At the start of April, a report by the Fawcett Society and Democracy Club showed that a whopping 95% of local councils are male dominated. This means that only 18 of 382 local councils have achieved at least parity in gender representation.

The analysis showed that just 36% of the UK’s 19,212 councillors are women, which is a similar split to representation of women in the House of Commons, which currently stands at 35%.

Here in Islington, we are proud to have a diverse group of Labour councillors with the Labour Group consisting of 53% women. On top of this, the leader of the Council is a woman, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz, and a majority of our Council Executive are women.

In last year’s Local Elections, most of Islington Labour candidates were women, for a second set of elections in a row. But we recognise that representation is more than just gender. In May last year, we also had 12% of candidates identifying as LGBTQ+, 20% identifying as having a disability and 47% identifying as coming from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. We also elected Labour’s first openly trans councillor, Cllr Osh Gantly, in 2014.

While representation is important, so is action and that’s why Islington Labour’s fight for equality is reflected in the work of our Labour-run Council. Support for Islington women includes helping BAME women with access to affordable workspaces, investing in services to tackle violence against women and girls, and changing the Council’s housing allocations scheme to give survivors of domestic abuse higher priority.

Islington Council’s Women and Girls Champion, Councillor Saiqa Pandor, said:

“I am proud that here in Islington we have led the way in fighting for gender equality. We were the first Council in London to appoint a Women and Girls Champion, whose role it is to highlight what more can be done to protect the rights of women and girls, as well as championing services designed to support them and end violence against them.

 

As the Women and Girls Champion, I am committed to ensuring that services are designed with the groups that they serve, rather than for them. There is still a long way to go in supporting and listening to women, particularly marginalised women, whose voices are often not heard. As a result of their gender, women and girls continue to face harassment, prejudice and violence in their everyday lives, which is simply not good enough.

 

The steps that Islington Labour have taken to achieve true gender equality are a step in the right direction, but we can’t forget there is still a long way to go.”