Why women in politics still have a long way to go, in 7 charts

Women only account for 27 per cent of all announced prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs) for the general election, according to an analysis by i100.co.uk.

Of a list of 1,929 overall candidates from 24 parties obtained by i100.co.uk, men make up 72 per cent. Of the major parties Ukip has the lowest percentage of female PPCs with only 11 per cent, while the Green Party has the highest percentage.

The SNP was excluded from the analysis of main parties as it had only announced five candidates at time of writing.

There are currently 148 female MPs, out of 650 - so the House of Commons is 23 per cent female.

The news is not all bad: while we have a long way to go for equal female representation in our politics, research by PR firm Insight published in June 2014 showed two thirds of candidates selected in the 37 seats where the current MP is of their party and is standing down were women.

It also showed that 14 per cent of candidates in those 53 seats identified as black, Asian or as an ethnic minority.

More: 11 things women were told not to do in 2014