Are the sisters doing it for themselves?

It can’t have failed to escape anyone’s notice that it’s not long to go before the general election, 20 days to be precise and for me, one of the things that has really stood out in this particular democratic campaign, is the women. It’s not just the fact that there has been far more high profile women than I’ve seen in elections previously, with Sturgeon, Green & Bennett purportedly holding the political balance in their hands as they pack political punches at swivel eyed Farage. Nor is it the fact that taking into account the number of women standing for election and current polling, parliament could see its biggest ever influx of female MPs. No, for me it’s more than that, it’s the women around me that I’ve noticed more, and this can only be A Good Thing.

According to an article I read this week, over 9 million women failed to vote in the last general election, a figure I find both staggering and depressing. If you look at the younger demographic (younger than I unfortunately) the problem gets even worse with a mere 39% of women aged 18-to-24 voting in comparison with 50% of men in the same age bracket. Yikes! That’s terrifying! Can it change? Well fingers crossed, and judging from the very small pool of my mates, I’m hoping it will this year. Ok, ok, pub conversations involving alcohol may be less reliable than actual facts and statistics, however it seems to me that more of my female mates are engaging politically this year, to a higher degree than I’ve witnessed previously. Whereas the vast majority of my female friends have investigated parties, debated pros and cons, and certainly registered to vote, whenever I’ve encountered a lackadaisical ‘they’re all the same’, ‘what’s the point’ response, it has invariably made its way into this world from the mouth of a man. Now, I’m not going to slate all my boy mates here, there are some that are raring to go come 7^th May, voting cards at the ready so they are certainly not ‘all the same’, but it seems to me that this year, the sisters really are doing it for themselves and I’m wondering what it is that has turned the tables?

Well, the Guardian reader within me certainly points to the effect of the current government, after all, no matter what paper you’re reading, we’ve all seen the statistics that suggest that under David Cameron’s leadership it is women who have lost out the most (and no DC, a heads up, I won’t ‘calm down dear’). Certainly the very public female leadership of some of the leading minority parties has played a part, you only had to see the reaction to the recently televised leaders debate to witness that. I’d also like to think that the relatively recent acceptability of feminism has had a role to play too. The prominence of the work of Everyday Sexism & the No More Page Three campaign are just two examples that have not only spurred on a generation of young women to proudly wave their feminist banner high, but also kick started my generation to realize that just perhaps we never really achieved the gender equality that the 1990s ladette culture promised.  In my humble opinion, the reasons for it don't matter, but if these factors combine to get more women voting, this can only be for the better.

With only 4 weeks to go until the election, I can only hope female voting really does improve this time round, and if my friends are anything to go by then it certainly should. But the real key to improving matters is actually getting out there and doing something… With only 3 days left to register to vote, it’s crucial that us women (& all the chaps out there too) make sure we can actually get our voices heard. If you haven’t done so already, it only takes 5 minutes, so get on it, please! Handy link hint here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

p.s apologies for the slightly ranty, serious tone of this blog. Normal service will resume shortly…. promise.