European Renal Association (ERA)’s Post

Good news! For the first time in UK parliamentary history, the proportion of women elected is more than 40%. There are now 263 female MPs - up from 220 in 2019 - nearly half of whom are new to the Commons. We also have the first ever female chancellor of the exchequer - in over 700 years (!). #womeninpolitics #ukpolitics #representationmatters #genderequality #representation

A great article from Helen Pankhurst for Centenary Action's #Mission2028 Parliamentary research. Enacting Section 106 of the Equality Act which would require parties to publish data on candidates’ protected characteristics to expose diversity gaps, pushing parties to improve their candidate selection processes, is exactly what political parties need and one party that wasn't mentioned needs to do just that. For too long they espouse being the party of equality of opportunity, whilst urging diverse candidates to apply was a tick box exercise necessary to get the selection process going and ultimately select the predetermined candidate put up against stooges in selection hustings. I've witnessed it myself and saw the fine print I saw told to read after being emailed the selection application form and being told not to get my hopes up regardless of that local party wanting diverse candidates with wide ranging protected characteristics to apply. I read it for myself, that they couldn't start the selection process until enough diverse approved candidates had applied. The step change in publishing the protected characteristics of candidates who apply versus those selected will be crucial in highlighting failures and successes. Centenary Action’s Mission 2028 Campaign Launch yesterday in the Terrace Pavilion, Westminster, made it clear that they seek to increase the number of intersectional candidates for Westminster with a focus on disabled women. I really welcome this but it's likely too late for me now that the unforgivable damage was done when my prime opportunity arose. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/emtp56Uq Image Description: A group of Centenary Action's Mission 2028 campaign supporters and potential future candidates outside Westminster's Terrace Pavilion on the terrace by the river Thames. You may just about see my head. Photo credit: Anne-Marie Bickerton

** The Belfast Women map is turning into a Six-County Women map! ** Have a look! Although there are more medal claims to populate (yellow, for those whose service claim was unsuccessful), there are now over 300 names. Locators are linked to our #MSPA database: click on a name and access the archival description. There, you can download the full specs digitised files. Disclaimer: many applicants moved and listed several addresses in their application(s). The intent has been to use the address that was most likely the claimant's main residence in the 1920s but it's not always clear from the file itself. Some addresses cannot be found anymore (rural areas) or do not exist anymore (streets). If there are obvious errors, let me know. To go a bit further, we have two posts on our blog that offer some essential context for northern pension applicants and their experience: 1)  The Six-Counties in the MSPC – Verification of claims for a different conflict: https://lnkd.in/e_nXV8Dn 2) The Six-Counties in the MSPC – Belfast women and the cost of war: https://lnkd.in/eUgxajdc https://lnkd.in/eZ5kyE_C #Map #Archives #IrishArchives #Research #OpenAccess

This to be welcomed - but needed to start much earlier. If we are to have councils which represent the wider make up of society - not just the male, pale, stale and poorly educated demographic - we need work like this to be an on-going activity. The Institute for Public Policy and Governance is ideally placed to lead on these initiatives. #localgovt #localdemocracy #representation #NSW

🌟 Last week’s election marked an historic, watershed moment as we now have a record high of over 40% women MPs with 11 women holding key cabinet positions and the first ever woman Chancellor in Rachel Reeves. In terms of gender, ethnicity, and background this parliament is the most diverse in British history and is a clear indicator of the huge strides that have been made in driving diversity over recent years. 🌟 Business and politics have long been closely aligned and the achievement of 40% women MPs sends a positive signal to the UK’s biggest companies as they strive to mirror the 40% representation in parliament in business leadership positions. While the number of women in senior decision-making roles in the FTSE 350 has increased year-on-year, we now need a laser-like focus and a step-change in the appointment rate to deliver on the target of 40% by the end of 2025. 🌟 The business case for gender balance is overwhelming. Companies with diverse voices around the table will be best equipped to navigate a challenging economic environment and deliver sustainable returns. We celebrate the diversity of our parliament and look forward to working with businesses across the country to achieve gender balance at the top of British business. https://lnkd.in/dPxKQP9n #FTSEWomenLeaders #diversity #womeninleadership

My article about women’s representation in politics today

Less than 100 years ago, on October 18th, Canadian women were finally recognized as “persons” under the law. But the story isn't as straightforward as it seems. Persons Day is an important day in Canadian history and a milestone in the fight for gender equality. The recognition of people as people opened doors for greater participation of women in political life. But we still have a long way to go. According to data from Informed Opinions, Canada is 64th in the world in terms of representation of women in parliament. Some of the causes of this lack of progress can go back to the roots of the Persons case and the knowledge that some of the women involved in the Persons case were deeply racist, and their advocacy did not extend to all women. Some of these attitudes persist today with how our politicians treat our transgender kids. As we continue to strive for #genderEquality, it is essential to remember that true progress cannot exist without addressing the ways race, class, sexual orientation and privilege intersect with gender. In the words of bell hooks: "As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realized." If you want to do more about gender equality, you can sign this pledge to balance the power. #GenderEquity #EDIA #TransRights #BalanceThePower WISE Planet at UCalgary Informed Opinions

Did you know that Canadian women weren’t considered “persons” until 1929? 🙄 That’s a scant 95 years ago. On the last day of Women’s History Month in Canada, I’d like to share the story of not one, but five, groundbreaking Canadian women. We’re going back to 1927. By this time, most Canadian women were able to vote in federal elections and provincial elections. However, the way that the Canadian government interpreted the “British North America Act of 1867 (BNA Act)”, which was the law that created and governed the Dominion of Canada, meant that women were not “persons” and therefore could not be appointed to Senate. Between 1919 and 1927, various governments expressed an intention to appoint a woman to Senate, but they were unable to due to the BNA Act. In 1927, Emily Murphy (the first woman magistrate in the British Empire), invited four prominent women activists (Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney, and Henrietta Muir Edwards) to her home in Edmonton, to create and send a petition to the Canadian government regarding the interpretation of the word “persons” in the BNA Act. This group of women became known to Canadians as “The Famous 5”. Unsurprisingly, the (all male) Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously on 24 April 1928 that women were not “persons” under Section 24 of the BNA Act and were therefore ineligible for appointment to the Senate. The Famous 5 did not accept this decision, and so they obtained support and funding to appeal the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to the highest authority at the time – the Privy Council of England. In 1929, the Privy Council reversed the Supreme Court’s decision, concluding that “women are eligible to be summoned to and become members of the Senate of Canada”. The Privy Council’s decision meant that women could continue to work for greater rights and opportunities through the Senate as well as the House of Commons. It ALSO meant that women could no longer be denied rights based on narrow interpretation of the law. As of September 2023, 54% of Canada's 105 Senators are women. 😊

The colour... the vibrancy! This courageous collection of corflutes fills me with joy! Campaigns are in full swing in the Victorian Local Government elections and I am immensely proud to see so many of our #WomenLeadingLocally graduates stepping up with an aim to extend their community leadership into political leadership. The Women Leading Locally program is a non-partisan training Fellowship initiated by the Victorian Government, delivered by the Institute of Community Directors Australia and Women for Election, supported by Ruth McGowan OAM and The Orijen Group. The program aims to increase the representation of women councillors and mayors in Victoria by supporting 125 women from 31 target municipalities to stand in the local government elections, and the collage below represents only some of the program candidates! We know that 875 women have put their hands up to run in this election (39% of all candidates) and we're delighted to have played a role in lifting the total female candidate pool for council elections, along with other hard-working organisations such as ALGWA VIC, Victorian Local Governance Association, Municipal Association of Victoria and Pathways to Politics for Women. But I'm particularly proud that this program keenly focussed on supporting women in regional Victoria to stand for council, and for implementing quotas to ensure women from politically under-represented communities got access to this training, support and mentoring. The last council election held in Victoria was in 2020 lockdown, where first-time women candidates ran comprehensive online campaigns to #getelected, resulting in Victoria being the state closest to gender parity (at 44%) versus all other states and territories. What will happen this year? We'll find out in a matter of weeks (I can't wait!!!!) What I do know, is that these candidates have already changed the conversation in their electorates just by running - and we consider that to be a massive success at Women for Election. How many of them get elected is now up to the voting public! So make sure to #voteforawoman #localgovernment #auspol #womeninpolitics #womenpoliticalleaders LGPro VIC (Local Government Professionals) Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Expectations are high on this new HOUS committee of the European Parliament who will have by far less than half of the time that it needs to build a new multi-family dwelling, not counting the time it needs to prepare the ground, embed it into overall integrated urban development plans, look into its effects on social, environmental and economic sustainability and last but not least (would not be me) check its gender equality and participatory qualities. Stadt Wien is ready to work with HOUS. https://lnkd.in/d-74puHn