We were pleased to meet with Sir Alan Campbell MP, Leader of the House of Commons, alongside Lyanne Nicholl from 50:50 Parliament to discuss how Parliament can better support women’s participation and progression.
We welcomed the Modernisation Committee‘s work on accessibility, particularly recommendations on greater predictability in scheduling and remote access to committees, as well as the work being done by the Procedure Committee to look at call lists and electronic voting.
While recognising this progress, we also made the case for a more explicit and dedicated focus on women’s experiences in Parliament, and on the specific barriers women face. We highlighted existing evidence, including The Good Parliament Report by Professor Sarah Childs and the Open House Report by Dr Minna Cowper-Coles, and we suggested that the Modernisation Committee could play a key role in taking these recommendations forward.
We also discussed the need for Parliament to take a more institutional approach to addressing violence against women in politics and shared Westminster Foundation for Democracy‘s MINA methodology, which provides a practical framework for change.
It was a constructive and positive meeting and we look forward to continuing to work together to ensure Parliament is a workplace where women can thrive – and where future candidates can see that they belong.