The unrepresentative house: the inconvenient truth about members of parliament

Article


Ozarow, D. 2015. The unrepresentative house: the inconvenient truth about members of parliament. Human Resource Management International Digest. 23 (5), pp. 12-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-05-2015-0084
TypeArticle
TitleThe unrepresentative house: the inconvenient truth about members of parliament
AuthorsOzarow, D.
Abstract

Purpose – Argues that the British House of Commons is acutely unrepresentative of the population that it serves. A range of party leadership interventions that have sought to increase the possibilities for women and those from minority groups to become MPs are evaluated, but regulating in this way is found to have largely failed. Alternative policy solutions are proposed that seek to increase the “supply” of candidates from such backgrounds.
Design/methodology/approach – Conducts document analysis of political parties’ equality and diversity policies and assesses their impact upon their proportion of MPs or parliamentary candidates from minority backgrounds is assessed.
Findings – Argues that the real problem lies in the lack of engagement in the political process and a shortage of candidates from such backgrounds putting themselves forward for nomination in the first place. Thus authentic parliamentary diversity cannot be created through enforcement but needs to be fostered organically through supportive longer-term measures alongside electoral reform.
Practical implications – Advances the view that greater diversity is required for parliamentary legitimacy but top-down interventions have been counter-productive; barely improving the proportion of MPs from minority backgrounds and actually presenting threats to party autonomy and quality of democracy.
Social implications – Shows how structural problems complicate the ease with which women and those from working-class, ethnic minority and disability backgrounds can engage with the political process and then successfully become parliamentary candidates. Reforming the political culture and targeted policies aimed at reversing the barriers to entry may create a more level playing field by encouraging them to stand.
Originality/value – Offers a timely case study of the neglected and longstanding lack of representation in Parliament that is uniquely interrogated from an HRM perspective.
Article type: General review

KeywordsMembers of Parliament; Selection; Democracy; Affirmative action
Research GroupDiversity and Gender group
PublisherEmerald
JournalHuman Resource Management International Digest
ISSN0967-0734
Publication dates
Print23 Aug 2015
Publication process dates
Deposited01 Sep 2015
Accepted21 May 2015
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here in the Middlesex University Research Repository. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited - See more at: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/publish-with-us/author-polici...

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-05-2015-0084
Scopus EID2-s2.0-84938898221
LanguageEnglish
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