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Parliamentary Affairs Advance Access originally published online on January 27, 2009
Parliamentary Affairs 2009 62(3):399-417; doi:10.1093/pa/gsn049
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© The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Hansard Society for Parliamentary Government; all rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Women Peers and Political Appointment: Has the House of Lords Been Feminised Since 1999?1

Christina Eason

University of Manchester
UK

Correspondence: christina.eason{at}manchester.ac.uk

When the House of Lords Act 1999 was passed, women's presence almost doubled overnight from 8.8% to 15.8%. Yet almost a decade later, the increases have been nominal, reaching 19.9% in December 2008. This article examines the feminisation of the House of Lords in terms of numbers from the point of reform to the present day to account for increases in women's representation, and why the increases are so modest. The article identifies clear facilitators and constraints to women's presence in the Lords. Individuals with the capacity to feminise are critical to the increased presence of women, yet peerages also compensate and correct women's low representation in other political arenas. Constraints on women's representation are largely due to historical, systemic and cultural factors with the outcome that one-fifth of the House's membership is effectively reserved for male peers.


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