Record Number of Female MPs Voted into Parliament

Alix McNamara, contributor to Forbes asked the key question "Who are the world’s most powerful women in 2016?" She wrote, " They are the smartest and toughest female business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, philanthropists and CEOs making their mark in the world today. They’re women who are building billion-dollar brands, calling the shots in the financial markets, and crisscrossing the globe to broker international agreements and provide aid.".The list is full of inspirational, motivational, determined, tenacious, strong women. Their accomplishments are formidable and even more so given how hard it can be to establish oneself into industries and job titles traditionally dominated by men. McNamara states that the "Statistics on women in positions of power remain bleak." and this is also the case in the UK's political arena. But whilst Theresa May got her snap election dreadfully wrong,one of positives we can take from this is the number of female MPs has increased. There will be a record number of female MPs in the House of Commons after at least 207 women were elected in yesterday’s general election. The big question is "Why?".  Are women deemed to be less capable, less believable in politics than men? There are more women in power in other countries than ever before.

Thursday marked 104 years to the day since Emily Davison died in the fight for women’s right to vote. Davison became a symbol of women’s emancipation when she stepped in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom racecourse in 1913. She is believed to have been attempting to attach a scarf or flag calling for women to have the vote on to the horse’s bridle. She died from her injuries four days later.Nancy Astor, a Conservative, was the first woman to take her seat in the Commons after winning a bye election in December 1919 for the Plymouth Sutton constituency. 

There is nothing girly or glamorous about being an MP - the hours are long, the benefits are fewer than before the scandal, being a "public servant" is sometimes a thankless task, yet its an essential part of making a difference and implementing change. I spent a day at a constituency in North London during the last election. I was astounded by the amount of work involved in bringing a campaign to the fore - from organising the campaign trail to organising an extremely enthusiastic group of volunteers - not the odd one or two but over 150 people who give their time up for something and someone they believe in.

I look forward to watching how these women impact and influence the way in which our country will change.