Politics Unheard

In this episode of Politics Unheard, the host explores the question of whether age plays a role in women's political involvement. While women have made progress in politics, there are still barriers preventing full participation. Political engagement refers to informal involvement, while political participation involves formal actions like voting and running for office. Generational shifts in attitudes and priorities impact civic engagement. The guests discuss how they find out about politics and their views on social media as a political tool. They also touch on protests and the barriers faced by older and younger women in politics. The discussion highlights the male-dominated nature of politics and the need for women's voices to be heard. The age difference between the guests doesn't greatly impact their political engagement. Welcome to Politics Unheard, where we're delving into the world of female political engagement and participation. I'm Milhoe Shannon, and in today's episode, we're exploring a thought-provoking question. Does age play a role in shaping women's political involvement? As we navigate through the complex landscape of politics, it is evident that women's voices are crucial for driving change and shaping policies that affect us all. However, despite significant strides towards gender equality, there are still barriers that inhabit women from fully participating in the political process. Today, we're particularly interested in understanding how age intersects with these challenges and opportunities. From the suffragette movements of the early 20th century to the recent wave of woman-led protests and political campaigns, women have continuously demonstrated their capacity to mobilise and advocate for their rights. Yet, when we examine the demographics of female engagement or participation in political activities, there is often a noticeable absence of women, especially in positions of power. To start our episode, we're going to examine the differences between political engagement and political participation. Both are related concepts, but have distinct meanings. Political engagement refers to the levels of involvement, interest and interaction individuals have with political processes, institutions and issues. This involvement can take various forms that are often informal processes and include staying informed about political affairs through media, discussions or research, expressing opinions and viewpoints on political matters, participating in political discussions or debates, and engaging in political activism, such as attending rallies, protests or signing petitions and striking. In comparison, political participation specifically refers to the actions individuals take within the political process or system, encompassing a broader range of activities that directly involve individuals in the formal political process. These activities include voting in elections and running for political office or being involved in electoral campaigns. In summary, while political engagement encompasses a broader range of informal activities related to political awareness, interest and involvement, political participation specifically refers to the actions individuals take within the formal political process. Linking back to today's theme, how does this vary between age groups? As we navigate through the intricacies of both these concepts, it is crucial to understand how generational shifts shape attitudes, priorities and approaches to civic engagement. While Millennials and Generation X have distinct characteristics and experiences, it appears that Generation Z is carving out its own path in the political arena. These views are often underscored by the generational shift taking place, where Gen Z is characterised by a sense of urgency and willingness to challenge the status quo. However, comparing them to Millennials and Gen X, what sets them apart? To delve more deeper into this question, I have two guests on today's episode. Welcome to our discussion segment today where we're delving into the topic of how intergenerational differences impact female political engagement and participation. Joining me for the discussion are mother and daughter Julia and Rebecca Lear. Thank you for being here today. You're welcome. Let's go straight into our conversation. Intergenerational differences play a significant role in shaping women's attitudes and behaviours towards political engagement. Have you both grown up around politics and what's your view of them? I wouldn't so say grown up around it being the focus of everything, just what you see on the news. I've grown up around politics over the last few years. I haven't got much interest in it anymore. Okay, so thank you for sharing that. I would like to elaborate on some specific ways in which intergenerational differences manifest in female political engagement. For instance, one significant difference is the strategies and tactics employed in different generations of women. So, for example, how do you guys find out about anything political and do you have any strong feelings about it? Such as like newspapers and... Yeah, I tend to look at the Sky News app, the Wales Online app. I tend to look at Nargis newspaper if it's one available. What was the next part of your question, please? And do you have any strong feelings towards how you view and find out about any politics? I haven't got a view. I just read what interests me. If something comes up that interests me political-wise, then I will read it. Yeah, Rebecca? I don't tend to follow the politics. Just read the news stories rather than be involved in the politics side of anything. Okay, so obviously you mentioned like you look on the apps on the newspaper. Obviously, there's different forms of media that politics can be seen on. So currently, there's a lot of media platforms advocating for rights and movements through sharing posts. One of the most recent trends is political activism through sharing posts on social media. So what are your guys' opinion on how media can be used as a tool for politics? I'm not on social media because I've come off it because I find it very offensive. And there was a lot of derogatory comments about people which I didn't like. So I no longer use social media. I'm no longer on Facebook either. I just felt you were just scrolling and scrolling and seeing everybody else's opinions. And whatever opinion it was, your opinion's wrong, their opinion's right. So it was, get away from that. What do you think about the overall use of social media as a political tool? So sharing campaigns, and obviously it's targeted for a lot of the younger generation. Do you feel like there's too much of an emphasis on the use of social media? I think social media being sort of like a younger generation thing, it's more so all you see is the younger generation thinking that they're fighting for their rights, but all they're doing is damage to other people's properties and things, thinking they're making a difference. But that's all you see. You don't see anything positive. You don't see anything positive. It's like, I don't know whether you could call it being quietly political and still having your say, but not going around throwing paintings and tomatoes and sitting in the middle of the street. I agree with that. I feel that everybody's entitled to their opinion, but your opinion should be respected as well, and your views should be respected, you know. You'd probably be less likely to come off social media if it wasn't all bad press for the younger generation, but you don't, because it's not an older generation social media app. It is all just the young people doing what they want to do. Yeah. Which, in some respects, some of the campaigns that they've done, of course, caused somebody to die because they glued themselves to the road and an ambulance couldn't get to you. And I totally disagree with that. If you want to protest, you protest, and I'm happy with that as long as it's in the right place at the right time and doesn't cause disruption to other people's points of view. So, speaking of protests, I know, like, the NHS, there were strikes and stuff. Have you had any personal experience with protests? So, I worked in the NHS, so we did get to vote to strike, but the health board that I worked for, there wasn't enough participants within the balloting that we were able to strike. I'm not sure that I would have striked because I've always been pleased with my pay. And what I do. But there's other ongoing political things that I don't agree with. Do you know, Rebecca, have you had any personal experience with, like, activism? Well, the post office did a strike in 2022, and that was for better pay, better work conditions. So, I was really involved in that. Yeah. And managed to get a little bit of something better. How do you think the societal attitudes towards women's role in politics have evolved over the years? Do you think more women are getting involved? I think more women are trying to get involved, but due to the male dominance within politics, they can't get involved. Well, they don't get past the starting point because they're heckled out of everything. They just can't get past it because it's such a male-dominated area. They're not given the recognition to progress into politics the way that I thought that probably should happen this day and age. Yeah. What do you think are the main barriers between older women and younger women trying to get involved in politics? Older women, I'd probably say that they probably don't want to be bothered now because they've seen so much beforehand. And the younger people, they want to change society. They've got opinions. They want to make everything a better place for their children, but they're still not listened to. It's still male-dominated. It's still that barrier. Yeah. Do you feel like your age difference between each other has any impact on your political engagement in practice and your discussions about politics? Is there any likelier distinctions between what you guys both think? I don't think we tend to discuss politics very much. You'll just bring up something if it's annoyed you in a passing comment and then... Yeah, if it's something that's caught my eye, I do say about it, but I don't take an active role in reading any political things. And the way I see it at the minute, at this moment in time, I don't feel that I would ever vote again because I don't feel that the public are listened to anyway. It's all male-orientated, that they make these views. And the cost of living crisis has, well, I think it's got to a point, is some people, how are they going to live? And we're counting pennies all the time to make sure that we've got enough of this, enough of that. So we're juggling money all the time to make sure that we get our way, so they're going to pay right. So thank you both for your valuable contributions to the discussion. After that discussion, we can see that the differences between Generation X and Millennials are minimal when it comes to the core political values and beliefs. Despite variations in life experiences and cultural influences, research studies such as Keegan and Vaughan's 2023 study suggests there's a remarkable degree of alignment in their views on issues such as climate change, social justice, and economic inequality, as well as how they involve themselves in politics. However, it is noticeable that they don't often share the same ideals as Gen Z, with Gen Z being more active in the social and political atmosphere, particularly through online activism and a global outlook influenced by technology. This highlights the challenges of conventional wisdom and underscores the importance of recognising shared aspirations and concerns that transcend generational divides. Instead of focusing solely on differences, perhaps it's time to emphasise the common ground that unites us in our quest for a better tomorrow. So as the exploration of female political engagement and participation continues, let's celebrate the diversity in perspectives while acknowledging the universal values that bind us together. After all, it's through dialogue, understanding, and collective action that we can build a more inclusive and participatory democracy. If you're listening to Politics Unheard, stay tuned for more enlightening discussions that inspire us to work towards a shared vision of progress. Thanks for listening.