vote for women

[garlicbutter]

I've been reconsidering my attitudes to various powerful women lately. While I'm an out-and-out political Thatcher hater, I've now decided she deserves credits for being the first woman PM and for doing it along with having children and a marriage. Whilst I could write a dissertation on how she did it badly, the point I had to reconsider is that she did it and was a woman.

In my revised mindset, I feel the gender of the woman is equally important as her politics. If we apply the usual criteria to our selection of leaders (ie, are gender neutral), we're assuming the playing field is level. And it isn't.

It's taken me 56 years to reach this conclusion and, as I say, it's a fresh departure for me - incidentally, I'll also be voting for over-50s - so I'm very much up for discussion, if it'll help me hone my thinking!

~ Lifted from this thread, which is worth a good read in full :)

Is this a silly idea?:

Instead of voting for female candidates, regardless of how well their political views sit with your own, how about pressing the main parties to reserve some constituencies for women: i.e. the Conservatives put up a female candidate, Labour put up a female candidate, the Lib Dems put up a female candidate, etc. That way you don't have to make a choice between the party whose policies you support and voting for a female candidate.

Hopefully, over a relatively short period of time (say 15 years - 3 parliaments) the number of constituencies reserved for women could be increased to... well, ideally 50%, thus guaranteeing that 50% of MPs (MEPs, MSPs, LAMs, WAMs, NIAMs, Councillors, etc) are women.

No it's a good idea, MrIC. But the parties each have their own position on women-only shortlists, and sadly not all of them are for them.

It would be ideal, yes. The resistance is phenomenal, though. "Positive discrimination" is swearing in the UK

I reckon we leave the men in charge,
thats how I like it at home, he gets home,
off with the suit, then I swallow- extra mayo-

besisdes they make prett good political leaders?

I think there should be a women's party. Men can join it but it's focus is to create a society that enables a greater balance of power. Like full on parliamentary reform, turning Westminster into a tourist attraction and moving govt to a dedicated campus in the centre of the country. British politics has barely evolved since Pitt the Younger - apart from now it's a mix between a working men's club and public school common room.