Petition Encouraging women to get involved in politics

Since the suffragettes fought for women to be allowed the right to vote, women in the UK have strived to be seen as equal to men as opposed to the "woman behind the man". Great advancements have been made since that time, but it is still acknowledged that there is a distinct pay gap between male and female salaries and although the glass ceiling is now higher, it's still there.

This issue is reflected, and indeed exacerbated, by the under representation of women in Parliament. Despite the government raising concerns over under representation of women on company boards, after the 2010 election the total number of women in Parliament rose to just 22%.

I propose that in order to address this issue we need to take positive action to encourage women to take part in politics.

This government should create a scheme to allow role models such as Councillors and MPs to mentor young women and encourage them to get involved in politics, similar to the program running in Canada.