50:50 at the National Diversity Awards 2022

By Carol Ann Whitehead

As Managing Director of the?Zebra Partnership?a publishing, events and campaign agency, I am also a proud feminist and advocate for women’s rights, gender equality and eradicating the gender and ethnicity pay gap. The first time I got involved with 50:50 was way back in November 2018 when I was nominated to join?Ann Coffey MP?for Stockport in Westminster for the?50:50 #AskHerToStand?event.

Carol Ann with Ann Coffey MP 21 November 2018 #AskHerToStand Day

2018 was the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote and the passing of the Qualification of Women Act, which allowed women to stand for elected office for the first time ever.

21 November 2018 was the ambitious launch of 50:50 Parliament’s #AskHerToStand day.

I travelled down the night before. I was one of over 300 women who had been invited that day and met an amazing diverse set of women from across the UK. It was wonderful to have potential MP’s standing alongside serving MP’s. We weaved in and out of the Palace of Westminster going from one discussion to the next. The Mother of the House, Harriet Harman MP was inspirational, along with powerful young MPs like Mhairi Black and Stella Creasy passionately putting their case forward. A huge ‘thank you’ to Ann Coffey MP who nominated me. It was an important day for her as she spoke in the debate on ‘Rape Myths and Juries’. Outline?here.

Getting ready for a massive group photograph in Westminster Hall (with the Guardian photography team balancing precariously on scaffolding which looked like it was erected moments before!) I gathered women of colour to stand as a united force behind Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary at the time. Tracey Brabin MP helped me get everyone into position so they could be seen. Tracey is now Metro Mayor of West Yorkshire.

Well done to the 50:50 Parliament team, the Fawcett Society, Jo Cox Foundation, Centenary Action Group and inspirational female MPs for making this historic day happen. It was truly an amazing event and my first time meeting Frances Scott, Founder of 50:50, and being adopted as a 50:50 Ambassador.

In June 2022 I caught up with Frances again at the ‘WeAreTheCity – Rising Stars Awards’ . I had been a judge and Frances was a prize winner. We had a wonderful time reconnecting after the pandemic.

Fast forward to September 2022!

Wow! What a night at the?The National Diversity Awards?at the splendid Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, which was supported and streamed by ITV News with a plethora of sponsors. The venue was full to the brim with community and celebrity champions.?

I was proud to represent 50:50 for the evening!. We were shortlisted in the?“Community Organisation: Gender category”. While we didn’t win the big pewter trophy, we received a framed ‘Certificate of Achievement’ – which is great as there were 75,000 nominations, so to be in the brochure and in the room is amazing! I want to officially thank Frances for placing her trust in me to carry the 50:50 Parliament torch and her constant text talk while watching it on stream.

It was fantastic to connect with some wonderful women during the evening, including Vanessa Vallely OBE, Founder of “WeAreTheCity”, Dianne Greyson, Founder “Ethnicity Pay Gap campaign”, Cllr Amna Abdullatif, The Three Hijabis, Alyson Malach, Zainab and Hannah from Elect Her and CIC to name a few.

As the African proverb says:“If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, we go together.”

50:50 Parliament works with all the political parties to help women progress in politics at a local and national level.

We are an inclusive, intersectional charity set up to empower women with our

#AskHerToStand?and?#SignUpToStand?campaigns.

When women click #SignUpToStand via?www.5050Parliament.co.uk/signuptostand?we:

– send them an interactive Personal Political Profile

– allocate them a 50:50 Buddy

– invite them to weekly party specific Bite Size meetings

– and offer bespoke support to women from diverse groups.

In the corridors of power, men still outnumber women by 2:1.

We invite everyone, men and women, to support our work and join our mailing list at?www.5050Parliament.co.uk

If you would like to “Donate” please become a “Friend of 50:50” at?www.5050Parliament.co.uk/donate