With so few ethnic minority women represented in politics, the dejecting message that is being given to ethnic minority women up and down the country is "politics has little to do with your lives".

femocracy aims to put a stop to this message by increasing the number of ethnic minority women registered to vote and engaged in politics.

Political exclusion

Ninety years on since women in the UK first won the vote, ethnic minority women remain one of the most excluded groups from formal political and decision making processes. Black Caribbean and Black African people are amongst the least likely to vote; Black Caribbean and Black African women are particularly unlikely to turn out to vote.

The severe underrepresentation of ethnic minority women in British politics, coupled with low voter registration rates amongst some ethnic minority groups, has resulted in the exclusion of ethnic minority women’s from the political system. In reality this means ethnic minority women are not being seen or heard politically.

At the heart of our two year is campaign is direct work with ethnic minority women on their political empowerment. With support from the Electoral Commission, femocracy will work with over 1500 ethnic minority women across the country through a series of events in London, Birmingham, Burnley, Cardiff and Glasgow. The events will provide an opportunity for those who attend to raise their awareness of how politics impacts on their lives, learn about how UK political institutions work and meet with ethnic minority women politicians and political activists.

How to get involved

Are you are an ethnic minority women who regularly votes? Perhaps you are on the electoral register but do not vote in elections, or you may not be registered to vote at all. Fawcett would like to engage as many ethnic minority women in the campaign as possible. If this sounds like you we may want to hear from you.

femocracy would also like to work in partnership with ethnic minority women and grassroots women’s organisations. There are several ways that you can get involved. Please get in touch if:

You are an ethnic minority and / or women’s organisation and are interested in co-ordinating work with the campaign

You would like to attend any of the events and / or would like to be added to the mailing list for this campaign

You register to vote after visiting this website or attending a Fawcett Society supported event

For more information please contact Joella Hazel, Outreach Officer on 020 7253 2598 or by email joella.hazel@fawcettsociety.org.uk.

How wide is the power gap for ethnic minority women?

Ethnic minority women lack access to power – from the grassroots to the Government. They are severely underrepresented in senior and governance positions across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

But do you know how wide this power gap is? Take our quiz to test your knowledge.

… Return to the top of this page
… Retun to Index of Notices and Press Releases
… Return to home page