Helen Pankhurst writes about #AskHerToStand Day

By?Helen Pankhurst CBE,?Convenor, Centenary Action Group.

We know that women can make great politicians once they get the opportunity to be elected. They deliver on the issues that matter, they work collaboratively and they transform our politics. But for many women considering a career in politics just doesn’t enter their thinking despite the fact that many are involved with local campaigns, are running organisations or care passionately about the key issues of the day.

My great grandmother and many other women made many sacrifices and fought hard for women to?win the right to vote and stand for election, but the facts are bleak.?In the 104 years since women could stand over 5,000 MPs have been elected but fewer than 600 of those have been women. Although women are 51% of the population, only around one third of MPs are women and they remain in the minority on most elected bodies in the UK.??Women’s fight for political equality is still on and we all need to work together for women to have rightful representation.?

Change is needed and change must be faster. One way this can happen is through greater transparency around selection and the Centenary Action Group, which I helped convene in 2018,?is currently working with all?the parties to hold the whole system to account through our?Women Count campaign. This will publish the data around parliamentary selections, highlighting where women are being chosen and where they are not, creating data that will put the spotlight on the whole selection map of parties across the country.?

There is hope and we can make a difference and in different mutually supportive ways. For example, we know that if women are asked and then encouraged to stand, many will start the journey to becoming a candidate. It may take a few times of asking but it’s worth it!?

The 21st November 2022 is #AskHerToStand day, chosen because it’s the day we celebrate the Qualification of Women Act which was passed in 1918, a few months after some women first won the right to vote and to stand for parliament.?Join me on 21st and ask women to?#SignUpToStand?via the?50:50 website?so that they can join this fantastic friendly network which is here to help women progress in politics. This way they will get access to all the resources, training and peer group support they need.

50:50 Parliament and?Centenary Action Group?are campaigning, across the political spectrum, for equal representation and are supporting those women that do come forward to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and back-up networks to take on the selection process.?

Working together we can help to build the better democracy that comes from better representation. This November join us #SignUpToStand.

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