Over the years, I’ve been asked, cajoled and strong armed into considering joining a political party but have resisted all attempts, until now. This week I finally joined a political party much to the derision and laughter from my family. Joining the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) as a founding member for me was a ‘no brainer’, but among my family it caused much mirth with comments such as “but they’ll never win a general election”, “it’s a wasted vote because nobody will choose an MP because of their gender”, “the powers that be will never give up power to the under-represented” and worst of all “equality will never be achieved”. However, all these comments obviate the main reason I joined the WEP, which was the personal need for a new perspective. I am fed up with the current status quo.
I am fed up with all male panels and all male shortlists. I am fed up with supporting corporate boards but not having a seat on them. I am fed up with being consulted, but then not having the chance to lead. I am fed up with researching to provide insight and not then having the power to bring about change. And what’s worse, I am not alone.
In Sarah Gavron’s film ‘Suffragette’, Meryl Streep as Emmeline Pankhurst echoes the immortal words of the campaigner ‘it’s deeds not words, that shall be our permanent motto.” And what I’ve found in the Women’s Equality Party is the same ethos. At the launch of the WEP’s policy document on 20th October 2015, I was inspired by 17 year old Honor Barber who pointed out that “we can’t keep waiting for a little percentage increase. We need proper representation and we need it now. To achieve our goals we need quotas. Quotas are a short term measure to ensure that in ten years this conversation will be over because we will have a 50:50 Parliament and equal representation. This changes the world for women of my generation”.
And that was the sobering thought for me – everything I do in business, in enterprise promotion, through STEM initiatives, in education, in diversity and inclusion and in supporting women’s activities – may not have an impact for a whole generation! The glacial pace of change means that real equality will not be achieved for another 75 years (at the current rate of improvement) despite Prime Minister David Cameron, as a dad of two daughters, proposing “to end discrimination and finish the fight for real equality in our country today”, in his speech at his Party Conference in October 2015. David Cameron promised a defining decade for Britain, “one which people will look back on and say, ‘that’s the time when the tide turned’.” Sadly, the deeds will be far more difficult than the words when facing the scale of the challenge.
Sobering statistics about gender inequality
Equal Pay
– Forty-five years after the Equal Pay Act, for every hour they work, women still earn just 81p of
every pound earned by men.
– In total, women earn just 52% of what men do every year because not only do they earn less,
they are more likely to sacrifice the opportunity to earn a wage for the sake of their family. The pay gap also widens for women after 50.
– Women have historically suffered financially from our pension system, and are much more likely to live their retirement in poverty than men.
Ending violence against women and girls
– Only 15% of sexual violence victims go on to report it to the police
– 1 in 4 women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime
– 70% of females aged 11 – 21 experienced sexual harassment in education
– 75% of victims reported that police officers did not know how to respond to reports of online abuse.
Equality in the media
– Only 1 in 4 news experts are women
– Only 11% sports’ coverage is of women’s sport
Equal representation
– Women make up 29% of MPs and 24% of Peers although they are 51% of the population
– 74% of lawmakers are men
– 59% of civil servants are women but just 16% of permanent secretaries are women
Equal representation in business
– Women make up 25% of FTSE 100 boards and are heavily under-represented on executive teams
– There is 8.5% better performance from diverse boards
– Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are shockingly unrepresentative, with women making up just 15% of board members
– 1.2 million new businesses would be generated if as many women started businesses as men
Sophie Walker, leader of the Women’s Equality Party ended the policy launch with the words “WE are the Women’s Equality Party, a new collaborative political force in UK politics uniting
people of all genders, diverse ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, beliefs and experiences in the
shared determination to see women enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men so that
all can flourish.” Surely nobody, not even my family, can argue with that sentiment.
For further information, visit www.womensequality.org.uk