Where are all the women in the cabinet?

[fruitstick]

I'll try again with a completed thread title this time!

Given that this was supposed to be the Mumsnet election, is there any hope that there might be one, just one woman in the cabinet?

Although Samantha Cameron looked lovely in her maternity wear and heels, I was hoping for slightly more representation than that.

Despite Labour's faults, at least they had women in important and influential positions, not just window dressing.

They are all down in A&E having lacerated their heads on the glass ceiling.

Does anyone else think they should offer Caroline Lucas a role in all this working together spirit?

I was just thinking the same thing.

I was going to start a similar thread.
Just looking at the cabinet line-up on the BBC website. Depressing.

And they say we have equality and that feminism is redundant. Gah.

Out the back making the tea and baking cakes

Lib Dem have 7 female MP's
Tory - 48

The rest (86) of the other 141 female MP's are from other parties.

The Cabinet hasn't been finalised yet, so there may still be hope.
Personally I'd rather someone was picked for the Cabinet based on their ability, not their sex.

Well quite cavemum. Although I find it difficult to believe that it is pure coincidence that the most seemingly able people are male and independently educated.

I never thought of myself as a militant feminist but that attitude depresses me. Yes the cabinet (and indeed parliament) is disproportionately male because they must be better at running the country than women.

Am really surprised

Big, MALE society.

I agree with MintHumbug. The best person for the job should be chosen. Isn't the idea that we are equal and can do the job as good as any man? No thanks to tokenism, it doesn't do any good, and the token minister will never be taken seriously anyway and won't get much done.

Was thinking absolutely the same thing looking at the new cabinet on the bbc website - surely they could have found one woman to do one of the posts? Without being tokenistic?

As a mother to three daughters (who were very interested in learning about the suffragette movement and how girls didn't use to get to vot) they have asked me why there are no girls when I showed the cabinet pictures and I was at a loss for what to reply without sounding all bitter.

Vote even rather than vot.

just another depressing example of things to come imo.

Various reasons ranging from blatant sexism, to old boy network, to long hours culture.

At least Labour went some way to addressing it. OK the Blair babes thing was a bit over the top but as previous posters have said it cannot be that the most suitable people for the posts are all men.

IWishIwasafrog - that's my point exactly. I'm not arguing for tokensim or quotas. I'm merely stating that if we are indeed equal and as capable as a man, why are there (so far) no women in the posts or at the front lines of the election campaign?

I find this 'we need to select the best person for the job' argument everytime someone mentions women hugely patronising. It is basically saying that women aren't good enough to do the job. Frankly you look at some of the men in politics and if those are the best people for the job we are really in trouble.

There are senior Tory women who would be perfectly capable of cabinet positions. I don't agree with their politics but I don't question their ability to do the job.

A Government made up of white public school boys does not = the new politics as far as I am concerned.

Oh, so what? Labour had women in prominent roles, and they were all a waste of space. They need to choose the best (wo)man for the job, and all that.

While I'm at it... fruitstick brings up an interesting point re. independent education. Fact is, independent education gives you a big advantage in life regardless of intellect. That's one reason that people pay for it.

Sorry, crossed posts, Sunshine.

You could also say that women have more interesting things to do than be in the Cabinet. I wouldn't do it - I prefer being with my children.

Yes, best person for the job.

But best person will come from the pool available within the parties - and amongst the Con/Dems...well, Eton is a boys school, Westminster girls only in the 6th form and I think that is a recent development.

There were some excellent Labour women ministers. Again you may not agree with their politics but that doesn't mean that they were 'a waste of space'.

What about Harriet Harman? - if it wasn't for her campaigning and pushing both within cabinet and outside I doubt we would have a years maternity leave, free nursery places or the right to request flexible working. Just because the men in the right wing media didn't like her doesn't mean she wasn't a capable politician.

Labour's women were all a waste of space? Really? What a dreadfully ignorant statement.

Oh, and...

'Fact is, independent education gives you a big advantage in life regardless of intellect. That's one reason that people pay for it'.

...um, that's why people who can afford to pay for it pay for it)

What a very Tory thing to say