Equality in public and political life

Women, people from ethnic minorities and disabled people are under-represented in elected office and appointments to public boards. However, a lot of work is going on to address this.

Our democratic structures and communities are stronger and more effective if all voices are included and everyone has the chance to shape and influence the decisions that affect them. See more about women’s representation.

Access to elected office

The route into elected office can be daunting, particularly so if you face particular barriers to taking part fully in your community. Following last year's consultation on access to elected office for disabled people, the GEO has been working with the Cabinet Office, the Office for Disability Issues, Equality 2025 (the government's advisory body on disability issues), disability organisations and political parties to take forward a range of proposals designed to provide additional support to tackle the particular obstacles faced by disabled people who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials.

We ran a consultation from February to May 2011 to seek views on a range of proposals. A summary of responses recieved, and the government's response was published on 13 September 2011.

Guidance for political parties

We have worked closely with political parties and other stakeholders to develop guidance for parties on their legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, particularly on the reasonable adjustments they should make for disabled people.

Online training course

We are pleased to announce that following a procurement exercise, BYG Systems Ltd have been appointed to deliver an online training course aimed at disabled people who are interested in standing for elected office. BYG will be working closely with disabled people’s organisations in order to develop this training.

Diversity of public appointments

Around 12,000 appointments are made to the boards of UK public bodies. The government is committed to promoting greater participation in public life, and is working to get more people from business, communities and the voluntary sector to achieve a fairer and more equal society.

Facts and Figures as of 31 March 2011

• Women held just over a third (36.4 per cent) of public appointments, despite making up half the population
• Disabled people made up just 7.7 per cent of appointees, even though 14 per cent of the working age population are disabled
• Ethnic minorities held less than 6.8 per cent of posts, despite making up nearly 11 per cent of the population

The government has set itself the aspiration that by the end of the Parliament (May 2015) at least half of all new appointments being made to the boards of public bodies will be women.

The government’s aspiration for women on public boards is part of its broader commitment to diversity and to increase the numbers of people from all underrepresented groups on our public boards. 

These appointments will continue to be made on merit and the government will step up its efforts to attract suitably qualified people from all backgrounds to positions on public boards.

Find out details of vacancies on the boards of UK public bodies and committees and more about public appointments on Directgov.

Diversity in political representation

This parliament is the most representative ever, with 145 women MPs out of a total of 650 (22.3 per cent. However, we know we still have a long way to go in order to make the very best use of diverse talent in political life. 

We want to tackle the barriers preventing under-represented groups from participating in political life. Collecting diversity data would provide a better insight into where effort needs to be targeted to increase numbers.

One of the recommendations of the cross party Speaker's Conference was that political parties should be required to publish details of their candidate selections. As a result of this recommendation, we are working closely with political parties to implement a voluntary approach to the collection and reporting of data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections.

Cross party Speaker's Conference and the Equality Act 2010

The Speaker's Conference on Parliamentary Representation published a report in March 2010 on the disparity between the representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in the House of Commons and their representation in the UK population at large. In January 2012 a debate was held to discuss the progress in implementing the recommendations in that report.

The Equality Act 2010 extends the use of women-only electoral shortlists to 2030, together with a provision allowing the use of such shortlists to be extended beyond 2030 by an order by a minister. The provisions will also allow for some places to be reserved on electoral shortlists for those potential candidates with other protected characteristics.

Political parties will also be able to take voluntary positive action to address inequality in the representation of people elected into political office. They will be able to take a range of steps to encourage involvement among under-represented groups and the creation of dedication committees exclusively for those with a specific protected characteristic.