Hundreds of women from all walks of life descended on Westminster on Wednesday, to mark the moment women first got the right to stand for parliament 100 years ago.
At the final count, 317 women came to the Houses of Parliament to visit 238 MPs as part of #AskHerToStandDay, and were bombarded with messages of positivity to encourage them to consider a career in politics.
It was billed as the first time women outnumbered men at Westminster, and it was easy to believe as potential MPs from all over the country milled around the palace’s committee rooms and gathered for a vast photoshoot to celebrate the centenary of the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act.
Charlotte Besant, 26, was on a day off from her job in a box office and had contacted her MP after reading about the event in a magazine. “I want to be more involved, but I didn’t know where to start and what the best way of going about it was,” she said. “Today has been amazing for finding out how it works, how you start and what might be possible.”
Suraiya Haque, 18, said she did not see many people like her in politics, but the event had made her think that she might just have to do something about that. “What it says to me is that I do belong here, there is a space for me,” she said.
They were two of four young women invited by the MP for Battersea, Marsha de Cordova, to the event, which was organised by the campaign group 50:50 Parliament, the Centenary Action Group, the Fawcett Society and the Jo Cox Foundation. “I really hope this emboldens them on their journey, we need more women in this place ... the stats are really bad,” said De Cordova.
In the history of parliament there have been only 491 female MPs compared with 4,503 male. Now a record 32% of MPs are women, but if things progress at the current pace it will take more than half a century to achieve gender balance.
“We have to make sure we don’t flatline around 30%, which is what today is all about,” said the Conservative MP Justine Greening.
Frances Scott, founder and director of 50:50 Parliament, which campaigns for equal representation at Westminster, said that 250 women had signed up to find out more about standing as an MP and she hoped for another 50 from the day.
“The aim is to get 60 more women into parliament at the next election, and then another 60 the election after that - then we’ll have gender parity in 10 years, and I can stop,” she said. “There are women here from all walks of life, from all areas of the country and they are all calling for equal seats and equal say. It’s totally inspiring.”
The international development and women and equalities secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said the day was a celebration, but also a reminder “that there was still so much to do”.
“The message I would give to women considering a career in politics is despite everything you hear, working here is fantastic, and if you think you might want to do it, the chances are you’d be quite good at it,” she said.
Helen Pankhurst of the Centenary Action Group said: “This is a huge year in the history of the women’s movement … I just hope we aren’t waiting another 100 years until we achieve true equality.”
The prime minister arranged for two delegates to come from her Maidenhead constituency. One of them, Tameena Hussain, 30, said she was already something of a political animal having been active in her local Conservative party association since her early 20s. Asked if the event had encouraged her to stand for office, she was equivocal.
“Never say never,” she said, adding: “But, you know, parliament isn’t as scary as it’s made out to be. If you want to help people, then you shouldn’t let anyone put you off.”