How Theresa May Plans To Get Young Girls Into Politics

There have been countless articles in recent months suggesting that women are "taking over" British politics, prompted by Theresa May's ascension to Prime Minister. But these have ignored an obvious truth: UK politics still has a serious gender inequality problem. Consider this: there are more men currently in parliament (457) than there have ever been women MPs (452). Theresa May has suggested an idea to encourage more girls to become MPs and "aim high". At an event hosted by Women2Win, a campaign she co-founded in 2005 to get more women Conservatives into parliament, May urged fathers to talk to their daughters about current affairs to encourage them to become MPs, the Telegraph reported. Why she didn't acknowledge that mothers can play an equally important role is unclear. In a video titled "Daughters", created by Women2Win, May talks about her close relationship with her father and how he instilled political ambitions in her from an early age. “My Father encouraged me, whatever job I did, to just get on with it and to do my best. I enjoyed talking current affairs so I got an early interest in politics," she said. "And he always encouraged me to see no boundaries, no barriers, just go out there and do the best that you can and aim high." Explaining why women's greater involvement in politics is important, she said: "I have always said that if you have a good diversity of people in a group then you get better decisions. I think it is hugely important that young girls are able to see women in parliament." Her remarks come soon after a report on gender equality in parliament in July, which made suggestions for ensuring greater diversity in the House of Commons. It recommended sex and gender quotas be put in place for the 2025 election, if parties fail to select women as candidates for at least half of their target and held seats before the 2020 election.