§ 38. Mr. Graham AllenWhat assistance she offers to political parties who wish to reduce the imbalance between the sexes among their candidates. [76458]
§ Ms HewittThe Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act received Royal Assent in February this year. It enables political parties, if they wish, to use positive measures to reduce inequality in the numbers of men and women elected.
We are also reforming government to make it a more attractive option to women, through improving the hours and working environments at all levels of government. However, it is for political parties themselves to decide arrangements for selecting parliamentary candidates. The Government has provided the framework and I am encouraged by the level of cross party support we received for the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act. It has galvanised debates within all parties and I very much hope that as a result we shall see more women being selected to stand.