Let the party leaders know - women in the UK want to Stand Up, not Stand Still
(Thanks for all of your signatures. This letter has now been sent to the leaders of the UK's main political parties. We'll post any responses we get from them here)
Dear Party Leaders,
As Champions of One World Action’s More Women More Power campaign, we believe that the equal participation of women and men in politics and in decision-making is the cornerstone of a strong, democratic and just society. We have seen that it is women across the world that bear the brunt of poverty, violence and discrimination, and we are proud to support women to access the most important tool in transforming their own lives – power.
Today, however, we are dismayed to see that progress towards women’s equal political representation in the UK has stalled and, despite much talk of ‘new politics’, the general election has failed to significantly increase the number of women in parliament. Last year, the UK ranked 59th in the world for the number of women MPs and the UK lagged well behind countries such as Mozambique, China and Afghanistan. From this disappointing starting-point, we have slipped even further back and it is estimated that the UK now sits at around 68th place. If we don’t take urgent action, it will be another 200 years before the UK can boast true political equality between men and women.
The presence of women in greater numbers in public life is not only fairer and more representative, but it also ensures different perspectives, solutions and approaches and must be at the heart of political renewal in the UK. We want the UK parliament to Stand Up, not Stand Still. So I urge you to take action now, to learn the lessons from this election and put the issue of women’s representation firmly back on the political agenda.