…but is it Good News for Women?

Good News for Women?

Political pundits are claiming the results of the 2012 local government elections are “good news” for the SNP, as the largest party in local politics, and “good news” for resurgent Scottish Labour, which held onto the city of Glasgow. We ask –  but is there good news for women’s representation?

  • The overall headline figures are up from 21.6 % in 2007, to a new high of 24.7% in 2012.
  • The number of women councillors elected in 2012 has increased from 263 in the last local elections to a total of 301, an overall increase of 38 women councillors.
  • South Lanarkshire tops the league table with 37.2% female councillors, whilst Inverclyde takes last place with just one female councillor (5%).

Gender Politics at Edinburgh

By Dr. Meryl Kenny (UNSW) and (Edinburgh)

Political pundits are claiming the results of the 2012 local government elections are “good news” for the SNP, as the largest party in local politics, and “good news” for resurgent Scottish Labour, which held onto the city of Glasgow. We ask –  but is there good news for women’s representation?

  • The overall headline figures are up from 21.6 % in 2007, to a new high of 24.3% in 2012.
  • The number of women councillors elected in 2012 has increased from 263 in the last local elections to a total of 297, an overall increase of 34 women councillors.
  • South Lanarkshire tops the league table with 34.3% female councillors, whilst Inverclyde takes last place with just one female councillor (5%).

While these numbers represent a modest improvement on previous elections – and a record performance since the mid 1990s – the…

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