More than two thirds of candidates running in Peterborough's local elections are men

Male candidates standing in Peterborough’s upcoming local elections outnumber female candidates by two to one.

A total of 58 men are running for the 21 Peterborough City Council (PCC) seats up for election on 4 May, compared to 28 women.

A Government report published this year says that “women’s representation has increased” in politics and public life in recent years, but that “in most cases men remain overrepresented”.

The report continues that “around 41% of local authority councillors in England are women”, higher than Wales (28%), Scotland (35%) and Northern Ireland (26%).

Nationally, it continues, the Greens have the highest proportion of female councillors (53%), while Labour is the closest to 50:50 representation with 52% female councillors.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have the most female councillors overall (5,902), although they have more than twice as many male councillors.

The proportion of elected councillors who are women in Peterborough is lower than the national average, though.

At the end of the last administrative year, less than a third of councillors were women.

In the upcoming election, meanwhile, seven wards have no women running at all.

They are: Bretton, Central, Fletton & Woodston, Hampton Vale, Paston & Walton, Ravensthorpe and Stanground South.

There are no wards where only women are running.

The same is true of Fenland District Council (FDC), where there are no female candidates running in March West and Benwick, Whittlesey East and Villages and Whittlesey Lattersey.

It has a similar proportion of male to female candidates as PCC (2:1) as well as a similar proportion of elected women councillors at the end of the last administrative year (26% at FDC compared to 28% at PCC).

Unlike Peterborough, though, it holds all-out elections, meaning every seat is up for election this year.

There have been numerous calls over the years to boost women’s participation in local politics.

A United Nations (UN) Women report, published this year, found that, globally, women make up an average of 34% of local government positions.

It continues that just two countries have achieved 50:50 representation.

“There is established and growing evidence that women’s leadership in political decision-making processes improves them,” the report says.

“Women demonstrate political leadership by working across party lines [...] and by championing issues of gender equality, such as the elimination of gender-based violence, parental leave and childcare, pensions, gender-equality laws, and electoral reform.”