Issued by the News
Distribution Service on behalf of the Government Equalities Office
New scheme to target the chronic under-representation of ethnic
minority women in local government
Maria Eagle, Deputy Minister for Women and Equality, will today
launch the first national mentoring programme designed to increase
the numbers of black, Asian and minority ethnic women (BAME)
becoming local councillors.
BAME women are starkly under-represented in politics at every
level. Local politics is often seen as a first step to national
politics. BAME women account for less than one per cent of all
local councillors in England, despite making up nearly five per
cent of the population. To fully reflect society, the number of
women BAME councillors would have to rise nearer to 1000.
The ground-breaking mentoring programme, commissioned by the
Government Equalities Office and run by Operation Black Vote, will
provide development and training to 60 BAME women in up to 30
local authorities with the aim of seeing these women take the next
steps into public life.
For six months, the women will be mentored by members of the BAME
Women Councillors Taskforce and a wider network of BAME women
councillors and will spend at least four days shadowing a local
councillor from within their local authority to gain first-hand
insight into the position.
Maria Eagle said:
“Democracy is most effective when its
representation reflects the community it serves.
“Black and Asian women are under-represented in local government.
The first step towards addressing this is to engage and interest
more women in running for these roles.
“The ongoing support for the mentoring programme will be a
crucial first step for the many women who want to become involved
in public life.”
In addition to the mentoring programme:
• A further 50 women
will undergo a community leadership course to learn more about the
role of a local councillor;
• The Taskforce engaged nearly
1100 high-calibre women through their BAME outreach programme in
the past year.
The leadership programme and the community leadership course, to
be run by Operation Black Vote and Solace Enterprises
respectively, are a legacy of the Women Councillors Taskforce,
which presented its final report to Harriet Harman today
containing recommendations to further improve local representation
of BAME women.
Hamira Khan is 30 years old and will be shadowing a councillor in
Glasgow as part of the mentoring programme. Ms Khan said:
“I wish to inspire and encourage members of the BME community to
participate in our democratic system.
“There is an obvious under-representation of BME people in the
political arena, and they need people like me who are motivated to
make a difference and inspire/encourage them to participate, give
something back to their local community and achieve personal success.”
Francine Fernandes, OBV’s Head of Shadowing Schemes said:
“Wasting so much talent for Operation Black Vote is not an
option. Our communities, our institutions and wider society
greatly benefit from utilising the deluge of BAME talent within
the political arena.
“The outcome of these women taking their place in local
governance will without doubt, transform their locality and
greatly enhance our democracy.”
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Please contact the Government Equalities
Office press office on 0207 276 0988.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Quotes are available for participants in
each of the local authorities involved in the mentoring programme.
2. The Government established the cross-party Taskforce in May
2008 to find practical ways to increase the numbers of BAME women
councillors. More details can be found on the Government
Equalities website www.equalities.gov.uk.
3. The Government Equalities Office is responsible for the
Government’s overall strategy, legislation and priorities on
equality issues. It was established in October 2007. The Office
also has direct responsibility for policy on gender equality,
sexual orientation, and for integrating work on race and religion
or belief into the overall equality framework.
Contacts:
Government Equalities Office press office
Phone: 0207 276 0932
nds@coi.gsi.gov.uk