to favouring cock over fanny ? that?s the essence of patriarchy

I am (still) always surprised and depressed when I hear women denigrating their own sex.

Must go and do some work now...

"Accusations of homophobia

On 12 May 2010, Theresa May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality in David Cameron's first cabinet. In this latter role of Minister for Equality her appointment attracted immediate criticism.

Her voting record is rated as "moderately against" equal rights for homosexuals by The Public Whip website. In the coalition cabinet, she replaces the former Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling, who attracted criticism for comments about the right of hotel business owners to discriminate against gay customers."

Splendid...

Not sure if anyone else has said this but where is Sarah Teather in the Cabinet? before the election she was always being used on Question Time and in interviews, she's eloquent, articulate and principled, and she has now fought two amazing campaigns. She could have left her constituency, where there were huge boundary changes making it effectively a safe Labour seat, but stayed to fight it and won, having also had a surprise landslide in a European election a few years back. So she's got guts, too.

She's gone very quiet since the election. Guessing she's not all that happy about the coalition

BBC Breakfast is going to discuss this topic in the next hour if anyone is about/interested.

Actually Dittany I think a lot of politics is more ruler by penis

It's sad that women are arguing on this thread. I am any mans equal but I am not male. There are sections of society that need their own voice be they black, gay, female etc

I'm going to bow out to my bed now but not without a big thank you to Glenys Kinnock and Harriet Harman

See, we don't have this problem where I live. In the Playmoland cabinet there are 4 women (which is 25% of the cabinet).

But then ds Norman just chose the best people for the job, regardless of gender.

Some people might come along and tell me (and ds) to grow up a bit, instead of "playing" at Playmobil elections. But actually it has been a fun way of learning about the electoral process and thinking about political issues for him.

sorry I meant positive action.

dittany your metaphor was risible.rule by penis?actually i'll pass however i did make most of your silly gaff.and yes sounded cliché central

"I think that's unfair to say Hilary Clinton is only where she is because of her husband."

Completely agree. I heard a good story about her runnning into an old High School boyfriend of hers who was working in a garage who said to her, "Imagine if we'd ended up getting married - you'd be a mechanic's wife". She just looked at him and replied, 'No, if we'd ended up getting married you'd be the President".

positive discrimination is illegal. advertising and outreach to under represented groups has occurred but one cannot appoint on positive discrimination

so for example public sector may recruit via gay press,to under represented individuals but still have to adhere to policies and equal practices.no special dispensation or quotas

none

There have been more women qualifying as solicitors since I qualified nearly 20 years ago. That fact has had next to no impact on the number of senior partners who are female. I can't remember the figure but is something less than 10%.

No inclusive discrimination would be an oxymoron. Positive discrimination does exist and has been in force for some time in most sectors of our workforce.

if we go for 50% representation better start sacking female medics/solicitors/nurses/teachers as in these professions more female qualifying grads than male. better start telling the women to shift it for 50% male representation in predominately female jobs

tweeted,and makes you think.incongruent statements to say least.

there is no such thing as positive discrimination/manipulation -deluded to think otherwise.positive discrimination is an oxymoron

harman is posh private school educated why is she better to represent women than posh privately educated cameron and clegg

this assumption that more women representation is somehow inherently better is seriously misplaced.and patronising

"True equality means gender is totally irrelevant to any job."

Of course. but we do not have true equality - far from it. Let's not pretend we do.

Caitlin Moran tweeted on this today - worth repeating

"Women in cabinets: Spain 53% Germany 37% France 33% Neth 33% Italy 27% Greece 26% Belg 23% Ptgl 13%"

Makes you think, doesn't it?

ha ninjacat!

SM you're the only person here talking about the idea that women are more empathic.

Nobody is claiming that - of course it's a nonsense idea.

Equal representation for me = 50%, or close to it, should be the target for the house of commons. Yes by all means manipulate shortlists to get there. All women shortlisting is far from perfect but the imbalance is so marked that I can live with those limitations.

Me thinks ScottishMummy has penis envy