Why does Oxford need OxWip?
These stats are from 2005 but the numbers are similar today.
A gender disparity exists… and will persist… Unless we work towards change!
- Despite having won the right to vote and to stand for election, across the globe women constitute only 15.2% of all national parliaments. A mere 15 countries have achieved 30% or more representation of women in their national governments. While not parity, this percentage is nonetheless deemed “critical” — studies suggest that after reaching this threshold, women’s perspectives and interests will more likely be taken into account and pro-women legislation will more likely be adopted by the government.1
- This gender disparity is lessening only very slowly, with the percentage of women legislators worldwide increasing a mere +0.5% per year. At this rate, global parity in national parliaments will not be achieved until the turn of the 22nd century.2
This disparity is evident in Oxford…
- Data from 36 Junior Common Rooms (JCRs) from 2005 shows that 24 have male presidents while only 12 (including all-women's college, St. Hilda's) have female presidents and this is the highest it has ever been. Similarly, Middle Common Rooms (MCRs) have some 27 male Presidents compared to only 12 female presidents. 3
- Of the 105 academic staff members of the Department of Politics and International Relations, 84 are men and only 21 are women.4 The Law Faculty has a similar ratio: 60 men academic staff members to only 20 women members.5
- Despite having both a female President and President-elect, the Oxford Union featured only 5 female guest speakers during Michaelmas 2004, compared with 29 male guest speakers.6
And in the UK…
- Even though there are 118 women in the House of Commons, this constitutes just 18% of the 659 MPs at Westminster.7 Moreover, only one quarter of the highest level civil servants in Britain are women.8
- The United Kingdom ranks only 51st in the world in women’s parliamentary representation. It is ahead of the United States, France and Italy, but behind the Scandinavian countries, Cuba, Spain, Argentina, South Africa and Bulgaria.9
And in Europe…
- Although women are increasingly gaining European Union (EU) positions, they still make up only a third of the EU Parliament, holding 30.3% of seats for the 6th term (2004–2009). In addition, only 10.5% of chairpersons and 22.6% of vice chairpersons within parliamentary governing bodies are women.10
- Within the European Commission, only 24% of decision-making positions (president and commissioners) are held by women.11
And in nearly all areas of international policy-making…
- Of the 159 trade policy experts selected in 1998 for the WTO roster of dispute (the body that settles trade-related disagreements) only 12 (7.5 %) were women.12 Of the country representatives who attended the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Doha, Qatar in November 2001, only 8.4% were women.13
- At the IMF, women comprise 6.3% of alternates to the Board of Governors, and only 4.2% of alternates to the Board of Directors. At the World Bank, women comprise 9% of alternates to the Board of Governors, and only 16.7% of alternates to the Board of Directors.14
- In the United Nation’s principal economic agency, UNCTAD, 31% of staff are women. However, at the higher levels, women’s representation declines and there are no women in the top four positions.15
And this gender disparity is evident even beyond the world of ‘politics’…
- Of the UK’s 107 High Court judges, ten (9.35%) are women. Of the 433 District Court judges, 83 (19.2%) are women.16 Even though judicial positions were opened to women in 1919, the first woman law lord, Dame Brenda Hale, was only appointed in January 2004.17
- According to the Cranfield Female FTSE Index, which tracks women’s representation among directors of the FTSE 100 companies, women held 101 directorships on the FTSE 100 boards in 2003. This was a milestone. Yet, 32 of the FTSE 100 boards still include no women members and the 101 directorships still represent a mere 8.6% of the total 1175 (up from 6.5% in 2001).18 Moreover, only 17 (3.7%) of the FTSE 100 Executive Directorships are held by women.19
- Only 8% of senior police officers, 9% of top business leaders, 12% of local authority council leaders, 15% of university vice chancellors, and 9% of national newspaper editors in the UK are women.20
1 Getting the Balance Right in National Parliaments. Fact sheet from the Women’s Environment and Development Organization [pdf]. Accessed 10 Nov 2004
2 Inglehart, Ronald and Pippa Norris. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 129. Cites data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2000.
3 OUSU Oxford Handbook 2006 (Academic Year 2005-06 data).
4 University of Oxford Politics department website. Accessed 10 Nov 2004.
5 University of Oxford Law faculty website. Accessed 10 Nov 2004.
6 Oxford Union Society website. Accessed 10 Nov 2004.
7 Sex and Power: Who runs Britain? 2005 Report by the Equal Opportunities Commission [pdf]. Accessed 18 Jan 2005.
8 European Commission website on women and men in decision-making. Accessed 05 Dec 2004.
9 The other countries were Norway, Finland and France; www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/00women3.htm accessed 29 Nov 2004. The parliamentary statistics can be found at www.ipu.org; accessed 29 Nov 2004.
10 European Women’s lobby. Accessed 05 Dec 2004.
11 European Commission website on women and men in decision-making. Accessed 05 Dec 2004.
12–15 Women’s Environment and Development Organization. Accessed 10 Nov 2004.
16 Department for Constitutional Affairs. Accessed 29 Nov 2004.
17 UK’s first woman law lord appointed. The Guardian article. Accessed 29 Nov 2004.
18, 19 The Cranfield School of Management Female FTSE Index 2003 report [pdf]. Accessed 29 Nov 2004.
20 Sex and Power: Who runs Britain? 2005 Report by the Equal Opportunities Commission [pdf]. Accessed 18 Jan 2005.
Oxford Women in politics · c/o Department of Politics and International Relations · Manor Road · Oxford OX1 3UQ · United Kingdom