UK MP reads out hate-filled email on live TV to highlight rampant misogyny, and other stories
#WomenLead (Issue 83): Your weekly round-up on women in politics
Hello, and welcome to Issue 83!
We hope you had a chance to catch up on our mid-week special about a survey from India that has found how young men and women think differently about a career in politics. Don’t miss it - the gender gap is stark, and disturbing!
In this week’s edition, we bring you updates from Barbados, Honduras, France, and the spotlight is on the UK. In case you missed last week’s edition, you can read it here.
If you like this edition (and #WomenLead in general - we hope you do!), please help us reach more people by sharing our posts on social media/directly with your friends and colleagues. Thank you!
Quick Updates
✨ FABULOUS LINE-UP: Barbados PM Mia Mottley announced her new cabinet last week after winning her second consecutive election. Women comprise over a third of all members (35 percent). In a very noteworthy development, women now hold the positions of President, Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister in the country! Whoa!
🐘 NO ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: In France, presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse was recently invited to a TV show, days after its host, Jean-Jacques Bourdin, was accused of sexual harassment. For Pécresse, the decision to accept the invitation was not an easy one (do remember, France has seen a #MeTooPolitique movement in the run-up to the election). She went ahead with it, but used the opportunity to directly address the issue.
She told Bourdin straight up on live TV: “If these accusations are proven, they are serious and must be condemned. The fight against sexual harassment and violence against women is a personal fight for me. For too long, society has looked the other way…too many women have been afraid for a long time to file a complaint…the law of silence is over." Well done!
Spotlight: UNITED KINGDOM 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Jess Phillips, a UK Opposition MP, was participating in BBC’s show “Politics Live” over Zoom a few days ago when she received an email. The subject of the email read, “You dirty bought and paid for whore”.