Male Candidates Outnumber Women, Highlighting Ongoing Imbalance

New data reveals a significant gender imbalance among local election candidates. The figures show a stark contrast in the representation of male and female candidates. The most common names among candidates are overwhelmingly male, with a substantial disparity in the number of candidates named David compared to those named Sarah.

The analysis of candidate names highlights the dominance of male names. The eleven most common names are all male, while only two female names appear within the top thirty. Overall, women constitute only about a third of the candidates, a slight decrease from the previous year. The data also indicates a significant difference in the number of all-male ballots compared to all-female ballots.

A charity advocating for greater female representation in politics expressed concern over the persistent imbalance. The organization emphasized the importance of equality in politics and criticized the lack of progress despite stated commitments from political parties. The charity's analysis also revealed varying levels of female representation among different political parties.

The data analysis, conducted in collaboration with the Democracy Club, identified the most common candidate names. The list of the most common names is dominated by male names, with Sarah being the first female name appearing on the list. The number of candidates named David or Dave is significantly higher than the number of candidates named Sarah.

The charity highlighted the importance of women's representation in local politics, emphasizing the impact of local decisions on women and the need for their voices to be heard. The data clearly shows that while some parties are making progress in achieving gender balance, no party has yet reached parity.