Discrimination against women in the “boys’ club” House of Commons is to be probed by a new inquiry.
The Women and Equalities Committee is to investigate gender equality in Parliament.
Committee chair Caroline Nokes MP said: “While there has been progress and important changes in recent years, Parliament still remains too much of a ‘boys’ club’, and this can be experienced negatively by men as well as women.
“We are launching this inquiry during Women’s History Month to look at how the House of Commons has progressed in implementing changes set out in previous reports, and how far there is still to go in making it more gender sensitive.
“If we want to see equal representation, we need to create a Parliament where equal treatment and modern working conditions can be taken for granted by future generations of women and men, whatever their background.”
The committee stressed that women in the Commons, as in many parliaments around the world, continue to face barriers to gender equality.
It emphasised that these included:
* The culture at Westminster as highlighted in recent reports on bullying and harassment, and sexual harassment.
* The challenges that working in Parliament poses for family life, including the unpredictability of business and potential long hours.
* Online threats and threats to physical security, in particular gender-based intimidation, harassment and violence against female parliamentarians and female candidates.
* The financial impact of standing for Parliament.
The committee will consider a range of issues including how successfully changes proposed in the past have been implemented in practice, what further reforms are needed to procedures and working arrangements, for example on parental and carer leave, proxy voting and virtual attendance, how to create a more inclusive culture, and who should be leading these modernisation moves.
It will also examine how buildings and facilities, with Parliament due to undergo a major refurbishment over the next decade, can be changed to make it a more “gender sensitive” environment.
