Senedd takeover aims to inspire more women to enter politics
The floor of the Senedd will be given over entirely to women this weekend for an event which aims to inspire more women to enter politics and public life.
We Belong Here: Women’s Takeover of the Senedd takes place on Saturday ( 21 October), featuring inspirational talks, discussion and workshops.
Members of the Senedd and other leaders from political and public office, also will share their experiences and encourage discussion on achieving equal and diverse representation.
We Belong Here is organised by Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales and Elect Her in partnership with Senedd Cymru, Welsh Government and a host of other organisations.
Llywydd of the Senedd, the Right Honourable Elin Jones MS said: “Twenty years on from when the Senedd became the first legislature in the world to achieve gender equality among its members, there is still so much work to be done.
“The We Belong Here event encapsulates a vision of a Wales where not only more of our leaders and legislators are women, but in particular women with protected characteristic, whether they be disabled women, women from an ethnic minority background or LGBTQ+ women.
“Thank you to WEN Wales and Elect Her for working alongside the Senedd to organise a day set to be filled with big ideas, inspiring conversations, and valuable practical advice on how to take your next step towards standing for office.”
Change
Joyce Watson MS, Senedd Commissioner for Equality and Chair of the Senedd Women’s Caucus added: “I’m so pleased to support this very special event as we aim to encourage women from all backgrounds, from all over Wales to get involved in politics.
“Much like the Senedd Women’s Caucus, We Belong Here is a force for change by creating a space for women to connect and for ideas to be shared. For those of us already elected or in positions of influence, it is also a reminder to bring other women along with us for the journey and to make these spaces safe, inclusive and welcoming as we do so. I look forward to a day of challenging discussions in the company of inspirational speakers.”
The opening session of the event will be streamed live on senedd.tv and features keynote speeches from, Welsh Government Minister Jane Hutt MS, Councillor and disability activist Sara Pickard and and Shavanah Taj, the first ethnic minority general secretary in TUC Wales.
More information about the day’s workshops is available on the WEN Wales website.
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Well I can tell you it was a waste of public funds. Most politicians there can’t even implement the Equality Act 2010 which lists the protected characteristic of SEX, but these representatives talked all day about gender – which is not a protected characteristic and a misinterpretation of the law. They want women to accept that men can now call themselves women – no Gender Reassignment necessary in Wales.. So just like that the word “woman”has been redefined in Wales to include men. Disgraceful back door gender self ID – shame on them. Oh and just so you know, public… Read more »
I think you will find that it is SEX which is the protected characteristic according to the Equality Act 2010. That’s an interesting little side step you you can include Transwomen. But you see, transwomen are actually men who identify as women, they aren’t actually women.
I attended the event and it was nothing but a finely stage managed piece of theatre. All MSs, speakers and stall holders towing the line of WG’s belief that men can be women. There was no opportunity to challenge and when I did I was ushered from the stage. My colleague while asking about lesbians being same sex attracted was told that was hate speech. Don’t believe anything WG say. Try dont care what the public say or want. They’re behest to Stonewall who if they had their way would trans away gay people and lock all women who disagreed… Read more »
What a waste of time this was and I dread to think how much money had been spent so WEN and Welsh Govt could pay themselves on the back. I hoped it would be a really meaningful and powerful event. Total disappointment. It was not only tedious and geared towards those already holding posts in Govt etc pontificating to women how worthy they were, but it was stage managed and controlled too. Any dissenting opinion, however courteous was quashed. WEN and Welsh Govt have a definition of women that includes men who wish to call themselves women. For instance, when… Read more »
What a huge disappointment this event was. Showboating by various Welsh Govt representatives talking about how marvelous they all were and shutting out any genuine participation by women attending. God forbid they would be asked any questions about their policy decisions affecting women, they certainly weren’t having any risk of that! It was as if we were meant to be grateful to be in their presence and that this should suffice to give us a warm glow. It didn’t. There was no magic political dust that was going to rub off on us. The whole event was beige at best.… Read more »