The membership of the House of Lords was extended to women in 1958. This was forty years after women were able to be elected to the House of Commons. Today, the proportion of women in the Lords is the same as that in the Commons, though women tend to be more prominent in leadership positions in the Lords. This week’s quiz is on women in the House of Lords. As usual, the first two readers to supply the correct answers will be the winners.
1. I received my PhD from Harvard University and have been a professor of philosophy and principal of a Cambridge College. I have served as President of the British Academy. Who am I?
2. I come from a legal family. I have served as a Lord Justice of Appeal and as President of the Family Division of the High Court. I chaired a major child abuse inquiry. Who am I?
3. I am a journalist and have been city and business editor of The Times and editor of The Sunday Telegraph. Who am I?
4. I am a broadcaster and writer, and have served as chair of the National Campaign for the Arts. I am well known for appearing on and presenting television programmes. I became a Dame in 2008 before later being elevated to the peerage. Who am I?
1. Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve
2. Baroness Butler-Sloss, chaired the Cleveland child abuse inquiry in 1987
3. Baroness Wheatcroft
4. Baroness Bakewell
Ten minutes, I’m impressed. I didn’t even see the quiz until about 10:30, and no doubt some of the later responders will note that they didn’t see it until after my answers were posted.
My RSS feed subscription and a slow Saturday morning helped me there. Answer 3 was also helped by Baroness Wheatcroft’s appearance in a recent quiz on members of the press.
On this theme — there are weeks when being far off and in the relatively remote countryside ( where connections vary from flawless to not nearly flawless) far from Westminster combines with personal obstacles to make participation pointless. This was one of those times: Ten minutes is indeed impressive in the extreme.
1. Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve
2. Baroness Butler-Sloss
3. Baroness Wheatcroft
4. Baroness Bakewell
Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve
Baroness Butler-Sloss
Baroness Wheatcroft
Baroness Bakewell
1. Baronsss O’Neill of Bengarve
2. Baroness Butler-Sloss
3. Baroness Wheatcroft
4. Baroness Bakewell
Dear Sir,
I have come to the following answers:
1. Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve
2. Baroness Butler-Sloss
3 . Baroness Wheatcroft
4. Baroness Bakewell
Kindest regards,
Lawrence van Rijn
1. Lady O’Neill of Bengarve
2. Lady Butler-Sloss
3. Lady Wheatcroft
4. Lady Bakewell
I am surprised the proportion is the same in both Houses; certainly a few years ago the Lords had a slightly larger proportion (and even more so if one just looked at Life Peers). The Lords also had – and has – more minority ethnic members.
JH: Indeed, though as I mention women tend to be more to the fore in leadership positions in the House of Lords (Lord Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, four of the past six Leaders of the House have been women) and, as you say, there is a greater proportion of members drawn from ethnic minority backgrounds in the Lords than in the Commons. The same is the case in respect of members with disabilities.
@Lord Norton:
And could the reason be that those women and ethnic minorities are more prevalent in the Lords than the Commons be because they do not have to run for election and be voted into that red chamber?
The laugh in all this is, those in the right wing flank of the Commons, amongst others in our nations papers, keep trying to tell us that we must leave the European Union because ‘they’ are an ‘unelected’ bunch of downbeats, and as a result, not democratic. Whereas we, the British Parliament, are chosen by you, the people, and therefore must answer to your call. This is the pride of all democracies.
Hypocrisy of the first order. No?
As a linked-matter, maybe of interest vis a vis “equality-of-women”:
almost twenty years ago, American (USA) women had found that they could equal Men, and at every level,
and even ‘beat’ (excel) men at every level in every profession
(with a few natural-exceptions such as “who can pull heaviest vehicle with just a strong rope and body-harness”)
(‘things like who can ‘father’ the most children’ was also excluded because women-scientists and technologists. supported by women-sociologists, -lawyers and -poliricians, could ensure that AI-with-anonymous-initial-conceptor [e.g. by spermless sudden shock to the ovum] could be the ‘most numerous’)
but those women were also the first to meet and publish their finding, that
(“) The World’s economic. population-control, democraphic, educational, health-building, sickness-treating, and general longest-term-sustainworthinesses Shortfalls and Failures
were still not being solved, nor likely to be being solved(“)
———–
and I believe there was some attempt to try including Children, even ‘infants’, in such Problem-Solving-Thinktanks,
and older and more mature & experienced children in Governance-bodies, too …
[continuable ? –
[go for it,
I reckon I’ve already done my ‘bit’) thanks. ]
I think it appears to be the case of fastest-finger-on-the-keyboard wins! Congratulations to everyone who responded. I think it fairly clear that you offered the correct answers. Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve is one of our leading philosophers, Baroness Butler-Sloss has set a number of judicial firsts (and comes from a family well versed in the law – her father was a judge and her brother, Lord Havers, was Lord Chancellor), Baroness Wheatcroft is a distinguished journalist who has recently joined the House, and Baroness Bakewell, another recent entrant, is one of our leading broadcasters. As Jason Lower and Dave H were the first to respond with the correct answers they are this week’s winners. Commendations to Chris K, Jonathan, lawrencevanrijn, and JH.