---
election_year: 2016
party_id: wep
party_name: "Women's Equality Party"
party_leader: Sophie Walker
political_spectrum: other
victory: false
government_outcome: opposition
sections:
  - economy
  - taxation
  - health
  - education
  - housing
  - immigration
  - foreign-policy
  - environment
  - transport
  - law-and-order
  - welfare
  - democracy-and-constitution
  - science-and-technology
  - local-government
---

# Women's Equality Party London Mayoral Manifesto 2016

Because equality is better for everyone
womensequality.org.uk

# A manifesto for a more equal London

Nowhere in the world do women enjoy full equality. This represents a shameful waste of potential – for women, for the countries that fail to harness their talents and for the societies living in conflict instead of in mutual respect. This also represents a huge opportunity.

WE are the Women’s Equality Party, a new collaborative force uniting people of all genders, ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, beliefs and experiences in the shared determination to put equality at the top of the political agenda.

Women and girls are falling behind in London. They are more likely to be living in poverty and less likely to have a job. They are being told in schools that their gender limits their future options, a self-fulfilling prophecy that is reinforced by the many sectors that fail to value women as much as men, from big business and technology to London’s famed cultural industries.

Women and girls experience harassment on our streets, in our parks and on our public transport system. Domestic violence rates in London have jumped. Waiting lists for rape crisis services continue to grow. Women experiencing multiple forms of discrimination are hit particularly hard.

Women’s and girls’ needs, rights and realities are being ignored and this hurts everybody, from fathers who are denied the opportunity to enjoy parenting to businesses that are missing half their talent. Everyone benefits when women are enabled to be fully engaged citizens, decision-makers and leaders, and to contribute to jobs and growth, and when the work women do as carers is acknowledged and properly valued.

WE are ready to lead London to become
the first city in the world where all genders
are equal. That means a fairer and greener
society, better politics, a more vibrant
economy and a workforce that draws on the
talents of the whole population. WE aren’t
professional politicians. WE aren’t interested
in gaining power for its own sake. WE are a
diverse movement of energetic, experienced
and robust women who are ready to make a difference; who just want to get the job done.
WE are collaborative and not afraid of new
ideas. WE will lead by example and make
sure equality and diversity is embedded in
everything WE do. After all, London is a global
city – defined by its diversity.

Vote Sophie Walker for Mayor of London and
vote for our vibrant list of candidates for the
London Assembly. WE will make sure your
vote counts every day.

**Sophie Walker**
London Mayoral Candidate and Leader
of the Women’s Equality Party

## WE

I have lived in London for twenty years. A few times I have left to make a life somewhere else. Each time I have returned.

London pulls people to it. It is a powerfully magnetic city. It is a thrilling city that appears to offer limitless opportunity. But it is a cruel city for many of the women living here. For women, London is full of obstacles and pitfalls and dangers.

That is why I am standing for the Women’s Equality Party (WE). I never set out to be a politician. I thought that was for other people. But then I found myself still waiting for those other people to make London the best city it can be.

WE want to create a London that gives women the same chances to work as men; that celebrates and rewards their achievements and encourages women and girls to step forward with their ideas.

WE want to create a London that respects women and honours their right to personal and public space and safe movement around its streets and transport networks.

WE want to create a London where the women who make their home here can afford their houses, feel part of a welcoming community, and find refuge should they need it.

WE want to create a London where all of our daughters – in all their rich and intersecting diversity – can thrive and pass on to their daughters the knowledge that this city will nurture them.

Diversity is the motor that makes any city flourish. But if you want to see diversity, you have got to get out there and be it. If you want a system that appreciates and embraces diversity, you have got to get out there and build it.

So I am stepping up. It’s time to build a new London. It’s time to bring imagination into City Hall so that we can make this city the best city in the world – by making it the first where all genders are equal.

On 5th May you can help make everyone in London equal every day. You have four votes: two for Mayor and two for the Greater London Assembly. Make one of each a vote for equality: a vote for the Women’s Equality Party.

Let’s be the change we want to see.

Because equality is better for everyone.

Sophie Walker

## Contents
- Who WE are 7
- What WE stand for 7
- Our policies 8
  - Work that works 10
  - Valuing care 12
  - Ending violence against women 14
  - Affordable housing 16
  - Transport for all 18
  - Equal enterprise 21
  - Gender-informed policies 23

## Who WE are

The Women’s Equality Party was founded in 2015. In our first year, WE have grown into a robust political force with over 45,000 members and registered supporters.
WE are standing for election for the first time in May.
Our manifesto has been shaped by ideas and suggestions from our members and supporters. WE have also consulted with advocacy groups, campaigning organisations and policy-makers to build on existing expertise.
Our policies aim to recognise and address the fact that many women experience additional inequalities due to the intersections of socio-economic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, disability, immigration status and gender identity. WE also recognise that the binary words ‘woman’ and ‘man’ do not reflect the gender experience of everyone in London, and support the right of all to define their sex or gender or to reject gendered divisions as they choose.

## What WE stand for

WE work across the political spectrum to achieve our six core goals:

*   Equal pay and opportunity at work and in our economy.
*   Equal parenting and caregiving so that everyone has the same opportunity in family life.
*   An end to violence against women.
*   Equal representation in politics, business and industry.
*   Equal treatment of women by and in the media.
*   An equal education system that creates the same opportunities for all children.

WE do not take a party line on issues outside our remit: to bring about equality for women. WE have not taken a party line on the European referendum but note that many important rights and protections for women have emanated from Europe. Whether Britain stays in the EU or leaves, these rights and protections are vital and must not be rolled back but should instead be realised to the fullest extent.

WE work with other political parties, with businesses, public bodies, organisations and institutions all across the UK to achieve our goals. And WE will not rest until equality for women has been achieved.

# Our policies

Our seven-point plan will make London the most progressive city in the world:

### **Work that works** – Forty-five years after the Equal Pay Act the gender pay gap still exists. WE will make work flexible, promotion fair and pay equal. Part of the answer to London’s housing crisis is to put more money into women’s pockets by enabling them to work the hours they want and paying them fairly for it.

### **Valuing care** – Nothing is a bigger barrier to women’s employment than unaffordable childcare. The chronic recruitment crisis in care for older people is further curtailing women’s employment opportunities. WE will work towards a system of childcare for all children from the end of paid parental leave at nine months and draw up a pan-London approach to meet the demand for care for older and disabled people. WE value carers for their contribution to London’s society and economy.

### **Ending violence against women and girls** – Last year 5,500 rapes and over 146,000 incidents of domestic violence were recorded in London. WE will put prevention, protection, provision and justice at the heart of all our policies and not rest until violence against women and girls has been eliminated.

### **Affordable housing** – There is no silver bullet for a housing crisis on the scale London is facing. Instead of the current piecemeal plans, divided along party lines, we need to combine the vision and scale of our collective ambition in a cross-party committee. Within that work WE will consider what ‘affordable’ means for women who are less likely to be in work and more likely to be living in poverty, and what having a home means for women who have been victimised by domestic violence and forced out of their homes while the perpetrator stays there.

## **Transport for all**
– London’s great transport system has to work for all of us. WE will make it safe and accessible, not pitting wheelchairs and pushchairs against each other for limited space. WE will also build cycle facilities so that more women and children can cycle safely around the capital and WE will work to ensure that planning takes into account other forms of road use.

## **Equal Enterprise**
– No society can thrive without harnessing the smartest and most creative minds. WE will enrich London’s economy by giving flight to new ideas, attracting top talent, and by creating an imaginative approach to new business.

## **Gender-informed policies**
– The decisions of the London Assembly affect men and women differently, and too often men’s jobs are seen as investment while women’s jobs are seen as expenses to be cut. The mayor’s budget should work for gender equality and ensure that all of us have a fair chance.

## Work that works
Shifting the economy to enable more flexible and part-time working, to enable women and men to make real decisions about how they balance work and family, and to help businesses grow faster and more efficiently by attracting and keeping the best talent.

Too many women in London are trapped at home, unable to afford to work, because of the sky-high costs of childcare, high transport costs and lack of good, flexible jobs. Childcare costs in London are the highest in the country and women’s employment rates the lowest. Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) women, women born outside the UK, and disabled women are hit the hardest.

Businesses are neither paying women equally nor giving them equal opportunities to progress to leadership and board positions. Similarly, the public sector gender pay gap has increased and cuts to public services are driving more women into low-paid, insecure employment. High-paying sectors, like finance and technology, are still dominated by men, and employment tribunals are too expensive for women who want to challenge discrimination in the workplace. And the creative industries are missing out on women’s talent.

Enabling London’s women to work the hours and jobs they want would add an estimated £70 billion to London’s economy; creating more jobs, cutting the skills shortage, increasing public revenues and significantly adding to our quality of life.

### WE will:
*   **Lead by example** – Make every job under the Greater London Authority flexible by default and open to job-sharing unless there is a good business reason not to; publish pay with full transparency and establish equal pay for all; ensure that part-time jobs are paid at the same hourly rate as their full-time equivalents; and make gender-balanced senior appointments for all positions and boards under the mayor’s control.

- **Help with jobs** – Task the London Enterprise Panel with prioritising parental employment and expand the ‘Routes to Work for Parents’ programme by focusing on quality jobs for women who are re-entering the labour market, with extra support for young mothers and for survivors of violence and abuse who are struggling to get back to work.
- **Provide flexible workspace** – Encourage London’s fast-growing pop-up work hubs to offer part-time bookings and provide childcare facilities.
- **Be creative** – Increase women’s share in the creative industries by protecting music and arts venues, including LBT venues, and offering discounted advertising space on the public transport network for smaller arts organisations.
- **Offer training and support** – Help business and the public sector draw from a wider talent pool, including single mothers, disabled women and anyone who cannot work full-time due to health issues or caring responsibilities. We will support new technologies that can enable more women, including disabled women, to flourish in good jobs.
- **Encourage business support for equality** – Recognise business leaders who are ‘smarter working champions’ through a Mayor’s Smarter Working Award and create a ‘London Equal Wage’ kitemark as part of a push to get more businesses publishing their figures on equal pay and equal promotion.
- **Help with childcare** – Build more on-site crèches – with City Hall leading the way – by creating a business rate relief scheme for companies that provide childcare facilities for their staff and neighbours, and making sure London is given the capital investment needed for the up-front costs of expanding childcare.
- **Combat discrimination** – Establish a task force to work with employers to tackle employment discrimination and build workplaces that celebrate diversity, not only because it is the right thing to do but also because it is the smart thing to do. We will prioritise bringing down the alarming rates of pregnancy discrimination in employment.
- **Give flight to new ideas** – Use the mayor’s convening power to bring together public and private employers, unions, professional associations, think-tanks, academics, NGOs, independent experts and others with creative ideas for how London can become the leading global city where people in all sectors can combine family and work life. This will not only put London at the forefront of gender equality and diversity, but will also add significantly to our economic growth.

## Valuing care
Tackling the sky-high costs of caring for children and relatives and providing vital services for all families. London’s carers deserve better. Let’s value them, listen to them and help them balance family and work. And let’s create a Caring Economy, in which everyone understands that raising and educating a child, and caring for relatives, provides value for our whole society.

Women make up the majority of those who take long or short breaks from work to take care of children and disabled and older relatives. There are 28,000 women in London who work full-time but still provide more than 20 hours of unpaid care every week, with almost half of them working more than 50 hours in addition to their full-time jobs. Most women are carers at some stages of their lives and care demands are rising.

Care is neither recognised nor valued as the often joyful and sometimes challenging experience it is. Long working hours, lengthy and expensive commutes and high costs of childcare and after-school activities make it impossible for parents who want or need to work to balance their jobs and family life. The stark gender inequalities in unpaid care work, lack of quality part-time jobs and the gender pay gap leave too many carers with only one option – to stay at home. Women, especially single mums, are dropping out of work and men are working ever-longer hours, dropping out of their families.

WE believe this is the ‘big issue’ for anyone serious about improving the lives of Londoners. The next Mayor of London cannot afford to overlook the caring crisis that is driving families into poverty, or the opportunities that a better work-life balance can bring to our city. WE will lead the way in building a world-class Caring Economy.

### WE will:
*   Close the care gap – Work towards a system of childcare for all children from the end of paid parental leave at nine months. The first 15 hours a week – where the educational benefits of childcare are clearest – should be free, with the rest payable at £1 an hour by parents.

### Make childcare flexible
– Guarantee a voucher alternative of equivalent value for parents who work more varied hours and need more flexible childcare. Work with childcare providers to encourage a more responsive offer to fit with parents’ working patterns, including negotiating a fair market rate for providers in London.

### Put public land to good use
– Release surplus public land in London for the development of childcare premises, starting with the Greater London Authority’s estates. Create a business rate relief scheme for companies that provide childcare facilities on-site, and require new housing developments to contribute towards the development of childcare premises.

### Connect parents and providers
– Provide a pan-London brokerage service to help parents find their nearest childcare provider, using digital technology and open data from local Family Information Services. This will help providers identify new business opportunities too.

### Offer a London Baby Box
– Provide all newborn babies and new parents with the essentials for the first months, such as baby clothing, bedclothes and hygiene products, because every child deserves a fair start.

### Convene a commission on care
– Get a full picture of the social care situation in London and draw up a pan-London approach to meet the demand for care for older and disabled people, and to tackle the chronic carer recruitment problem.

### Expect a living wage for carers
– Encourage all care providers to pay their employees at least a living wage and make sure that quality training is on offer to support carers in turning their skills into a vocation.

### Increase rights at work
– Recognise and value caring by encouraging employers to provide 5–10 days of paid care leave each year, a period of adjustment leave, and a ‘day one’ right to request flexible working.

### Create a London Carers’ Forum
– To monitor and push for continued progress and incorporate more City companies into the Employers for Carers scheme.

## Ending violence against women

Freeing everyone to live without fear of violence or harassment. Let’s build stronger communities and make prevention, protection, provision and justice a top priority.

From street harassment to rape and domestic violence, rates of male violence against women and girls are on the rise. Eighty-five per cent of young women experience harassment on our streets. There are, on average, over 15 recorded rapes in London every single day. Women are still being made homeless while abusive ex-partners continue living in the family home. BME women, disabled women, and women with uncertain immigration status are more likely to experience violence and are also exposed to different forms of it, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, and domestic abuse. London is also a destination for sex trafficking, which involves some of the most brutal human rights violations of our times.
None of this can be dismissed as individual or isolated incidents. This is structural violence that limits women’s opportunities and restricts their freedom in public space, as well as at home. Violence against women and girls is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality and London’s economy is losing millions of pounds every year to violence against women. Women cannot afford to pay this price. Neither can our communities.

### WE will:

*   **Teach the next generation to respect and protect one another** – Provide the foundation for specialist sex and relationships classes in all London schools to help our young people form healthy relationships and understand consent. We will also work with the London Child Safeguarding Board, OFSTED, and NHS England to encourage a whole-school approach to tackling violence against girls, ensuring that staff are trained to recognise and respond to signs of violence.
*   **Tackle violence** – Build on the pan-London strategy on Violence Against Women and Girls, in partnership with women’s organisations, and deliver a holistic approach to tackling violence against women and girls.

### ▶ Support specialist services –
Ring-fence sufficient and sustainable funding for specialist support services that are for and led by women, including BME women and disabled women. This calls for a holistic, inclusive funding approach that actively supports smaller organisations with specialist expertise, and also enables agencies such as Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis to provide services to all women, including those with uncertain immigration status and adult survivors of child sexual abuse.

### ▶ Improve sexual health –
Protect, support and work with women’s sexual health clinics, ensuring that women receive the specialist services they need.

### ▶ Make refuge accessible –
Establish a London-wide register of accessible refuge spaces and find ways to increase the numbers of Independent Domestic Violence Advisors who work with disabled women.

### ▶ Modernise policing –
Create a more diverse police force and train officers to understand the nature and consequences of male violence against women, including why women may choose not to report it or speak up. Build a police force that understands and engages effectively with modern technology and its role in new forms of violence against women and girls, such as revenge porn, sexting and the grooming of girls by predators.

### ▶ Improve responses to sexual violence –
Work with London-based organisations, the Metropolitan Police, health services and local authorities, building on the Dame Elish Angiolini review into the investigation and prosecution of rape, to implement best practices for dealing with rape and other forms of sexual violence and be responsive to the needs of LGBT+, BME and disabled victims. Make sure London has enough police to respond to the rise in reporting and find ways to increase the number of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors who accompany survivors through the reporting and judicial process.

### ▶ Combat domestic violence –
Prioritise better enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection Notices/Orders (DVPOs) by the Metropolitan Police, so that perpetrators are actively removed from their homes, rather than those they have abused being forced to leave. WE will work with government to consider making the breach of DVPOs a criminal offence.

### ▶ Combat FGM and forced marriage –
Work in partnership with specialist BME women’s services to ensure that FGM, forced marriage and so-called honour based violence never happen in London.

### ▶ Fund holistic support services –
Ensure women, men and children who have been victimised by the sex trade receive the support they need, and examine police and local authority responses to prostitution across London.

### ▶ Raise awareness –
Design, fund and implement a cutting-edge public awareness campaign against street harassment, in collaboration with specialist and advocacy organisations, aiming to end all forms of harassment in public spaces.

## Affordable housing
There is no silver bullet for a housing crisis on the scale London is facing. It is time to get out of the party political trenches and start talking solutions. A cross-party committee can build a plan that works. A balanced economy puts money into women’s pockets right now, making rent more affordable. A fairer approach to housing makes sure London’s most vulnerable have a refuge. Let’s not just build houses – let’s build homes.

London is facing a housing crisis on an unprecedented scale. With new rent levels set at up to 80 per cent of market rates, the idea of affordable housing has become meaningless for women who make up the majority of low-income earners. Young talent is moving away, people are being forced to live far from their workplace and women are the most affected by longer and more expensive commutes. Older low- and middle-income people who do not own their own property are particularly threatened, as well as disabled people and women and children fleeing domestic abuse who are forced to move frequently between unsuitable housing. Statistics on homelessness and rough sleeping exclude many women, as alarming numbers are forced to exchange sex for a bed, including with abusive ex-partners.

There is no silver bullet for a crisis on this scale. Instead of the current piecemeal plans divided along party lines, we need to combine the vision and scale of our collective ambition. Constant effort is needed to ensure that everyone can buy or rent a decent home at a price they can afford.

### WE will:
*   Build a comprehensive solution – Stop tinkering around the edges and convene a cross-party committee on housing, understanding that the problem in the capital is too big for old-fashioned party politics. Our non-partisan approach enables us to choose the best ideas from every party to build a comprehensive and effective solution for all Londoners.

* **Make housing more affordable** – Put more money into women’s pockets through the measures outlined in our Work and Care sections above.
* **Promote inclusive design** – Develop a new design standard that puts people at the heart of design. Increase the role of architects and users in planning solutions to create better environments for everybody.
* **Work with property developers** – Build more family homes rather than investment flats and ensure more houses and flats meet the standards of ‘lifetime homes’, so they are easily adaptable for lifelong use at minimal cost.
* **Support survivors** – Work with local authority services to establish a solid pan-London system to help women fleeing domestic and sexual abuse find refuge and secure accommodation. Establish a ‘Task and Finish’ group, in accordance with the suggestions of Solace Women’s Aid, led by the Mayor’s Office and including London Councils, refuge providers, the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance, landlords’ associations, property developers and other experts to implement the new strategy.
* **Ring-fence refuges** – Ensure a proportion of our investment in development is allocated to domestic violence housing services, so that we are providing places of refuge for people who are currently trapped in dangerous situations because they can’t afford to escape. Make sure women fleeing domestic abuse are considered a priority group in the Mayor’s First Steps to Home Ownership programme.

## Transport for all
More room for pushchairs and wheelchairs and freedom from harassment for all passengers. Let’s make transport work for women and families. And let’s make sure everyone can enjoy cycling, cutting down on car journeys and improving air quality.

Ever since opening the world’s first underground railway in the early 19th century, London has been the world leader in public transport. As the city has grown and our lives have changed, the transport system has grown and changed too. But when it comes to equality, safety and accessibility, progress has been too slow. Women and children are much less likely to use bicycles because of concerns about safety. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are pitted against each other for a tiny amount of space on buses and tubes. Sexual harassment on public transport is at an all-time high, and those women who can afford to, pay a ‘transport tax’ to get home safely by taxi.

An accessible, safe and reliable public transport system allows us to commute between home and work, visit friends and family and access all the wonders of London. But it is also key to building a greener city. Families, disabled people and older people rely on cars to get around more than other Londoners. If we want to cut down emissions and improve the air we breathe, we have to get serious about accessibility. Only by providing a real alternative to private car journeys can we reduce the environmental impact of our commuting, while still taking into account other forms of road use, including tradespeople who need to use motorised vehicles for their work. By making work flexible in London we will also allow our transport system to breathe a sigh of relief.

### WE will:
- Design better buses – Launch a design competition and redesign our buses in consultation with disabled people, older people, families and buggy users to create more space and reduce emissions.

### Build better tubes
Bring forward the installation of the new London Underground trains to 2020. These will include walk-through carriages to enable women to more easily move away from unwelcome sexual attention, and more reserved space for wheelchairs and buggies.

### Drive up standards
Launch an initiative for bus drivers and their families to get free access to London attractions if they travel to their chosen destination by bus. The scheme will allow bus drivers to identify with the experience of passengers travelling with young children and help them improve customer service.

### Increase accessibility
Work with Transport for London and relevant charities so that every tube, train and station upgrade makes transport more accessible. Consider how better transport can be provided for people with hidden disabilities.

### Help plan journeys
Create a Transport for London app that makes it easier for wheelchair users and families to plan their journeys. This could provide real-time updates on available space and how busy services are, as well as signposting lift and escalator closures, and highlighting accessibility points and toilet locations.

### Support more cycling
Invest in cycling infrastructure that works for women and families, including more segregated cycle lanes, while consulting closely on the impact of new systems. Encourage the installation of more showers in schools, colleges and workplaces.

### Use the Mayor’s contractual powers
Require developers and construction companies to use only ‘direct vision’ lorries designed for better cyclist visibility. Reduce the numbers of heavy goods vehicles during rush hours and install bicycle traffic lights at larger and more dangerous junctions.

### Combat harassment
Promote and expand ‘Project Guardian’ so that all travellers are informed about sexual harassment and Transport for London’s action against it. Display the sexual harassment text number widely on the transport network and introduce facilities at transport hubs for reporting incidents.

* ▶ **Rapid response** – Introduce a ‘Night Watch’ service on buses, trains and tubes, following the fare-dodger model, to reduce harassment and tackle safety concerns. Protect and expand the British Transport Police Sex Crimes Unit.
* ▶ **Shine a light on safety** – Invest in more wifi on the tube, lighting in stations and staffing at all stations, to improve safety.
* ▶ **Monitor rates of sexual offending** – Identify ‘hot-spots’ on the transport system for focused transport police and community action. Publish this data in an open format so that it can be mashed with other relevant datasets to identify trends and solutions.
* ▶ **Change behaviour** – Consult with the advertising industry, academia, think-tanks and NGOs on the best ways to reduce sexist advertisements in public space. Apply more stringent standards on the transport network, including warning notices on any images of models with a very low unhealthy body weight and on images that have been significantly airbrushed.
* ▶ **Make decisions together** – Involve women, including BME women and disabled women, on all major decision-making bodies for the transport network, prioritising the Transport for London Board (of which women currently make up less than 24 per cent) and the Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability Panel (on which there is currently only one woman).

## Equal enterprise
Enriching London’s economy by giving flight to new ideas, attracting top talent, and creating an imaginative approach to new business. Let’s encourage girls into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), enable their voices to be fully heard in the creative industries and empower women entrepreneurs.

London loves business and business loves London. No economy can grow without harnessing the smartest and most creative minds and supporting start-ups to grow and flourish. Attracting and retaining the best, most diverse talent would give London a strong competitive edge and help us deliver innovative products and services that cater for the needs of everyone. But such an approach has to draw from the widest talent pool possible.

Men are almost twice as likely to become entrepreneurs, while women are being driven into low-paid, undervalued sectors and part-time roles with lower growth potential. Women are under-represented in STEM and our education system is not working to change this. Girls out-perform boys in most academic subjects but face obstacles to then taking up high-paying jobs, meaning the economy is losing out.

There has been a huge growth in self-employment, but for many women this is not a choice, rather a consequence of public sector job losses, increases in retirement age or a need to balance caring.

The creative industries are nowhere near as creative as they could be because they fail to harness all available talent. London’s cultural scene is world famous but the spotlight too rarely falls on theatre’s gender pay gap, the dearth of women running museums and galleries, or the inadequate representation of women on screen and behind the cameras of the film and television industry.

It is time to change this. WE are ready to lead London to truly tap into all its talent, which will deliver a stronger economy, an even more vibrant arts scene and a society where everybody can flourish.

## WE will:

*   **Support women’s enterprise** – Set up a Women’s Enterprise Board and a London Venture Capital Fund for Women, providing mentoring and advice for young talent on finding support and fundraising opportunities, as well as creating networks with senior business people and peers.
*   **Work in partnership** – Encourage London’s Local Enterprise Partnerships to work more effectively across London boroughs, including making their boards gender-balanced and offering training and support for women-led businesses.
*   **Strengthen investment in women** – Work with banks and investors to encourage lending to women-led businesses and organisations in London and investment in new female talent. Set a target of 4,000 new angel investors in London by 2020. Promote education and training for them by involving successful investors and drawing on best practice such as Global Invest Her.
*   **Support equal apprenticeships** – Encourage apprenticeship suppliers to deliver 50:50 young women and young men to employers in London, in careers right across the board.
*   **Improve tech skills** – Encourage schools to include relevant project-based lessons in their curriculum, covering a more diverse spectrum of roles and functions in tech, from planning through to design, coding and implementation.
*   **Set up Showcase London** – Work with the city’s cultural sector to help it thrive by fully enabling female creativity. We will explore ways to incentivise arts organisations that break gender barriers, close the creativity pay gap and promote diversity.
*   **Reduce stereotyping** – Work with London schools, careers officers and initiatives such as CodeClub and Stemettes to address gender stereotyping in school and career choices. Make sure career advisors encourage young people to pursue the careers they want – and reconsider the ones they may think are not open to them – including in STEM, arts, theatre and music.
*   **Work with tech enterprises** – Push for increased diversity in tech recruitment practices, through certified ‘tech inclusion’ accreditation schemes such as the TechTalent Charter and training for start-ups to embed diversity and best practice from the outset.
*   **Invest in female tech leadership** – Appoint a female Tech Icon for London to assist women in navigating the tech landscape, as well as tech ambassadors in each London borough to facilitate partnerships between businesses and schools.

## Gender-informed policies
Put gender at the heart of all mayoral decisions. The budget should work for gender equality and make sure all of us have a fair chance.

Public policies may come across as gender-neutral but a closer look shows just how different their impact can be on women and men. From transport to sports, childcare to infrastructure, housing to business rates, decisions can either shape a more equal society or reinforce existing inequalities. A budget that invests in large construction projects but ignores care for children and the elderly leads to more women leaving work and more businesses losing talent. Fiscal reforms that close vital services for women who have been victimised by violence not only put women’s lives at risk, but also make women less likely to be active citizens who can shape society. And when women are pushed out of decision-making for being ‘too risk averse’, the economy loses out and inequalities are allowed to grow.

### WE will:
*   Implement gender budgeting – Starting with the Mayor’s Budget, analyse and balance the impact of public expenditure on women’s and men’s jobs and lives.
*   Open government – Ensure all public data under the mayor’s remit is disaggregated by gender and the other protected characteristics, allowing researchers and policy makers to analyse the state of play and build plans to move forward towards a more equal London. WE will make this data openly available and machine-readable where possible.
*   Measure the impact – Analyse all policy-making through a gender lens, ensuring we are reducing the inequalities rather than increasing them. Implement gender mainstreaming across all boards and organisations under the Greater London Authority.

**Go local** – Work with London boroughs and all organisations under the mayor’s remit to ensure policies and budget decisions are designed to make equality a reality.

**Go global** – Make London the world leader in public policy that ends gender inequalities and builds a society and an economy where everyone can flourish.