Women's Views on News |
| New: book about the House of Lords Posted: 13 Mar 2015 05:30 AM PDT
At the end of the last session, 180 women were Members of the House of Lords (22 per cent), including those on leave of absence, disqualified or suspended. The Liberal Democrats had the highest proportion of female peers (29 per cent), followed by Labour (28 per cent), Conservatives with 18 per cent. As the second chamber of the Westminster parliament, the House of Lords has a central position in British politics, but it is far less well-studied and well understood than the House of Commons. This is in part because of constant expectations that it is about to be reformed – but most Lords reform plans fail, as the Coalition government’s dramatically did in 2012. Meanwhile, following a landmark change in 1999 which removed most of its hereditary members, the Lords’ role in the policy process has grown. Understanding the chamber is therefore now essential to understanding politics and parliament in Britain. Meg Russell’s new book The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived is now on sale. Russell is Professor of British and Comparative Politics at University College London (UCL) and Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit. Her new book provides the first detailed portrait of the post-1999 House of Lords, explaining who sits in the chamber, how it operates, and – crucially – what policy impact it has. The House’s membership is shown to be more diverse and modern than many would assume, and its influence on policy to be substantial. As a ‘no overall control’ chamber, in which no party has a majority, it has inflicted numerous defeats on the Blair, Brown and Cameron governments, and become an important site of negotiation. It has also provided a power base for the Liberal Democrats, and includes a group of almost 200 independents who now play a pivotal role. Close study of today’s House of Lords demolishes some common myths about British politics, and also about how two chamber parliaments work. Meg Russell began at University College London (UCL) as a Senior Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit in August 1998. She is largely responsible for the Unit’s research work on parliament, and has a particular interest in bicameralism and the British House of Lords. Her research on the Lords began by considering options for reform based on experience of other bicameral parliaments, resulting in her first book, Reforming the House of Lords: Lessons from Overseas, published in 2000. She has also written on political party organisation, candidate selection and women’s representation in politics – she has worked in parliament and has been National Women’s Officer of the Labour Party. In 1999 she was a consultant to the Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords and from 2001-2003 was seconded as a full time adviser to Robin Cook in his role as Leader of the House of Commons. Russell has acted as an adviser to the Arbuthnott Commission on boundaries and voting systems in Scotland, the House of Lords Appointments Commission and most recently the Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons (the “Wright Committee”). And she has regularly given evidence to parliamentary committees, both in Britain and overseas. Her book, as well as focusing on the contemporary Lords, provides a historical and comparative context for British bicameralism, asks whether the Lords can be considered ‘legitimate’, and describes recent reform efforts and possible future reforms. "The House of Lords operates largely out of the political limelight, so is easily misunderstood and often caricatured," Baroness D’Souza, Lord Speaker, House of Lords, said. "This book provides an important corrective, from an author with a really thorough grasp of the chamber’s political dynamics. "Meg Russell demonstrates that reforms since 1999 have had profound effects, and the Lords is now a far more modern parliamentary institution than many people think. "This is an absorbing and highly readable account of the shifting influence of the second chamber."  |
| Europe on gender equality: change too slow Posted: 13 Mar 2015 03:15 AM PDT
Policies must change to achieve equality between women and men, the European Parliament said, in a non-legislative resolution passed by 441 votes to 205 with 52 abstentions on 10 March. Despite progress on some gender inequality issues, much remains to be done to reduce pay gaps, to remove "glass ceilings" on women's careers, to remedy their lack of economic independence, improve their work/life balance, including parental leave, and protect their rights and access to contraception and abortion. “The verdict is less than glorious: change is too slow and women’s rights are suffering the effects of this,” rapporteur Marc Tarabella said after the vote. “But the majority in favour of the resolution shows that the European Parliament backs the fight for wage equality, efforts to combat violence against women, agree on maternity leave proposals and safeguard access to abortion.” The resolution assessed the situation in 2013 and highlighted the following key policy challenges: Wage and pension gaps, women's position in political and economic decision-making, and the impact of economic crisis on women (poverty); Improving the work/life balance, child care systems, maternity and paternity leave; Rights to sexual and reproductive health, including contraception and abortion; and Combating violence against women. Building gender equality and women's rights into policy making and budget procedures. And MEPs urged EU member states to: Enforce the directive on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation; Unblock draft legislation on women on boards and promote educational policies that encourage women to make their careers in science, technology and ICT sectors; and Tackle the problem of women in part-time, low-paid and precarious work and ensure quality care is available for children and other dependent persons. Given that more flexible working arrangements can improve women's participation in the labour market, but may also affect their wages, MEPs encourage women and men to share family responsibilities. Fathers should have a right to at least 10 days' paid paternity leave, they say. MEPs also urge the EU Council of Ministers to end the deadlock among EU member states on the draft maternity leave directive, blocked since 2010. To help improve the work/life balance, MEPs called on the European Commission to offer EU member states more financial support for affordable childcare systems. They noted that the Commission itself reports that childcare costs are the key reason that mothers cite for not returning to work or working part time. MEPs reiterated that women must have control over their sexual and reproductive health rights, and this included having ready access to contraception and abortion. “Women and men are not and never will be identical, but it is in everyone’s interest that they should have the same rights”, Tarabella said. The European Parliament passes a resolution assessing progress made towards achieving equality between women and men every year. To see how your MEP has voted on this issue, click here.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |