Bremain Chair Sue Wilson writes for West England Bylines for International Women’s Day:

Perhaps the question shouldn’t be about whether it’s fair, but whether it’s necessary. Until such time as global society truly reflects gender parity for all, then events like International Women’s Day will remain both essential and welcome.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. The event’s dedicated website states, “We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality” and “to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements.” The day marks “a call to action for accelerating gender parity” and is described as “one of the most important days of the year to raise awareness about women’s equality”, or the lack of it.

One of the most obvious ways that women are discriminated against is in the workplace, with regard to remuneration. Although the gender pay gap in the UK has improved over time, there remains a significant median difference between male and female earnings of 15.5% (in 2020), though this varies considerably across the UK, and across different age brackets.

The UK figure is only slightly higher than the European Union average, which is just below 15%. The percentage varies enormously across the EU, with Romania at only 3% and Estonia, at the other end of the spectrum, at 23%. However, a narrower gender pay gap does not tell the whole story, as it often occurs in countries that have lower levels of female employment.

The Covid pandemic, and its economic fall-out, has had a negative impact on gender equality. Not only are women’s jobs more at risk, but the burden of providing unpaid care has increased disproportionately for women. During lockdown, women have largely taken on the additional roles in the home of teachers, nurses and care providers.

In addition, women are at greater risk from the virus itself, as a higher proportion work in the frontline care sector.

Despite women being disproportionately affected by the Covid crisis, many have spectacularly risen above the challenges. The world has watched with admiration, and a hint of envy, as leaders like Jacinda Ardern have demonstrated stability, strength and decisiveness in the face of extreme difficulties. At a time when others – not least our own prime minister – were dithering and uncommunicative, Ardern was making tough, effective decisions, and doing so with compassion, intelligence and honesty.

The appointment, in November 2020, of the first female, woman of colour to the Vice Presidency of America was a huge step forward for women’s rights. Even before the US election was over, the media were already talking of the possibility of Kamala Harris becoming the next president in 2024. The breath of fresh air that Harris (and Biden) have brought to American politics has given a sense of hope and opportunity to women everywhere.

Like Covid, Brexit has also seen strong, courageous women taking centre stage, even in the face of significant hostility. In 2019, another barrier was broken when Ursula von der Leyen became the first female President of the European Commission. Angela Merkel, another significant actor in the Brexit debacle, has been German Chancellor for over 15 years. In stark contrast to some of our own politicians, Merkel has demonstrated an incredible ability to communicate intelligently and clearly with the German public that has us gazing in awe. It is difficult to envisage European politics of the future without her.

If one woman has stood out in the UK over the last five years, for me it would have to be the amazing Gina Miller. She has taken the Brexit battle to the courts and provided much of the opposition to the government, and Brexit, that was woefully lacking in Westminster. Not only has she proved an intelligent, determined and forthright champion, but she has done so at huge personal cost, largely due to discrimination of a much darker variety.

Brexit reminded us, in no uncertain terms, that xenophobia and bigotry are alive and well in the UK. There’s a great deal of work to be done to eliminate discrimination, in all its forms, and to call it out at every opportunity. We cannot afford to be complacent or to leave the hard work to others. We can all “choose to challenge”.

When we consider the women who inspire or impress us, we also look closer to home. Our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters may not be famous, but their influence on our outlook and behaviour are just as, and perhaps even more so, significant. As is ours on them. Today is a day to celebrate all women – those we know and love, and those we admire and respect. We celebrate those that have fought tough battles to make it in a male-dominated world. We celebrate those that have raise us and nurtured us. We celebrate those that have educated us and inspired us. We celebrate those in the spotlight, and those behind the scenes, and we promise to do the same tomorrow, when it’s not your special day.
Happy International Women’s Day to us all!

Our Chair Sue Wilson writes for Yorkshire Bylines about the upcoming Electoral Reform Bill and what it means for those UK citizens living abroad for longer than fifteen years:

Overseas campaigners fighting for the restoration of lost voting rights received a pleasant surprise in this week’s budget. Hidden away in the small print on page 48 was a government commitment to “providing an additional £2.5 million to remove the limit preventing British citizens who live overseas from voting after 15 years”.

This news followed on the back of a recent announcement that the government’s manifesto promise – to scrap the 15-year rule – would be included in the forthcoming electoral integrity bill. A Treasury spokesperson said that legislation would be laid before parliament later this year.

Worldwide, over five million UK nationals have been denied their democratic voting rights. The reaction from long-suffering campaigners was a mixture of both relief and scepticism. As many disenfranchised Brits pointed out, we have been here before, only to be disappointed. This time, however, there is an increased sense of optimism that our long wait may finally be coming to an end.

Veteran campaigner, 99-year-old Harry Shindler MBE, has lived in Italy for 40 years and has been campaigning for the return of his lost vote for over two decades. Harry and I have been in regular contact for several years, thanks to Bremain in Spain’s own ‘Votes for Life’ campaign.

On Wednesday evening, it was Harry that first brought the budget news to my attention, following a phone call he’d received direct from Westminster. Harry called to express his appreciation for our support and asked me to “tell everyone that Harry says all your efforts have been worth it”. He told the BBC that “this is an important day for freedom”. Let’s hope his optimism does not prove to be misplaced.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see further substantial progress made in time for Harry’s 100th birthday celebrations this July. Covid permitting, I shall be joining him in Italy to commemorate the special occasion. Next step? Harry casting his vote at the next general election. Now that really will be a day to celebrate, not just for Harry, but for millions of British citizens.

Will those Brits reward the government for finally keeping their manifesto promise? Or punish them for preventing us having a say in the Brexit referendum, that affected our lives so deeply? I guess we’ll find out in 2024. In the meantime, perhaps best to keep quiet, or the government might find a way to wiggle out of their commitments once again.

Our Chair Sue Wilson has written an open letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock for Yorkshire Bylines:

Dear Mr Hancock,

As you seem to have been in the media spotlight recently, I thought I would write to you to offer my support and some well-intentioned advice.

Firstly, I’m not sure how frequently you meet with the prime minister, but it often appears as though the right-hand doesn’t know what the far-right-hand is doing. Whether or not you compare notes, you often seem to be singing from different hymn sheets. Getting your stories straight would be a good place to start, as any good cop or lawyer will tell you.

Working for a boss that takes all the credit when things go well cannot be easy, especially when he makes you deliver the bad news. And to be fair, there’s been plenty of bad news. Still, it’s good to see you holding your own and borrowing from the boss’s methods by taking credit for the work of “your team”. I assume, by that, you mean the wonderful, and massively overstretched, NHS, who have proved themselves time and time again throughout the covid crisis. It’s puzzling that the chancellor doesn’t seem to think they deserve a decent wage after all they have been through. If only you’d seen fit to give the NHS the important task of test and trace, where might we have been now? How is Dido by the way? We haven’t seen much of her lately.

You’ve been getting a lot of stick lately – not least from Piers Morgan and Jolyon Maugham – over the whole ‘contracts for cronies’ scandal. I appreciate that these are times of national crisis, and that normal rules don’t apply, but you need some better excuses I’m afraid. Declaring that breaking the law was in the “national interest”, and that given half a chance you would do it again, was probably not the best of defences.

I’m sure that being taken to court at a time like this must be inconvenient to say the least. Such a shame you didn’t just own up to getting it wrong before it got that far. You could have saved the taxpayer a small fortune, and yourself considerable embarrassment. Instead, it was rather silly of you to claim after the fact that there had never been a shortage of PPE when every nurse and doctor had so much evidence to the contrary!

You could ask your boss for some pointers on how to get away with telling porkies. He’s so much better at it than you. Perhaps you have designs on Number 10 down the road? If that’s the case, I can think of better role models for you to emulate than Mr Johnson. I’m sure he’s a lot of fun down the pub, but these are times when the grown-ups should take charge.

I was pleased to see that you had the good sense to remove a photo of your mate’s pub from your office wall. Better late than never. I did look as though you had replaced it with a cycling proficiency certificate, but I know you’re not that daft! It’s a shame you moved rooms though as, we did enjoy your earlier Zoom sessions. I know having a Union Jack in plain sight is now de rigueur, but I don’t believe any other Cabinet minister went as far as having the Queen’s portrait as background.

My apologies if this all seems like unfair criticism, but I promise I’m only trying to be helpful. I do believe that you are one of the hardest working and most intelligent members of Cabinet, though that is a low bar, I admit. You have it within you to do a better job. You must have, surely.

And I don’t mean to detract from the amazing progress of the vaccination programme. At last, the UK really is world-beating at something, even if it is just the delivery of the first vaccine dose. You are right to hold this up as a fantastic achievement. However, what the country would welcome is some recognition of the terrible death toll, and your government’s part in that. Better yet, a sincere apology wouldn’t go amiss. Furthermore, you are asking the country to take “personal responsibility” to protect themselves against covid. Setting a good example with your own errors would be a good place to start.

I have one final ask. If you could see your way clear to supporting the families of those that have sadly died, that would help mitigate the terrible human cost of covid and government policy. A useful way to start would be to abandon government plans to effectively block families access to justice. Threatening the bereaved with heavy government legal fees is not a good look. Tell your boss!

Finally, I’d like to thank you for wrapping your arms around care homes and around the vulnerable in our society. Consider this letter my return hug. I have sent you a friend request on Facebook, which I hope you will accept. Did I mention I have a nice little company that is ready and willing to work for the government at a moment’s notice? I don’t have any experience of delivering PPE, or tests, or vaccines, but I’m sure we’ll pick it up quickly as long as you can pay in advance!

Yours sincerely,

Sue Wilson