{"id":2658,"date":"2015-01-09T16:56:48","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T16:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=2658"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:56:48","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T16:56:48","slug":"special-manifesto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=2658","title":{"rendered":"Special manifesto"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not as well publicised is that women are increasingly rejecting the latent power they hold to change things.<\/p>\n

 
\nDuring 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 <\/a>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.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut 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<\/a>, from zero hours contracts<\/a>, and from being at the mercy of profit-flush, low-pay big businesses, such as hotels and restaurants, who exploit mostly female labour.<\/a><\/p>\n

 
\nThe Labour party, however, recently pledged to create a separate manifesto addressing the very specific concerns women have in a bid to reignite women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s participation in the political system.<\/p>\n

 
\nLabour 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s representation in areas such as public life and business.<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite assistant general secretary for equalities Diana Holland hailed Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manifesto for women.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite welcomes Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recognition that women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voices and experience must be central to the manifesto and to the general election campaign,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSince 2010, women of all ages have lost out on rights, fair pay, job security and equality.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015b2015 is women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Holland added.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI want a government that understands our lives\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nUnite also spoke to some of its women members on whether a special manifesto would appeal to them.<\/p>\n

 
\nCeri Wright, who works in a building society in Wales, is especially incensed by the way the current government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s policies have affected the lives of working women.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs working women, we are struggling to make ends meet,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI have to ask what future there is for our children,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Wright added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nJane Stewart works for Unilever in the Wirral, and she too, has become disillusioned by a government that refuses to understand the challenges women face.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m annoyed that as women we now have to work longer and longer for a meagre pension that won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cover our basic needs in retirement,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good that the Labour party have recognised that there are political issues which affect us as women,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Stewart added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m definitely voting Labour.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nSusan 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.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDiscrimination 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,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Wright said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so pleased that Labour is recognising child care is a big political issue,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Wright added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a big priority for working people.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not as well publicised is that women are increasingly rejecting the latent power they hold to change things.   During the last general election in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[171,210,209],"wps_subtitle":"A vote for Labour is a vote for women","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2659,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2658\/revisions\/2659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}