Women in the House of Lords

The first ladies in the House of Lords took their seats in 1958, forty years after women were granted the right to stand as MPs in the House of Commons. These ladies were life peeresses appointed by the Prime Minister. Hereditary peeresses were able to sit in the Lords from 1963. Female Church of England bishops have been sitting as since 2015. Today, ladies make up just over a quarter of the members of the Lords, which compares with a third of the members of the Commons. rdf:langString