{"id":29561,"date":"2018-12-14T16:27:40","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T16:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=29561"},"modified":"2018-12-14T16:27:40","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T16:27:40","slug":"vote100-from-suffrage-to-impostor-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/vote100-from-suffrage-to-impostor-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"#Vote100: From suffrage to impostor syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been 100 years since women could legally vote in the UK. To celebrate the centenary of this historic event, Voice of London<\/em> is here to spread some girl love.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brief History<\/strong><\/p>\n

Women were not allowed to vote in the UK up until 1918, which is when The Representation of the People Act<\/a> was passed. In lights of the Act women above 30 with the required property qualification and all men above 21 were able to vote. While this was a huge step towards equal rights for women, it was only a stepping stone. There were two groups who fought for women\u2019s rights. The \u2018suffragists\u2019 campaigned with peaceful methods such as lobbying, while the \u2018suffragettes\u2019 used more powerful, sometimes even illegal and violent protests to fight for equal voting rights for women. Their continuous fight resulted in the 1928 Equal Franchise Act<\/a>, which granted the same voting rights for women and men.<\/p>\n

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Present day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Involving women in politics, however, doesn\u2019t stop at their rights to vote. According to a report by a parliament research<\/a>, \u201cA record 208 women MPs were elected to the House of Commons at General Election 2017, a record high of 32%.\u201d However, this is a disappointing figure considering that women in Saudi Arabia are allowed to vote since the 2015 local elections and already have 20% of parliamentary seats. Compared to Western and Northern European countries, the UK is one of the last ones in the ranking. The leaders are Iceland (48%), Sweden (44%), France and Spain (39%). Finland\u2019s parliamentary seats were occupied by 32% women in 1990 and are now up to 42%, shows data from The World Bank<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Women in leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

A panel discussion on women leadership organised by My Life My Say<\/a> (MLMS) was held to \u201cshowcase incredible women who are killing it\u201d opened Ella Sadie Guthrie<\/a> journalist and poet. (MLMS is a youth-led, non-partisan movement on a mission to rebrand politics and secure a better Brexit for young people.) \u201cPolitics needs to become more accessible for women,\u201d said Labour Councillor Vanisha Solanki<\/a>. She added: \u201cWe need to listen to what young people have to say. Things won\u2019t change if we don\u2019t work together. We need to remind ourselves that we are good enough. It\u2019s about supporting each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Full house at our Women in Leadership event with @BeACouncillor<\/a>. Follow us live on #Vote100<\/a> as we talk about how young women are changing the world \u270a\ud83c\udffc\u270a\ud83c\udffe pic.twitter.com\/6GvDNJAXR7<\/a><\/p>\n

— My Life My Say (@mylifemysay) December 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n