Seema Malhotra, Director of the Fabian Women’s Network, says that “our [British] political systems does – inadvertently if not deliberately – support the selection and election of men and white women”.

Writing in the current issue of Tribune Magazine, Malhotra argues that Sri Lanka and India have been blazing a trail in terms of female representation globally for several years now but Britain has been lagging behind. Pratibha Patil became the first female President of India in July last year, whilst the late Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka was the world’s first female prime minister, holding the post three times between 1960 and 2000.

To read Malhotra’s piece, click here.