Special manifesto

It’s well known that women are marginalised in many areas of public and private life, from pay to childcare to representation in big business, government institutions and more. But what’s not as well publicised is that women are increasingly rejecting the latent power they hold to change things.

 
During the last general election in 2010, over 9m women chose not to cast their vote, compared to 8m men, and new research from the House of Commons Library suggests the voter turnout gap between the sexes is growing. In 1992, more women voted than men did, but now the trend has reversed and continues to worsen.

 
But who can blame women for staying at home on election day, when the status quo and its attendant government encourages policies that push women further and further to the edge? After all, women suffer more from austerity, from zero hours contracts, and from being at the mercy of profit-flush, low-pay big businesses, such as hotels and restaurants, who exploit mostly female labour.

 
The Labour party, however, recently pledged to create a separate manifesto addressing the very specific concerns women have in a bid to reignite women’s participation in the political system.

 
Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman announced earlier this week that the manifesto will include childcare, help for older women who have to work until they are older as well as juggling childcare duties as grandparents, domestic violence, equal pay, and women’s representation in areas such as public life and business.

 
Unite assistant general secretary for equalities Diana Holland hailed Labour’s manifesto for women.

 
“Unite welcomes Labour’s recognition that women’s voices and experience must be central to the manifesto and to the general election campaign,” she said. “Since 2010, women of all ages have lost out on rights, fair pay, job security and equality.”

 
“2015 is women’s chance to change this. Women need to know that their votes can make a difference for the better to their own lives, to their families, to their communities and to the kind of society we live in,” Holland added.

 
“I want a government that understands our lives”

 
Unite also spoke to some of its women members on whether a special manifesto would appeal to them.

 
Ceri Wright, who works in a building society in Wales, is especially incensed by the way the current government’s policies have affected the lives of working women.

 
“As working women, we are struggling to make ends meet,” she said. “We are working in a world where we have long working hours of unpaid overtime, two or three part-time jobs, insecure work and zero hours contracts.”

 
“I have to ask what future there is for our children,” Wright added. “The current government has decided working women will pay when it comes to the austerity measures. I would encourage working women to register to vote, vote Labour and make sure we get a Labour government in 2015.”

 
Jane Stewart works for Unilever in the Wirral, and she too, has become disillusioned by a government that refuses to understand the challenges women face.

 
“I’m annoyed that as women we now have to work longer and longer for a meagre pension that won’t cover our basic needs in retirement,” she said. “I want a government that understands our lives and our issues rather than the private-schooled, over-privileged rich boys club which is currently in power.”

 
“It’s good that the Labour party have recognised that there are political issues which affect us as women,” Stewart added. “I’m definitely voting Labour.”

 
Susan Wright lives in London and gives people advice when they have a problem at work. She explains how workplace discrimination against women is now more commonplace than ever.

 
“Discrimination is definitely on the increase because now it costs money to take your employer to an employment tribunal, and bad bosses think they can get away with it,” Wright said. “When we get pregnant we are more likely to be sacked or side lined and if we can return to work we have to juggle child care.”

 
“I’m so pleased that Labour is recognising child care is a big political issue,” Wright added. “It’s a big priority for working people.”