subscribe: Posts | Comments

Support the Fawcett Society’s manifesto

0 comments

Fawcett Society, #womanifesto, women's rights, GE2017,Ask election candidates if they will pledge to support the issues laid out in Fawcett’s Women’s Manifesto.

The Fawcett Society has released a Women’s Manifesto, calling on all political parties to pledge to advance gender equality and women’s rights.

The Manifesto contains calls to action on five key areas of concern, including closing the gender pay gap, an issue that Fawcett has long campaigned for, and for measures to get more women into power, including that at least 45 per cent of parties’ parliamentary candidates should be women.

Other key recommendations include:

Women to be represented at every level and stage of Brexit negotiations;

An increase in the national living wage to bring it up to the level of the real living wage;

An extended, dedicated, well-paid period of leave for fathers;

A requirement for large companies who have to report their gender pay gaps to have an action plan in place for ending the gaps, and penalties for those who do not comply;

A long-term, national, and sustainable funding strategy for specialist women-only services including domestic violence refuges, in order to meet our Istanbul Convention obligations; and

A National Care Service, giving social care parity with the NHS, and investing in social care infrastructure with a professionalised care workforce.

The manifesto also addresses equal representation; defending women’s rights post-Brexit; ending violence against women and girls, and ensuring women are not hardest hit by any economic downturn or spending cuts.

It calls for:

Time-limited quotas to speed up the pace of change: at least 45 per cent of parties’ parliamentary candidates should be women.

Parties to push for gender balanced leadership at local council, Metro Mayor and national level.

Implementation of Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring every political party to collect equality monitoring data on their candidates and extend it to include candidates in local elections.

A clause in the Great Repeal Bill that explicitly commits to maintaining the current levels of equality protection when EU law is transposed into UK law.

Women to be represented at every level and stage of Brexit negotiations.

A guarantee that women fleeing domestic violence in the EU who have a European Protection Order will be fully protected whichever state they are from or in at the time, including in the UK.

Zero-tolerance of hate crime and abuse, including that which sees Muslim women particularly targeted.

A new requirement on employers to advertise every job as flexible unless there is a good business reason for it not to be.

An extended dedicated period of well-paid leave for new fathers, to shift the expectation that it is the woman whose job it is to care.

An increase in the national living wage to bring it up to the level of the real living wage.

A requirement for large companies who have to report their gender pay gaps to have an action plan in place, and penalties for those who do not comply.

Targets for recruiting girls and women into STEM subjects at school, higher education and into employment.

Girls at GCSE and A level to be defaulted into maths and science subjects, with an opt-out.

The abolition of tribunal fees which act as a barrier to justice in sex discrimination and pregnancy discrimination cases.

A long-term, national, and sustainable funding strategy for specialist women-only services including domestic violence refuges, in order to meet our Istanbul Convention obligations.

Misogyny to be categorised as a hate crime in the same way that racism and homophobia are.

Plans for compulsory, inclusive Sex and Relationships Education to put gender at the centre of the discussion.

Social media companies to take responsibility for how their platforms are being used and to invest in technological solutions to address misogyny and online harassment.

A victim’s sexual activity with a partner or other partners to be ruled out as admissible evidence in rape cases.

The removal of the two child limit in Tax Credits and Universal Credit.

The government to carry out and publish full equality impact assessments of all policy changes and budgets, including intersectional data.

A National Care Service, giving social care parity with the NHS, and investing in social care infrastructure with a professionalised care workforce.

More investment in high-quality childcare to extend the free offer, make an early education place a guaranteed right, and ensure that working mothers are better off in work once they have paid for childcare, and

Transitional arrangements for women unfairly and disproportionately impacted by state pension age changes.

“We urge women across the country to take these demands to their candidates,” Fawcett’s Chief Executive Sam Smethers said.

“With the overall gender pay gap still at 18 per cent, violence against women and girls still rife in our society, and Brexit posing a risk to hard-fought protections, it is as important as ever that women have a say.”

And you could, you know.

You could ask your local party candidates how they plan to defend women’s rights post-Brexit.

Find out who your candidates are through your local registration office, by clicking here.

You could also ask them if they will pledge to support the issues laid out in Fawcett’s Women’s Manifesto.

You could send them a message like this one here:

Dear Candidate,

Your support for women’s rights is important to me when deciding who to vote for on 8 June.

Do you support:
1) Equal male/female representation in politics
2) Securing women’s rights post-Brexit
3) Closing the gender pay gap
4) Ending violence against women and girls
5) Ensuring women are not hardest hit by any economic downturn or spending cuts

I support the Fawcett Society’s manifesto, which you can read by clicking here.

Please can you tell me whether you support these calls?

I look forward to your response.

Signed.

And add your postcode after your name, so they know you are serious member of their would-be constituency.

 Together we can make a difference. Please email your candidates and ensure your voice is counted.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *