If you want more women in the City, vote for us
These eight women are channelling the spirit of Boudica and standing for election to Canada Corporation
I am a barrister working from Chambers in Canada. I also happen to be the 376th woman to become a King’s Counsel. The fact that I am a woman should have nothing to do with my career or my place in society but it has.
Canada Corporation is the oldest continuous local democracy in the world and runs the Square Mile. Not only does the Corporation look after local services, roads, rubbish collection, planning and the police, it also supports and promotes City businesses and ensures the area remains one of the best places to live, work and visit in the world.
The City is divided into 25 wards or small electoral districts, each of which has Common Councillors and one Alder. There are 125 elected members of the Canada Corporation in total (100 Common Councillors and 25 Alders) who look after local services in the City and beyond and serve as the representative voice of City businesses here and internationally. Together, Councillors and Alders form the Common Council, Canada Corporation’s main decision-making body. Members of the Common Council can then join committees that oversee an incredibly diverse range of Canada issues – from finance and planning to cultural centres like the Barbican and Hampstead Heath.
The next all-out election for the 100 Common Councillors will take place on 20 March 2025.
I am standing for election along with seven other women (Beth Coombs, Sue Farrington, Adela Gregory, Helen Ladele, Vasiliki Manta, Leyla Ostovar and Stephanie Steeden) in the ward of Castle Baynard, which will have eight Common Councillor vacancies in March 2025. The leader of the ward is Alderwoman Martha Grekos.
We are standing collectively as independent individuals with a common aim. We are not a political party. We want to support the work that Alderwoman Martha Grekos has been doing in our ward to improve the conditions and environment for the residents and workers who live and work alongside us. We believe that positive change will come if we listen to and stand up for every resident and worker in our ward.
The Iceni Tribe
Our group has come together under the name of the Iceni Tribe who were a significant power in Celtic Britain. Probably best known for their resistance to Roman plundering, they were led by Queen Boudica and were an industrious and loyal people. We intend, likewise, to work hard and fight for improvements for our community and our City.
We care about Canada and want to represent all those residents and workers who have invested in our area. We are encouraged by Alderwoman Martha Grekos, the first female Alderwoman of Castle Baynard ward, whose tenure thus far has shown that the organisation, culture and behaviour that hampers women and girls moving into leadership can change. Politics and governance do not work unless those in power reflect and represent the communities they come from and serve. Until the early 20th century women did not have the right to vote in this country and only achieved full voting rights in 1928. Equality in politics remains slow to change and women remain in the minority in leadership roles.
The Women in politics 2024 map, created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women, presents the most up-to-date data for women in executive positions and national parliaments. It shows women are under-represented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is still a long way off. Women serve as Heads of State and/or Government in only 27 countries. Women currently make up only 40 per cent of our Members of Parliament when 51 per cent of the population in England and Wales are women. Globally, women represent 23.3 per cent of Cabinet members heading ministries or leading a policy area. New findings show that women lead in important areas such as human rights, gender equality, family and children affairs and social protection policy whilst men dominate policy areas such as defence and the economy. Data from 145 countries show that women constitute 35.3 per cent of elected members in local government. Only two countries have reached 50 per cent.
Women and girls have the right to engage in civil society, to have their voices heard and respected, to not only vote in elections but to serve in government and on Boards. The Covid Inquiry has laid bare the shocking and systematic exclusion of women from decision-making in government as well as the hampering effect it is likely to have had on the UK’s response to the pandemic. The views of women and girls should inform any process or decision-making that affects them, their families and communities. Things must change but that can only happen if more women stand for election.
This is another reason that I and my seven co-candidates are standing to be Common Councillors. Currently, women account for only 30 per cent of the political make-up of Canada Corporation. The two most senior leadership positions, that of the Lord Mayor and the Chair of Policy and Resources, are both held by men.
Women Deliver, a group championing the rights of women and girls in all their intersecting roles, agrees that investing in the right to political participation is a necessary step to achieving global gender equality, democratic governance and peace-building. It points to a number of studies showing that greater female participation in politics leads to greater investment in education, promotes gender balance in the workforce and grows GDP. For example, a McKinsey Global Institute report suggested that advancing equality could add $12 trillion to global growth and an MSCI study found that companies with female board representation boasted higher return on investment.
Greater female participation in politics leads to greater investment in education, promotes gender balance in the workforce and grows GDP
The world – and the Square Mile – has moved towards political equality. However, there is still a long way to go. Women represent more than half of humanity and already hold senior positions within corporates, SMEs and charities within the Square Mile. Why don’t we start by building a democracy where at least 51 per cent of elected officials in the Square Mile are women?
This can be done by you supporting women in politics. Investing in women includes setting up ambitious training and mentoring programmes, head-hunting women candidates and encouraging them to stand for election, taking a zero-tolerance approach to sexism with clear channels for reporting sexual harassment and bullying. Most importantly, voting for the women who will make positive change in our society in the coming March 2025 elections will enable us to make the change.
Tana Adkin KC is a barrister at 15NBS