She added, ‘Why not a woman Chancellor, a woman Foreign Secretary?’ Most of her biographers, and, in particular, feminist commentators, point out that although in 1952, before she started on her own parliamentary career, the young Margaret Thatcher apparently believed that there was no limit to women’s potential, she did nothing to help them fulfil that potential once she herself had reached the top.It is indisputable that Margaret Thatcher did not promote women into her Cabinet. Although she made Janet Young Leader of the House of Lords, the first woman to hold that post, and in that capacity Lady Young attended Cabinet from 1981 to 1983, people were quick to point out that it did not really count, because it was a House of Lords position. It was a different matter in the Commons. She appointed a number of able women to ministerial posts; some, like Lynda Chalker and Angela Rumbold, reached the position of Minister of State, but she promoted them no further. She encouraged her junior women ministers and took notice of what they said.
What do You think about The Real Iron Lady (2013)?
