Farewell to the Women’s Equality Party

Posted by Barbara on October 28, 2024 in Blog, Brexit, Europe, feminism, Politics, Women's equality issues | 2 comments

Remember the Women’s Equality Party (WE)? It was set up in 2015 in the belief and expectation that a small progressive political party could increase focus on issues like equal pay and affordable childcare.  On November 17^th it will hold a special conference where party members will vote on closing it down.

Sadly, this is not a question of ‘job done, let’s move on’.  According to the party’s leader Mandu Reid, a combination of financial challenges and a changed political and media landscape has led to the decision that WE is no longer the most effective way to campaign for women’s rights.  Thinking back over the last 10 years, it seems that the challenges to full equality for women are as formidable as ever.

Indeed, in some countries it seems the clock is going backwards rather than forwards; in the US in 2015 there was the first black President and the idea of Donald Trump gaining office seemed like a rather poor joke. Yet since his first term many women across the country have lost access to abortion, and – horror of horrors – if he wins again on November 4^th this could affect many millions more.

In 2015 the UK was in the EU and the idea that the following year a slender majority would vote to leave was not even on people’s radar.  Membership of the EU brought many advantages to women in Britain, and I highlighted some of these in an earlier blog: https://damesnet.com/?p=6973

So here we are in 2024 and the political landscape has radically changed; the party was always intended to function as an agent for change rather than being elected to office. So while that has not been as successful as hoped, the pressure they were able to exert did have some results.  One WE campaign worth noting was run during the 2019 election, focusing on abuse inside Westminster.  Mandu Reid explains how they stood survivors of male violence as candidates against MPs who had allegations of abuse or harassment against them that their parties were not investigating.  By targeting those seats specifically, they shone a spotlight on what was going on, and ensured that none of those MPs was returned to Westminster.

Now that sounds like an extremely successful campaign, but on reflection could have been orchestrated by a pressure group fielding candidates standing as Independents rather than being members of a particular party.  This may be a model for future campaigns; nevertheless it is a fact that right-wing parties are getting far more traction in the media than progressives. In the July general election the Reform party, which won five seats, got more media coverage than the Lib Dems who won 72 seats, while the Greens, who won four seats, were barely seen in the traditional media channels.

The good news is that the very existence of WE succeeded in making more women politically aware and keen to challenge those customs and practices which still favour men over women. Let’s raise a glass to co-founders Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer.  Dames, you done good.