Today is International Women's Day
International Women's Day
Each year, women celebrate the 8th March as a chance to remember the advancement of women's rights and the women who led the way, whilst remembering our continued action to maintain and advance women's rights globally, in all aspects of life.
Thousands of events will be held across the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. They will range from rallies, conferences and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatrical and musical performances.
For International Women's Day 2018, we're asking you to #PressforProgress. Its aim is to motivate whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.
In a message for International Women's Day, our Suffolk County Councillor for Woodbridge, Caroline Page said:
"Less than one in 3 councillors at Suffolk County Council are women. Suffolk's LDGI group (Lib Dem, Green & Independent Group) the only Spokesperson for Women in any Suffolk party (me). I am one of only 2 women representing the county in East Suffolk, birthplace of women's higher education, home of Women's Suffrage.
A crying shame when you consider that half of our county's population are women - about 370,000 of us occupying Suffolk's 3800 square kilometres. Spread evenly across the county we'd be in shouting distance of each other - if we shouted very loud ..and we've a lot of reasons to shout!
The gender pay gap in Suffolk is 22.2% - above the national average. Suffolk has a higher than average level of violence against women. Last year, I established that Suffolk was not a good place to be a girl. I suspect that representation is linked to outcome. So why so few women representing us?
Many women simply don't think of themselves as elected representative material. A lot of women just don't realise they have the skills, or that their experience has value. A shame, because so many women's lives have required them to develop the skills sets, the energy, the drive, the determination, the ability to multi-task and the fire in our bellies to be very good representatives indeed.
Yet politics shouldn't a game of "them" and "us" - its about how 'we' want to get 'o ' our ' country, county, town to work - and where women are concerned it's a numbers game.
Women of Suffolk - our numbers and our expertise will ensure that we can make it better for all of us in towns, in counties, in our country if we step up to the plate and have belief in our own capacities".
It really is as simple as that!
SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Ask a woman to stand for public office - When just one in three councillors, and 17% of council leaders, are women, the Fawcett Society and the LGiU have spent the last year asking: does local government work for women?
We too need to improve as a party, our paper and target candidates' diversity.
So if you would like to explore how you can be selected as a Liberal Democrat candidate contact us and we will be pleased to discuss this with you. If you are not yet a member of the Party then why not come and join us?
Happy International Women's Day.
