General election 2017: Who would win if only women voted?

Tomorrow, the UK will decide which party will be in power for the next five years.

It’s currently a close call between Labour and the Conservatives with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gaining traction among young people and women in particular.

Traditionally, women have been overlooked by the major political parties. But what would happen in 2017 if only women’s votes counted?

A recent poll revealed that current Prime Minister Theresa May is being punished by women voters over her controversial policies which include cutting free school meals for infants and making elderly people with assets over £100,000 fork out for their care.

In the same survey, women expressed feeling anxious at Conservative social care plans which throw doubt on future plans such as owning a house, caring for children and getting older in general.

Typically, women focus on education and welfare issues more than men. This may explain the reason why women aged 18-34 are swaying towards Labour in this election.

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour policies go much further than the Conservatives in terms of women’s workplace rights and support for parents.

Labour has vowed to extend the 30 free hours of childcare to include all two-year-olds and hope to make some free childcare available for one-year-olds in the near future.

They are also extending maternity pay from nine months to a year and will increase protection for women against unfair redundancy. There will also be major improvements for dads as paternity leave is set to be doubled from two to four weeks with pay increasing too.

Career-wise, Labour are seeking to ensure the number of women and other minority groups increases across all sectors with a particular focus on apprenticeships.

Jeremy Corbyn is also tackling violence against women in a big way. If Labour win, they will appoint a commissioner to set improved standards for tackling domestic and sexual violence cases along with tackling female genital mutilation.

Conservatives, on the other hand, may win over some mums. Theresa May is set to introduce 30 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds along with encouraging companies to provide a more flexible working environment for parents.

Workplace equality is also on the Conservative list with a new policy requiring companies with over 250 employees to publish data on the gender pay gap as well as between BAME employees. The party is also pushing for an increase in the number of women sitting on high-profile company boards.

Theresa May has announced that the education of young girls is of importance to the Conservative party along with other women’s issues including sexual violence and female mutilation.

Although the above all sounds positive, women have been less than enthusiastic with May’s aggressive anti-immigration stance which has seen hundreds of women detained in Yarl’s Wood. Claims of sexual abuse by guards in the immigration centre have also been made.

The two main parties aside, the Liberal Democrats haven’t expressed much support for women.

In terms of parents, they are looking to give much more mental heath support to new mums. The Lib Dems are also introducing an additional month’s paid parental leave for fathers.

15 hours of free childcare a week will be given to two-year-olds with an aim of increasing that to 30 hours for all children between the ages of two and three. Employers will also be encouraged to provide more flexible working environments.

The party will also extend the Equality Act in the same move as the Conservatives that will require companies with over 250 employees to make their pay gap data public.

Unlike Labour and the Conservatives, the Lib Dems are addressing period poverty head on. They will provide free sanitary products in schools and will also promote positive body image from a young age.

The Green Party have too promised to provide free sanitary products in schools – but only for those who can’t afford them.

They are also introducing tax incentives for employers who support parents with childcare and flexible working. Parental leave pay will at least be at the Living Wage level with free childcare and early education for all children.

The gender pay gap is being tackled too with a much stricter requirement than any other party. The Green Party will require public disclosure of rage, gender and pay bands in businesses with more than 50 employees.

The Women’s Equality Party may sound like a surefire hit for women and their policies are seeking to ensure equality in all aspects of UK life.

In the same move as the Greens, they will force companies with 50 employees or more to publish data on how much they pay men and women.

Domestic violence victims who have been forced to flee their homes will be given temporary shelter and supported in their quest to find permanent housing.

All parents will be given high-quality free childcare (although further details of this are yet to emerge) while the self-employed will be entitled to nine months parental leave.

Employers will also be required to provide a place for new mums to breastfeed or express milk in the workplace.

Period poverty is again being addressed by the Women’s Equality Party who will implement a policy that will provide all schools with free sanitary products.

The result of all this digging? It may be a close call but if women had their way, Labour would likely come out on top.

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