Our Values
We believe the world will be a better place when more women are in power.
We are committed to building a world where at least 51% of elected officials are women.
Our core values drive our work and team:
We are accessible, collaborative, intentional, motivating and unapologetic.
We are committed to supporting women in all their positionalities: diversity of age, race, sexual orientation, geographical location, and political identity. No woman is left behind.
We are unfailingly positive and future focused. We will do this!
We are flexible and agile. We adapt ourselves to women’s busy lives
We are a learning organisation. We always strive to listen and grow.
We are multi-partisan. We need more women in leadership, in all parties and beyond.
We care. For our democracy, for our community, for ourselves and each other.
For all women
Elect Her is here to support all women, who are currently under-represented in positions of power across society, to stand for election and become leaders in their communities. We are nurturing a community of women who are exploring their pathway to politics. Our offer of support, training, resources, and sisterhood is open for any woman who wishes to access it.
Politics is a tough, tough place for women and we aren’t pretending it is anything else. But as an organisation we strive to centre hope & joy. We are optimistic pragmatists – realistic about the systemic and individual challenges that women face, but optimistic that when there are more women in power, those challenges will subside. We position ourselves as part of the support team for those women choosing to take on the challenge.
When you are in politics, you have to represent constituents whom you strongly disagree with.
Sharing community and experience with women with very different experiences and perspectives is a key part of our work at Elect Her. Women in our community have experienced sexism, racism, ableism, classism, homophobia, and other forms of phobia in radically different ways. They may have very different understandings of patriarchy, feminism and what urgently needs to change. Our mission of equal representation for women across all spheres of politics brings us together and is our common ground.
Our events are radically welcoming, diverse and joyful. We make sure that accessibility is at the centre of our planning and budgeting. Women from different political parties, who deeply disagree on policy, are able to share tips about navigating their party structures. Religious women, trans-women, and gender critical feminists have all told us that they feel genuinely part of the community – even though, as in many families, they might have radically different perspectives on high stakes political debates. We welcome all women to participate in Elect Her’s activities.
For some, sharing space with others with whom you have different perspectives may feel too difficult or challenging. If that is the case, we recommend that you access our self-led resources and our 1-1 Ask Her sessions. These are less about sharing experience and community with others, and more about supporting you in navigating your own personal pathway to politics.
At all of our events, we ask that all participants be sensitive to the radical diversity of our community, and commit to our values of equality, respect, inclusivity and compassion.
We don’t talk about policy or positioning at Elect Her – we are in the micro details of how to stand for election as a councillor, how to juggle family life if elected as an MP or what form you fill in to report your finances after an election campaign.
We aren’t assessing or judging women for their beliefs or ideologies. We don’t have the resources nor the inclination to do this. We need women from across the political spectrum making plans for their political future and coming forward as future candidates.
Disrespect and hate speech will not be tolerated and our team have the right to ask participants to leave if they feel they are not respecting the values of Elect Her. Hate speech is commonly defined as: “Expressions of hatred toward someone on account of that person's colour, race, disability, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origin, religion, LGBTQIA+ status, or other equality strands.” We would add that targeting individuals for their political affiliations would also be considered unacceptable in the Elect Her community.
We recognise the tensions of holding this inclusive space but will do the work to do so nonetheless. There is room for everyone and we will not allow divisions within wider society to create divisions within our work. We simply ask for respect for others.