Web endnote5/8/2023 ![]() ![]() Bondfield was appointed as Minister of Labour in 1929, becoming Britain’s first woman Cabinet minister. However, Northampton was not an easy seat for a Labour candidate to win, and Bondfield subsequently lost her seat there in the 1924 General Election (although she later returned to Parliament in 1926 as MP for Wallsend). She stood unsuccessfully in the 1920 By-Election and 1922 General Election, before being elected in the 1923 General Election. The constituency had long been held by the Liberal Party and Bondfield was the first Labour candidate to contest Northampton. Catalogue ref: C 65/6394Īnd yet, women experienced numerous challenges, such as difficulties in getting selected as candidates, lack of election funds, sexism from voters and the local constituency party, and male candidates being prioritised for ‘safe’ seats.įor instance, Margaret Bondfield was selected for the constituency of Northampton, a seat deemed as unwinnable for Labour. At just 27 words long, this act enabled women over the age of 21 to contest parliamentary elections for the first time. Indeed, women were not able to stand for Parliament until November 1918, following the passing of the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act. Women are underrepresented in positions of power, particularly in Parliament and government. ![]() Barriers to entering Parliament and government This blog post expands on some of the themes discussed in the display, such as women’s journeys into Parliament and government, the various challenges they experienced, and the types of Cabinet positions women have often been appointed to. Cabinet table display on ‘Political pioneers: The first 20 women in Cabinet’ See a list of the first 20 female Cabinet ministers at the end of this blog. The display, ‘Political pioneers: The first 20 women in Cabinet’, features records on the first 20 female Cabinet ministers, from Margaret Bondfield, the first woman appointed to the Cabinet in 1929, to Patricia Hewitt who entered the Cabinet in 2001. Inspired by Women’s History Month, The National Archives has launched a new display on its replica Cabinet table at Kew. ![]()
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