In this session, Mandu Reid, leader of The Women’s Equality Party (WEP), discusses the WEP manifesto, why London is ready to become the first gender-equal city in the world and why equality for women is not only a women’s issue.
The WEP makes change by breaking the rules. From an idea, The WEP has now grown to 30,000 members and supporters.
Reid states: “We are deliberately and covertly collaborative. We practice political polyamory, we allow members of our party to be members other parties. We encourage plagiarism, we want others to copy us.” The WEP is not a “single-issue party”, she adds. Gender inequality is interwoven with issues such as housing, health, transport and even Covid-19.
The WEP is close to getting The Recall Act changed, meaning that voters will be able to remove MPs over sexual misconduct. “You cannot change the world, if you don’t change the system,” says Reid.
“We need to have more women around the table, representation is part of this battle. It’s all about freedom, fairness and everyone fulfilling your potential” commented Reid.
What can people do to drive equality every day?
Reid said: “For men, have a zero-tolerance attitude to sexism. A man’s voice speaking out against sexism and injustice is a powerful thing.
“In the workplace, demand for polices and approaches to balance things out.”
“For women, join organisations. Connect up with other women to help you find your vocabulary for these issues.”
