Theresa May issued a covert warning to her warring male cabinet colleagues in a speech to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage, saying women have a different approach to politics that prioritised listening, rather than broadcasting opinions.
Speaking in Manchester on Tuesday, the prime minister said she would sometimes work differently from male politicians, suggesting her strategy was not the same as the big beasts in her cabinet such as Boris Johnson or Philip Hammond, who have used the press to put forward their own “red lines”.
“In my experience, women often bring a different approach to politics than do men,” May said in the speech, where she wore a purple jacket, in a nod to the suffragette colours.
“For women, politics can be as much about listening and learning from others as it is about broadcasting your own views and opinions. And that is all to the good. Because when there isn’t just one way of doing things or one perspective on an issue, our understanding is enriched and we can achieve better outcomes.”
The prime minister has been dogged by cabinet rows over her Brexit strategy, with both the foreign secretary and the chancellor using newspaper and television interviews in recent months to make their own opinions known, including over increased spending for the NHS as well as the strategy for the Brexit negotiations.
May has also come under fire from backbench MPs, including hardline Brexiters, as well as some moderate former ministers such as Nick Boles and Robert Halfon. MPs have criticised a lack of bold ideas to tackle key domestic issues, such as the housing shortage and funding the health service.
Asked at her speech if she had advice for her younger self on entering parliament, May said she had a firm belief in sticking to her principles rather than changing her behaviour to fit what others demanded.
“I think the important thing for women in politics is be yourself,” she said. “Women’s way of doing politics is sometimes different from men, it’s the same in business. But that doesn’t mean they’re not just as good, they are just as good. So I would say don’t feel like you have to be a stereotype of a man in order to get on in politics. Be yourself and believe in what you are doing.”
Speaking earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, May said women were more interested in trying to work as a team. “Women will often have a different approach to leadership – and just because it’s different doesn’t mean it doesn’t get the same result,” she said. “My approach is much more about trying to work as a team. Women will often say, ‘it’s not me who achieved it, it’s the team that achieved it. I put an emphasis not on what you say but on what you do – and that is another difference between women and men.”
At her speech, May said she took huge pride in the number of women now in senior positions in public life. “A century ago women were forbidden the franchise, could not sit on a jury or be admitted into the professions,” she said. “Today, I am proud to serve as Britain’s second female prime minister in a parliament with more female MPs than ever before.
“In 2018, the United Kingdom’s most senior judge is a woman. The commissioner of the Metropolitan police is a woman. The director of the National Crime Agency is a woman. Women serve as England’s chief fire officer and chief medical officer. The CBI and the TUC are both headed by women. At Holyrood, a female first minister debates against a female opposition leader. In the National Assembly for Wales, a woman leads the third party. The two largest parties in Northern Ireland are led by women.
“And at Westminster, where suffragettes chained themselves to statues and hid in a broom cupboard on census night, the leaders of the House of Commons and the House of Lords are women. Black Rod, whose predecessor ejected suffragettes from the palace precincts, is a woman. A century ago the home secretary and director of public prosecutions were grappling with the direct action of suffragettes. Today, both those offices are held by women.”
