Women at the Top: follow-up reports

Publications / Reports

Women at the Top: Follow-up reports (1996-2012)

20 Jan 2012

Four reports published by the Hansard Society between 1996 and 2012 followed up the 1990 report of the Hansard Society Commission on Women at the Top. The follow-up reports presented updated data on women's representation in politics and other fields, reviewed progress on the Commission's original recommendations, and made proposals for further reforms.

The Hansard Society Commission on Women at the Top reported in 1990.

We published four follow-up reports, respectively six, 10, 15 and 22 years after the Commission reported.

Our first follow-up report, by Professor Susan McRae and published in March 1996 (not available electronically), and our 2000 report, Cracking the public sector glass ceiling, by Karen Ross, investigated the extent to which representation of women at senior levels had advanced since the Commission reported, and the extent to which the Commission's recommendations had been implemented. Presenting updated data, both reports found that women's representation had increased in many areas but that attitudes impeding women's progress at senior levels often remained stubborn.

Our 2005 follow-up report, Changing Numbers, Changing Politics?, by Dr Sarah Childs, Professor Joni Lovenduski and Dr Rosie Campbell, focused on women's representation in the political sphere, examining practices and outcomes through the lens of the 2005 general election in particular. As well as presenting updated data on women's representation in electoral politics and Parliament, this report extended the analysis to consider the substantive effects of women's increased political presence. The report made wide-ranging recommendations to parties, government and Parliament on ways of encouraging greater political representation of women. The report also included a section comparing women's political representation internationally, and featured an Afterword by Meg Munn MP, then-Deputy Minister for Women and Equality.

Our 2012 report, Politics and public life in the UK, presented updated data on women's political representation, taking into account not only the effects of the 2010 UK general election at Westminster but also the situation in the devolved legislatures and national and local government.

The 2012 report was also able to take account of the 2008-2010 Speaker's Conference on Parliamentary Representation, the establishment of which had been a recommendation of the original Hansard Society Commission report in 1990. However, in 2012 our report noted that at that time "most of the Speaker's Conference report" had still to be acted on.

Banner image: 'Leader of the Opposition speaks to new Members', by UK Parliament.

Latest / Highlights

News / Do petitions work? Inside the Commons Committee that actually decides - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 114

Ten years after the House of Commons Petitions Committee was created – does it actually work? Does it genuinely shift policy? Or is it an emotional release valve? In this special anniversary episode, we bring together four Chairs of the Petitions Committee – one current, three former – for a candid conversation about what happens after hundreds of thousands (or sometimes millions) of people click “sign”. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 10-14 November 2025

Peers begin clause-by-clause scrutiny of the assisted dying Bill, after a Joint Committee on Human Rights evidence session on its impact on disabled people. David Lammy takes Justice questions in the Commons. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill completes its Lords stages and begins Commons ping-pong. MPs hold a Remembrance Day debate on the armed forces. Prime Minister’s Questions is followed by a Conservative Opposition Day. The Lords continue detailed scrutiny of the Border Security Bill, Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and Crime and Policing Bill and debate the Sentencing Bill for the first time. Four Secretaries of State face questions from Select Committees and Dame Antonia Romeo, the Home Office Permanent Secretary, will face scrutiny of her department’s performance.

Briefings / The assisted dying bill: A guide to the legislative process in the House of Lords

Having passed through the House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - the Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales - must now go through its legislative stages in the House of Lords. This guide explains the special procedures for legislation in the House of Lords, and for Private Members’ Bills in particular. It answers some frequently asked questions, including how Peers might block the Bill, and gives an explanation of each stage of the process, from Second to Third Reading.

News / Parliament, the Monarch & the birth of party politics: How did it happen? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 113

As Britain’s modern party system frays, we rewind 300+ years to Queen Anne’s reign to trace the messy, very human birth of Britain’s party politics in conversation with historian George Owers, author of Rage of Party. He charts how religion, war, and raw parliamentary management forged early party politics, as the Whigs and Tories hardened into recognisable parties. Parliament turned from an occasional royal event into a permanent institution, and the job that would later be called “Prime Minister” began to take shape through court craft and parliamentary number-crunching. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Briefings / Assisted dying - The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Rolling news

Stay informed with updates and analysis on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill as it moves through Parliament. Learn about the debates, procedures, decisions, and key milestones shaping the assisted dying legislation.