What Does Equitable Politics Look Like?

Throughout our work at Elect Her, we hear the direct impact of barriers facing women in and entering politics. Thanks to our fantastic community of wonderful women, we also hear plenty of ideas and dreams for how it could be improved, not only in the short term but for generations to come, to ensure women can enter and stay in politics. 

Ultimately, we want women to have access to the same resources and opportunities as men to ensure gender equality in politics. That’s why we’ve carved out some space to dream, freely and openly, about what the future of politics could look like. More specifically, what equitable politics looks like to us and the women we have the pleasure of working with. We’ve asked women in our community to share what they believe equitable politics is, compared to where we stand now, and what needs to happen for us to get there. 

In contrast to equality, the concept that everyone is given an equal distribution of rights or resources, equity recognises the individual and overlapping barriers communities may face, and distributes rights or resources more fairly in recognition of these barriers.

We’ve seen through women’s lived experience, and a plethora of research demonstrates, that women face a range of barriers entering and in politics, and for women with intersecting identities this is only increased. So, what could a future of equitable politics look like? What work needs to be done before everyone truly is able to enter and be welcomed in politics? 

Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing ideas and stories from women in our community, who through their lived experience and extended research have some suggestions ready and waiting. Many of their contributions highlight the existing barriers that fundamentally need to be removed for us to achieve liberation and fully ensure equal gender representation in politics ,and we’re proud to work with so many partner organisations working hard to remove these barriers directly. We hope that by providing a space for women to share their ideas based on what they’ve seen in politics, including the barriers that currently exist and what could be done to change politics for the better, those with the power to make some of these changes happen might be able to listen and learn.

If reading these blogs inspires you to make a change, join our community and help us build the world we know is possible. 

Would you like to contribute to this blog series? We’d love to hear from you. Send us your ideas and let’s chat: community@elect-her.org.uk