Women Forge Ahead
It might have been the case, once upon a time, that the presence of a woman on an engineering course may have raised eyebrows. Those days, however, are long gone.
Yet the days of gender inequality of rights and suffrage seem so long ago, that now and then fears are raised about the apathy that taking such things for granted can generate, as Rebecca Gorlov noted in The Oxford Student some weeks ago: "Those that went before us fought hard for the vote, equality in education and employment - and we seem quite happy to ditch it all."
Actually, in a world where Afghani women are at last entitled to vote, women clearly continue to value such a basic right, which carries with it the implication that we are full citizens, rather than silent shadows. As for equality in education, Oxford women do not seem prepared to 'ditch it' at all. The very offer of a place at Oxford is a testament to drive and ambition, as well as ability. And we women can perhaps start to feel just a bit statistically smug as well. Though there are still more men than women at undergraduate level in Oxford (53 per cent men to 47 per cent women), in 2003, for the first time in the University's history, Oxford admitted more women than men - 5920 women to 5873 men. Further, since 1999 the number of women applying to study at Oxford is now greater than the number of men.
After only a few terms at Oxford, most of us become aware of the women ahead of us who have treated the University as a stepping-stone to career success - not as a marriage agency. Oxford currently boasts eight female Heads of House, including Professor Marilyn Butler, until recently Rector of Exeter, who was the first woman to become the head of a formerly all-male College at either Oxford or Cambridge. Not only have Oxford women been successful in academia, but record numbers are now entering professional and managerial employment too. In short, there are generations of successful and hard-working Oxford women out there, and it was out of the desire to link these women to the current generation of Oxford students that Oxford Women in Politics (OxWiP) was born.
Politics is indeed still a difficult field for women to break into and the fact remains that women who wish to enter politics do face widespread discrimination from selection panels. Allegedly it is not uncommon to be asked, "What does your husband think of...?" One female candidate was even asked: "What will your husband do for sex while you are away in London?"
This discrimination in no small way contributes to the paltry number of female MPs at Westminster - only 18 per cent of the total. And things get worse when it comes to the House of Lords, where women make up only 16 per cent of members. Some might argue that there is, in fact, no real demand for an increase in female politicians. But statistics show that three quarters of women voters want more female faces at Westminster, the figure rising to 83 per cent among younger women, according to the Fawcett Institute. Indeed, intelligent, driven women are on the whole supporting each other, rather than seeking to undermine. And the few who aren't? Well, as former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once remarked, there is a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women.
Further, new Electoral Commission research shows that at the last election, in constituencies where there was a woman MP, turnout among the female electorate was four percentage points higher than for men, whilst turnout among men in these constituencies stayed the same.
So, though Margaret Thatcher once rather unfortunately said of her deputy William Whitelaw: "Every Prime Minister needs a Willie", it seems that, in theory, this is no longer the case.
In fact, one of the main problems that face women when it comes to crashing through the glass ceilings that still exist in academia, business and politics is not so much our own lack of ambition or ability, nor even the crude stereotyping of the kind bandied in the earlier article that ran in this paper. It is often our fear of being perceived as pushy and of blowing our own trumpet that prevents us from forging ahead.
This is why OxWiP exists: To highlight what Oxford women can and do achieve in the fields of politics and public policy, and to help foster the kind of networks that give men a push up the career ladder. By organising leadership development seminars and social networking events, as well as by connecting students, faculty and alumni in a professionally valuable network, OxWiP is creating important professional opportunities for its members.
While most of our workshops are designed to impart skills such as public speaking and negotiating, if any woman in Oxford is still baffled by how to change light bulbs, then, in the spirit of sisterhood, OxWiP will most certainly organise a workshop.
To learn more about OxWiP visit whor.xwip.org or email oxwip@herald.ox.ac.uk
18th Nov 2004