By Elect Her

…Women are still underrepresented

Equality is not a zero sum game - everyone benefits!

We can all agree on how important it is to have equal representation - it makes sense from every angle.

The issue is that whilst we have seen some success in national elections, 40% in Westminster and 45% in the cabinet, we are seeing a reversal at a local level.

May’s Local Elections

The local elections held across England in May 2025 marked a significant political shift, with Reform UK making substantial gains. However, these elections also highlighted the persistent underrepresentation of women in local government.

Only 27% of those elected, in May, were women - the first time in nearly a decade that it has fallen below 30%. It's not ok. Diversity at the tables of power changes outcomes, it's why our work to Fix the System matters so much!

Image of the BBC website showing the story of the Lancashire council only have men in the cabinet. — **Not a first we need!**

In a first for Lancashire county council, since the cabinet system was introduced, there are no women at the tables of power!

Parties are pivotal!

It might sound obvious but it really matters that the parties are championing women cxandidates. No political party achieved gender parity among their candidates. The Green Party had the highest proportion of female candidates at 44% whilst the Conservative Party fielded 28% female candidates, and Reform UK languished at the bottom with 22%.

The numbers of candidates the party put forward at the most recent local election - Conservative 72% men, Labour 47% men, Lib Dems 68% men, Green Party 56% men, Reform 78% men.

The election results reflected the disparity. Reform UK secured control of multiple councils and won two mayoral races, including Greater Lincolnshire, where Andrea Jenkyns became the first woman to hold that office. However, those instances were the exceptions and not the norm.

Overall, women remain underrepresented in local councils. The latest data, shows that only 34% of councillors across England are women—a figure that has seen no real change over recent years.

There are 55 barriers to Women's Participation.

Those barriers range from the cultural where many default to a subconscious image of a male in the political role, to women being held to different standards in the roles by both the media and others but also that women are the majority of carers - which often comes with less flexibility or financial security.

That isn’t all though! The practical realities of being a councillor for far too many means no employment rights, no pensions and that their pay isn’t deemed ‘pay’ - so you can’t use it as part of a rental agreement or for accessing mortgage finance. It makes taking on the role impossible for many.

It’s a job, time to start treating it like one.

It’s a job, so we should treat it like one. That evolution of the framework of local, regional and national politics requires a whole systems approach to the challenges we face so that we can create substantial positive change and progress.

And we’ve mapped the 48 levers that we can all pull to make the difference - and in coordination with civil society organisations, political institutions and political parties we’ll bring it… that will Fix the System and make our politics fit for this century!