Political Parties

Emily Benn, the 24 year-old granddaughter of the late Labour grandee Tony Benn, is poised to become the fifth generation of her family to sit in the Commons. In this article she explains why she's running.

Eight years ago, artist Trish Kelly made a short video about masturbation - a Rick Mercer-style monologue about sex when you’re single that she filmed for an online TV channel in Vancouver. It was frank and funny, the kind of commentary you’d see today from the 20-somethings Girls.

The Queensland Legislative Assembly, where women hold the roles of Speaker and opposition leader, has the nation’s lowest female representation at 21.3 per cent, compared with a national average of 29 per cent of all Australian parliamentarians. Women make up a fifth of ministers in state and federal governments.

Women in politics is high on the agenda this week after David Cameron's reshuffle which his own spin doctors rather unfortunately dubbed a ‘catwalk reshuffle’.

More women ministers is a welcome development but with just half as many women in his cabinet as Tony Blair did seven years ago, the PM still has some catching up to do.

The gender gap in American salaries is well documented, but it turns out this disparity in pay extends into the political realm as well. Women also donate much less to political campaigns than their male counterparts.

Charging the former Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of "betraying women by not giving reservation to them in decision-making bodies", BJP today said it was committed to political empowerment of the fairer sex by granting 33 per cent reservation to them.

Nine Bahraini women have confirmed their candidacy for the upcoming parliament and municipal council elections.

However, they said they will reveal their election campaigns closer to the polls, which are expected to take place in November.

Six women will run for parliament including Shura Council Affairs director under the Minister of State for Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Dina Al Fayez, Golden Trust president Dr Lulwa Al Mutlaq and Daskalide director Huda Radhi.

With the role of women in British politics again coming under the spotlight this week, MPs and former ministers have warned that there is a “real problem” with the issue of gender in Westminster.

David Cameron is expected to reveal a major Cabinet reshuffle tomorrow with younger women promoted to senior roles in place of aging men, but Labour says it is an effort that comes so late as to seem like a “last-minute worry about votes”.