Women remain under-represented in Local Government. They are frequently pigeonholed into caring rather than economic briefs. They often bear a disproportionate brunt of intra-Labour group bullying and fail to benefit from a "wait your turn" culture of succession planning.
#Councils4thisMillennium: Breaking Down Barriers for Women in Council Leadership
Women remain under-represented in Local Government. They are frequently pigeonholed into caring rather than economic briefs. They often bear a disproportionate brunt of intra-Labour group bullying and fail to benefit from a "wait your turn" culture of succession planning.
73% of Councillors who replied to the latest LGA Debate not Hate survey reported experiencing abuse or intimidation in the past 12 months; of those 19% had experienced abuse or intimidation relating to a protected characteristic. Sex was the most commonly cited characteristic for which respondents had suffered abuse or intimidation [1].
73% of Councillors who replied to the latest LGA Debate not Hate survey reported experiencing abuse or intimidation in the past 12 months; of those 19% had experienced abuse or intimidation relating to a protected characteristic. Sex was the most commonly cited characteristic for which respondents had suffered abuse or intimidation [1].
LWN is always razor-focused on solutions rather than problems. We don't want to moan, we want to manifest change.
Changes in structures and culture won’t happen overnight, so LWN are developing a long-term campaign which we will pursue and build on over the coming years. While we have identified our core asks, we are keen to develop this campaign, learning from LWN members, supporters, and Labour women Councillors to create a lasting catalyst for inclusion, inside the Labour movement and across local government.
[1] https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/debate-not-hate-survey-councillors-august-2024
What our Labour Government should do:
- Enshrine the statutory right for local authorities to hold hybrid meetings and for remote attendance by elected representatives. Provide enabling funds for local authorities to be able to implement hybrid working effectively.
- Create a statutory right for parental and carers leave for all levels of public office.
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Enact and extend Section 106 in the Equality Act 2010 to collect data from Local Government, as well as Parliaments and Assemblies. And extend this to Councillors and to Leader and Cabinet structures.
What the Labour Party and/or Labour Groups should do:
- The Labour Party should not wait for Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 to be enacted and extended. They should start from May 2026 to collect and publish data annually on the gender balance of Labour Groups, and the gender balance of the Cabinet or Opposition Cabinet roles in every local authority.
- Allow hybrid meetings as an option for Labour Group meetings.
- Strengthen the role of the Whip within Labour Groups, so they provide both discipline and pastoral support to Councillors.
- Explore a different way for Labour groups to appoint the ‘Whip’. Currently, the role is elected by the same group of councillors they have to hold to account.
What is Labour Women’s Network is already doing and will do in the future:
- LWN will continue to run their highly successful training programmes aimed at new Councillors, those with more experience, and those moving into leadership roles.
- Continue with our support sessions for candidates, advice surgeries for Councillors and skills-based workshops.
- Starting later in 2025, we will offer deep-dive sessions that will focus on learning and upskilling in local government and technical leadership roles. We will focus on topics including local government finance, data and polling.
- Launch our LWN skills audit, so candidates and Councillors can take stock of their own knowledge, learning, relationships and election strategy - coming very soon!
- Working with the LGA Labour Group, we will survey Labour Councillors and use this to inform our forward programme of training and activities.
No single solution will fix this but we can make a difference if we work together! To support and get involved in our campaign, we would like you to:
1. Sign our #Councils4thisMillennium petition to show the Government and the Labour Party we want them to act.
2. Save our graphic and share on your socials, click here, OR share our social media posts. Click to share on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Insta | BlueSky
3. If you're a Councillor, Candidate, Agent, CLP officer or Labour Party Campaigner ask your Labour Group Leader and/or CLP Chair to back our campaign and take steps to improve your CLP or Group. Keep us posted on how it's going.
4. Have you done something to help break down barriers in your CLP, Labour Group or Council that you'd like us to share? Send us an email on [email protected] to be part of our 'Ideas Pinboard' page, which is coming soon!