On July 2nd 2003, Fawcett celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Equal Franchise Act, which gave women the right to vote on an equal basis to men.
Since then, the Equal Pay Act and the Sex Discrimination Act have been passed and women have achieved a great deal in public life. We now have 118 women MPs in Westminster, more than 40 per cent of women in the Scottish Parliament and equal numbers of men and women in the Welsh Assembly making this the first Parliament in the world to achieve parity.
But despite these victories, how far have we come in actually improving the lives of women today?
- Women still make up less than 20 per cent of MPs and there are only 2 Black or Minority Ethnic women in Parliament
- For every pound earned by men in full-time employment, women in full-time work earn just 81 pence and women in part-time employment earn only 59 pence
- Retired women receive just 32 pence for every pound their male partners receive in pension entitlements
- And two women are killed every week by their partners or ex-partners and one in four women will experience domestic violence at some point in their lives
The Fawcett Society, named after Millicent Garrett Fawcett who devoted her life to winning the vote for women, continues to campaign for equality between women and men.
The anniversary of 75 years since women won the vote comes at a time of deep apathy and political disengagement. Young women are particularly likely to feel disconnected from the political process. In the last election, just a third of women aged 18-24 voted.
Today, Fawcett is launching a year of activities to mark the anniversary, to address this sense of disengagement among young women. Value your Vote, a project in conjunction with The Women's Library, aims to use the inspiration of the struggle for votes to inspire today's women to use their democratic power.
Dr. Katherine Rake, Director of Fawcett said:
'July 2nd 1928 is perhaps the single most important day in the history of women's struggle for equality. It seems appropriate on the 75th anniversary to celebrate the many achievements of women, but also to remind ourselves of how far we have to go.
'Fewer than one in five MPs are women. It is over 30 years since the Equal Pay Act and yet women still earn up to 40 per cent less than men. One in four single female pensioners live below the poverty line and domestic violence remains a daily reality for many women.
Today at Fawcett, we are renewing our call for a fair deal for women. Our vision is of a society in which women and men are equal partners in the home, at work and in public life. When we celebrate the centenary of women's votes in 2028, we would like to see a society in which women are fairly represented and paid, where they live free from fear of violence and poverty.'
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