Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics

NI Assembly Election 2011
The first Assembly election to follow a full-term Assembly since the 1998 Belfast Agreement was held on the 5th May 2011. Twenty women were elected which was two more on the 2007 elections, indicating only marginal improvement for women. Full analysis of the elections can be found here.
An analysis of the candidates for the 2011 Assembly elections can be found here.

Irish General Election 2011
The final result in Ireland's 2011 general election saw 25 women being elected to the Dail, 2 more than at the 2007 election. Commenting on this outcome, Professor Yvonne Galligan, Director of CAWP congratulated the successful women candidates on winning seats in a hard-fought campaign. She went on to say "the absence of any woman among the 20 Fianna Fail TDs returned to parliament is something that party must urgently address. Indeed, the low representation of women in the Dail must be tackled as part of the wider push for political reform." View a summary of how women fared in the election here.

London Assembly June 2008
The number of women elected to the London Assembly 2008 dropped to 8 women. Three long-serving members: Angie Bray, Elizabeth Howlett and Baroness Hamwee, retired from the Assembly prior to the election. Lynne Featherstone had already stood down from the Assembly in 2005. However, this was somewhat offset by the election of two new women members: Victoria Borwick and Caroline Pidgeon. Women's representation on Assembly now stands at 32% (a decrease of 8%) with the Liberal Democrats having the highest female representation (66%), while the Conservative female representation has dropped to just 9%. Full details are on the observatory.

NI Assembly Election 2007
The long awaited elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place on March 7, 2007. 18 women (or 16.7%) out of a total of 108 MLAs were elected, the same number as the 2003 election. Full coverage and analysis of the election may be found here.

NI Local Elections 2005
This page contains a number of useful tables comparing the 2001 and 2005 local council and district council elections by women elected and political party. These tables were compiled by Karly Greene of the School of Politics, International Studies & Philosophy, QUB.

UK Elections 2010
The 2010 UK general election will take place on May 6th 2010. Information and analysis regarding candidates in Northern Ireland by party and gender and constituency and gender can be found here. Information and analysis regarding candidates in GB by gender and party can be found here. A BBC report focusing on the visibility (or lack of it) of women in this election can be found here and a further report by the Guardian asking where the women are in this election can be accessed here.
The Women's Ad Hoc Policy Group Manifesto can be accessed here.

The results are in!!!
In NI out of a total of 21 female candidates (or 19%), four women were elected making the percentage of seats held by women to be 22%. The Alliance Party fielded the largest number and percentage of candidates with the DUP fielding no women. For a full analysis of the results in NI by party and constituency, click here.
In GB the number of female MPs rose to 143, an increase from 19.5% to 22% on the last parliament. Of particular note is the increase in the number of female Conservative MPs (from 18 to now 48) and the increase in the number of women MPs from a minority ethnic background. However, as welcome as these gains are, women still only account for 143 out of 650 seats. David Cameron's new coalition government does not fare any better in terms of gender balance with only 17% of the cabinet being women. In the government as a whole, just 17% of government positions are held by women. Ed Milliband's opposition stands in contrast with 44% of the cabinet being women. Continuing this trend, 40% of opposition positions are held by women. For a full anaylsis of the election results in GB including all women elected and an analysis of the government by ministry, please click here.

UK General Election 2005
The 2005 UK general election saw a record 128 women elected to the House of Commons. After the number of women MPs dropped slightly in 2001, the 2005 results saw a net increase of ten to 128. Women now form almost one third of the Parliamentary Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have their highest-ever number of women MPs. The three women elected for Northern Ireland in 2001 were all returned, with Lady Hermon now the sole representative at Westminister of the Ulster Unionist Party. Details are listed in the observatory.

There are 6 women in Gordon Brown's reshuffled 23-member cabinet (reshuffle January 2008) and 21 junior women ministers which is an increase of 4 on the previous cabinet.

European Elections

Irish Women Members of the European Parliament 2009
Three women were elected out of twelve Irish seats in the European parliamentary elections in 2009. This is a drop from 38% to 25%, transforming Ireland into one of the lowest levels of female representation and below the minimum threshold set by the EU. Only Poland, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Malta have a lower percentage of female representation.

UK Women Members of the European Parliament 2009
The UK has 72 seats in the European Parliament, of which twenty five or 35% are held by women. This is a significant increase since 2004 from 24%. Northern Ireland now has two women MEPs (Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún and newly elected Diane Dodds of the DUP). There were six new female Conservative MEPs elected and the Green Party elected two MEPs, both women, who are the first Green women MEPs to be elected.

Irish Women Members of the European Parliament June 2004
Ireland now has one of the most gender-balanced, with five women out of thirteen MEPs, or 38 per cent (exact figures on women in the new European parliament are not yet available). Independent Dana Scallon lost her seat in the North West after one term, but two new independents, Kathy Sinnott and Marian Harkin (who topped the poll in the North West) were both elected. Mairead McGuinness topped the poll in the East for Fine Gael. Sinn Féin elected its first two MEPs, both women, including Mary Lou McDonald in Dublin. These new women MEPs offset the numbers of women who stood down or were defeated at this election.

UK Women Members of the European Parliament June 2004
The UK has eighteen women MEPs out of seventy-eight, for a total of 23 per cent, slightly lower than the 24 per cent elected in 1999. The UK Independence Party, whose breakthrough was a major story of this election, has no women MEPs, and the Conservatives, who again won the most seats, have fewer women than the other two main parties. Northern Ireland finally elected its first woman MEP, Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún. The only other new woman MEP is Liberal Democrat Fiona Hall.

Return to top.

Elections Archive

Irish Councils June 2004
Updated data on women on Irish County Councils in available here, and women members of Ireland's five city and six borough councils is available here.

Archive London Assembly June 2004
The number of women on the London Assembly remained the same (ten out of twenty-five members), with two new women elected (Labour’s Joanne McCartney and Liberal Democrat Dee Dooley) offsetting the two who stood down. For a gender breakdown of the 2004 London Assembly please click here.

Archive UK Women Candidates for the European Parliament June 2004
This archive provides a breakdown of each party�s candidates by gender, and lists all women candidates by party. Full infomation may be obtained here.

Archive Irish Women Candidates for the European Parliament June 2004
This archive provides a breakdown of each party's candidates by gender, and lists all women candidates by party. Full information may be obtained here.

Archive Northern Ireland Assembly Election, November 2003
Coverage of the long awaited Northern Ireland Assembly elections in November 2003 may be found here.

Archive Scotland and Wales Elections May 2003
Further information on the devolved elections in Scotland and Wales in May 2003 may be found here.

Archive Irish Election May 2002
Our coverage of Ireland's Dáil election of 2002, with lists of candidates, an analysis of manifestos, and results, is still available, accessible from an index hub which can be found here.

Archive Irish Referendum March 2002
Ireland votes 'no' in abortion referendum - 14 March 2002
On 6 March Irish voters narrowly rejected a constitutional amendment to restrict the conditions under which abortion would be permissible. We have the results of the vote and the ballot question, with its explanation of the issue, here.

Archive UK Election June 2001
All articles relating to the June 2001 UK parliamentary election and the Northern Ireland local elections have been moved to a separate section of the site; click here for an index of the articles.

		London Assembly \| NI \| UK \| European \| ROI \| Elections Archive NI Assembly Election 2011 The first Assembly election to follow a full-term Assembly since the 1998 Belfast Agreement was held on the 5th May 2011. Twenty women were elected which was two more on the 2007 elections, indicating only marginal improvement for women. Full analysis of the elections can be found here. An analysis of the candidates for the 2011 Assembly elections can be found here. Irish General Election 2011 The final result in Ireland's 2011 general election saw 25 women being elected to the Dail, 2 more than at the 2007 election. Commenting on this outcome, Professor Yvonne Galligan, Director of CAWP congratulated the successful women candidates on winning seats in a hard-fought campaign. She went on to say "the absence of any woman among the 20 Fianna Fail TDs returned to parliament is something that party must urgently address. Indeed, the low representation of women in the Dail must be tackled as part of the wider push for political reform." View a summary of how women fared in the election here. London Assembly June 2008 The number of women elected to the London Assembly 2008 dropped to 8 women. Three long-serving members: Angie Bray, Elizabeth Howlett and Baroness Hamwee, retired from the Assembly prior to the election. Lynne Featherstone had already stood down from the Assembly in 2005. However, this was somewhat offset by the election of two new women members: Victoria Borwick and Caroline Pidgeon. Women's representation on Assembly now stands at 32% (a decrease of 8%) with the Liberal Democrats having the highest female representation (66%), while the Conservative female representation has dropped to just 9%. Full details are on the observatory. NI Assembly Election 2007 The long awaited elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place on March 7, 2007. 18 women (or 16.7%) out of a total of 108 MLAs were elected, the same number as the 2003 election. Full coverage and analysis of the election may be found here. NI Local Elections 2005 This page contains a number of useful tables comparing the 2001 and 2005 local council and district council elections by women elected and political party. These tables were compiled by Karly Greene of the School of Politics, International Studies & Philosophy, QUB. UK Elections 2010 The 2010 UK general election will take place on May 6th 2010. Information and analysis regarding candidates in Northern Ireland by party and gender and constituency and gender can be found here. Information and analysis regarding candidates in GB by gender and party can be found here. A BBC report focusing on the visibility (or lack of it) of women in this election can be found here and a further report by the Guardian asking where the women are in this election can be accessed here. The Women's Ad Hoc Policy Group Manifesto can be accessed here. The results are in!!! In NI out of a total of 21 female candidates (or 19%), four women were elected making the percentage of seats held by women to be 22%. The Alliance Party fielded the largest number and percentage of candidates with the DUP fielding no women. For a full analysis of the results in NI by party and constituency, click here. In GB the number of female MPs rose to 143, an increase from 19.5% to 22% on the last parliament. Of particular note is the increase in the number of female Conservative MPs (from 18 to now 48) and the increase in the number of women MPs from a minority ethnic background. However, as welcome as these gains are, women still only account for 143 out of 650 seats. David Cameron's new coalition government does not fare any better in terms of gender balance with only 17% of the cabinet being women. In the government as a whole, just 17% of government positions are held by women. Ed Milliband's opposition stands in contrast with 44% of the cabinet being women. Continuing this trend, 40% of opposition positions are held by women. For a full anaylsis of the election results in GB including all women elected and an analysis of the government by ministry, please click here. UK General Election 2005 The 2005 UK general election saw a record 128 women elected to the House of Commons. After the number of women MPs dropped slightly in 2001, the 2005 results saw a net increase of ten to 128. Women now form almost one third of the Parliamentary Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have their highest-ever number of women MPs. The three women elected for Northern Ireland in 2001 were all returned, with Lady Hermon now the sole representative at Westminister of the Ulster Unionist Party. Details are listed in the observatory. There are 6 women in Gordon Brown's reshuffled 23-member cabinet (reshuffle January 2008) and 21 junior women ministers which is an increase of 4 on the previous cabinet. European Elections Irish Women Members of the European Parliament 2009 Three women were elected out of twelve Irish seats in the European parliamentary elections in 2009. This is a drop from 38% to 25%, transforming Ireland into one of the lowest levels of female representation and below the minimum threshold set by the EU. Only Poland, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Malta have a lower percentage of female representation. UK Women Members of the European Parliament 2009 The UK has 72 seats in the European Parliament, of which twenty five or 35% are held by women. This is a significant increase since 2004 from 24%. Northern Ireland now has two women MEPs (Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún and newly elected Diane Dodds of the DUP). There were six new female Conservative MEPs elected and the Green Party elected two MEPs, both women, who are the first Green women MEPs to be elected. Irish Women Members of the European Parliament June 2004 Ireland now has one of the most gender-balanced, with five women out of thirteen MEPs, or 38 per cent (exact figures on women in the new European parliament are not yet available). Independent Dana Scallon lost her seat in the North West after one term, but two new independents, Kathy Sinnott and Marian Harkin (who topped the poll in the North West) were both elected. Mairead McGuinness topped the poll in the East for Fine Gael. Sinn Féin elected its first two MEPs, both women, including Mary Lou McDonald in Dublin. These new women MEPs offset the numbers of women who stood down or were defeated at this election. UK Women Members of the European Parliament June 2004 The UK has eighteen women MEPs out of seventy-eight, for a total of 23 per cent, slightly lower than the 24 per cent elected in 1999. The UK Independence Party, whose breakthrough was a major story of this election, has no women MEPs, and the Conservatives, who again won the most seats, have fewer women than the other two main parties. Northern Ireland finally elected its first woman MEP, Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún. The only other new woman MEP is Liberal Democrat Fiona Hall. Return to top. Elections Archive Irish Councils June 2004 Updated data on women on Irish County Councils in available here, and women members of Ireland's five city and six borough councils is available here. Archive London Assembly June 2004 The number of women on the London Assembly remained the same (ten out of twenty-five members), with two new women elected (Labour’s Joanne McCartney and Liberal Democrat Dee Dooley) offsetting the two who stood down. For a gender breakdown of the 2004 London Assembly please click here. Archive UK Women Candidates for the European Parliament June 2004 This archive provides a breakdown of each party�s candidates by gender, and lists all women candidates by party. Full infomation may be obtained here. Archive Irish Women Candidates for the European Parliament June 2004 This archive provides a breakdown of each party's candidates by gender, and lists all women candidates by party. Full information may be obtained here. Archive Northern Ireland Assembly Election, November 2003 Coverage of the long awaited Northern Ireland Assembly elections in November 2003 may be found here. Archive Scotland and Wales Elections May 2003 Further information on the devolved elections in Scotland and Wales in May 2003 may be found here. Archive Irish Election May 2002 Our coverage of Ireland's Dáil election of 2002, with lists of candidates, an analysis of manifestos, and results, is still available, accessible from an index hub which can be found here. Archive Irish Referendum March 2002 Ireland votes 'no' in abortion referendum - 14 March 2002 On 6 March Irish voters narrowly rejected a constitutional amendment to restrict the conditions under which abortion would be permissible. We have the results of the vote and the ballot question, with its explanation of the issue, here. Archive UK Election June 2001 All articles relating to the June 2001 UK parliamentary election and the Northern Ireland local elections have been moved to a separate section of the site; click here for an index of the articles. Return to top.

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