Oona King

Oona King, Tessa Jowell, Angela Eagle and others on sexism in Westminster Guardian 2.3.1913

The Rennard allegations have put Westminster's sexual politics in the spotlight. So how bad is it? Women who know tell of boozy conferences, wandering hands and the obstacles to complaining Full article here

When we arrived in 1997, it was institutionally sexist. When women would stand up in the chamber, men on the other side would be shouting "Melons! Melons!" while making hand gestures – that's how juvenile it was. There was an extraordinary level of sexism in terms of power, which hasn't changed that much. It wasn't just from politicians – when the media contacted you, they were as likely to ask about your lipstick as your policies.