Has british politics become more feminized since 1997 Essay

Has british politics become more feminized since 1997 - Essay Example While the current parliament has the largest number of women MP’s in British history, the proportion is only 22.6%, which is just an increase of about 4% since 1997. This proportion indicates an increase of 1.3% in female representation per each election held after 1997. As many political systems across the world move towards equality in representation, Britain still lags way behind other countries like China, Italy, Germany and Argentina among many others. Feminisation of British politics has progressed with slow increase since the major achievement of 1997. The concept of feminisation of politics is based on the gender rather than the party and sex differences existing between men and women. The increased debate on the feminisation of politics is essentially based the perceptions of women’s political styles being less legitimate, than those of their male counterparts. The practice of politics is believed to be completely different between men and women. The fundamental discrepancies existing in the ways which individuals from different genders practice politics are utilised in the determination of feminisation of political systems. Feminism politics are characterised as based on co-operation, collaboration and honesty, qualities that depict them as gentle and kind politics. Masculine politics on the contrary, are presumed to be based on conflicts, hierarchy and sleaze. The characteristics of political systems and the politics have a significant effect on how the political environment within a country. The basic definition of feminisation of politics is based on the gender representation of individuals rather than the content of the political system. Consideration of the gender issues within the British system results in the politics being considered to be less feminine, because of the large number of men within the