This is what a feminist looks like

I just signed a pledge set up by the brilliant Fawcett Society saying that I will take action for women if elected as an Assembly member. I joined up too, their work is even more important as women, especially those on low incomes, come under increasing attack from the government.The recent statistics on inequality in the capital are shocking.

The Fawcett Society report:
-Women in London experience a pay gap of almost 23 per cent – some fifty per cent higher than the national average of less than 15 per cent. This means that for every £100 men take home, women will take home an average £77
-There are a higher number of sexual offences per capita in London than in any other UK region.
-Childcare costs in London are typically a third higher than the national average
-London has the lowest level of maternal employment in the country - just over half of London mothers with dependent children work, compared to almost two thirds across the UK.
-London is home to more lone parents than anywhere else  – the demographic worse affected by recent changes to the welfare system (lone parents can expect to lose an average month’s worth of income by 2015 because of changes to the welfare system.

The Green Party has strong policies in this area including:

On the Fawcett march last year protesting against government policy
'turning back to clock on women's rights'.

* Introduce a law to ensure that boards of major companies are at least 40% female. (Following the model in Norway)
* Insist that all large and medium-size companies carry out equal pay audits, and redress inequalities uncovered; and that the law be changed to make joint suits for equal pay cases simpler.
* Implement its model policy for dealing with domestic abuse (including domestic violence) which recognizes that the needs and desires of the victims must be paramount, and that all service providers who come into contact with potentially vulnerable women need to be trained to provide appropriate assistance
* Ensure that rape crisis centres and domestic violence centres receive guaranteed funding from core budgets so that they are not forced to operate in a state of constant funding uncertainty.
*Recognise that work consists of many tasks other than those that are currently paid.
To list just a few.

And our manifesto for London recognises these issues women face in London and that fact that women are being most severely affected by the cuts, do have a read.