Margaret Thatcher

The first woman prime minister, from 1979 to 1990, is included for what changed under her rather than for being first. Her government created the departmental select committee system in 1979, proposed by her Leader of the House, Norman St John-Stevas, which transformed Commons scrutiny, and the Commons began to be televised in 1989. Her combative style at Prime Minister's Questions set the tone for its modern form. She appointed only one woman to her cabinet in eleven years and did little to make the Commons easier for other women.