Why aren’t more women joining politics?

Elizabeth Clarke MBE is a member of the Ulster Unionist Party, a school governor, charity volunteer and mum of five. After almost 20 years in public service, she recently changed career to become more involved in politics and the community she grew up in.

Next year, Northern Ireland faces a rare moment in its democratic life. With two major elections on the horizon, parties will be selecting candidates and communities will be deciding who represents them. It feels like the perfect time to ask: why aren’t more women joining politics?

Women’s representation has improved significantly in recent years, and that is progress worth celebrating, but the pipeline tells a different story. Women are still underrepresented in local government, and too many talented women are deciding not to step into politics in the first place.

There’s no shortage of intelligent, capable women here. We lead businesses, run community organisations, work in our hospitals, our schools and our public services. So why are so many of us reluctant to step forward?

For me, the answer is personal.

I joined politics in my early 40s, not because I suddenly cared about making a difference, but because it took me that long to believe I could. I spent nearly twenty years building a career in public service and the stability and professional boundaries that came with that held me back from taking the leap. In the end, changing my career was the price of pursuing my political ambitions. I don’t regret it, but I do wonder why a woman should have to choose between the two, and how many others are quietly doing that same maths and deciding it simply isn’t worth it.

That question matters more this year than most. Candidate selections are under way and I don’t want to watch another generation of brilliant women remain on the sidelines, as I did for years, before finally finding the confidence to step forward. We need them now more than ever because better decisions are made when the people around the table better reflect the communities they serve.

Women’s health has been under prioritised for too long. Childcare costs continue to push women out of careers they’ve spent years building, while families are trying to balance work, caring responsibilities and the rising cost of simply getting by. These aren’t side issues or even just “women’s issues”. They are health issues, economic issues and family issues that shape people’s lives every day, and they deserve voices around the table that understand them first-hand.

Politics in Northern Ireland can still feel like an intimidating place to step into. It is passionate, but sometimes that passion tips into confrontation. Scrutiny is intense, social media can be brutal, and women are too often judged on our appearance, our families or our personalities before anyone gets around to our ideas.

If talented women are looking at politics and deciding the cost isn’t worth it, perhaps the problem isn’t a lack of ambition. Perhaps it’s the culture we’ve built.

That doesn’t mean accepting things as they are. If we want more women in politics, we have to stop simply waiting for them to put themselves forward and start encouraging them to. Sometimes all it takes is one person saying, “You’d be good at this.”

We need mentoring and role models, but we also need a political culture that values listening as much as shouting and collaboration as much as confrontation. Above all, women need to know they don’t have to fit a stereotype to belong here. You don’t need decades on a political ladder and you don’t need to have all the answers. You need to care about your community and be willing to serve it.

Perhaps that’s why I don’t believe confidence is something we’re simply born with. I lost my mother when I was young. It could have defined what came afterwards, but instead it taught me resilience long before I had a word for it. It taught me that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, especially when someone believes in them, or when they finally learn to believe in themselves.

That belief is what eventually brought me into politics, much later than I wish it had. Hope isn’t weakness; it’s what gives ordinary people the courage to step forward and try.

The Ulster Unionist Party wants to see more women serving as MLAs and councillors, and so do I, but this is bigger than any one party. If one woman reads this and thinks maybe there is a place for me too, whether that’s in the Ulster Unionist Party, another party or as an independent, then writing it will have been worthwhile.

Northern Ireland doesn’t need women to become more like politicians. Politics needs to become a place where more women believe they belong.

Soapbox

This is a guest slot to give a platform for new writers either as a one off, or a prelude to becoming part of the regular Slugger team.