The committee’s report, published in January, said there was a “serious democratic deficit” because of the lack of female representation in parliament, where men make up 70% of the total MPs. The committee recommended radical changes to the law before the next election, with the UK languishing at 40th in the world for female representation, though up eight places since the 8 June poll. The committee also recommended the government set a firm target of 45% representation of women in parliament and local government by 2030. In the response, the government said increasing women’s representation was “an important aim” but did not feel legislation was the answer. Walker said there was clear evidence that quotas had been key to increasing the number of women in parliament.

Source: The Guardian September 07, 2017 16:34 UTC