This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/23/sophie-walker-womens-equality-party-interview
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Sophie Walker: ‘The age of lad culture set us back a lot’ | Sophie Walker: ‘The age of lad culture set us back a lot’ |
| (4 days later) | |
| Sophie Walker founded the Women’s Equality party three years ago out of frustration with mainstream politicians’ progress towards gender equality. At the last general election she stood (and lost) in Shipley against the Conservative MP and men’s rights campaigner Philip Davies, renowned for his attacks on political correctness. She is a former journalist. | Sophie Walker founded the Women’s Equality party three years ago out of frustration with mainstream politicians’ progress towards gender equality. At the last general election she stood (and lost) in Shipley against the Conservative MP and men’s rights campaigner Philip Davies, renowned for his attacks on political correctness. She is a former journalist. |
| Young women and girls’ happiness has declined sharply in a decade, according to a survey out this week – what’s that telling us?I think we’re a very long way from understanding that all of our systems are still built around a template of men, and women and girls face a deeply uncomfortable existence around the margins of that template. And until we start to redraw it in a way that understands that the old models don’t work, we’re never going to be able to solve that general unhappiness that is as a result of being second-class citizens. | Young women and girls’ happiness has declined sharply in a decade, according to a survey out this week – what’s that telling us?I think we’re a very long way from understanding that all of our systems are still built around a template of men, and women and girls face a deeply uncomfortable existence around the margins of that template. And until we start to redraw it in a way that understands that the old models don’t work, we’re never going to be able to solve that general unhappiness that is as a result of being second-class citizens. |
| Do you really think women are still second-class citizens?Yes I do! I’ve seen it all my life, I see it around me. But it’s not just feelings, it’s in the data. We’ve got a 20% pay gap, one in four women experiencing domestic violence, men outnumbering women two-to-one at all levels of government… I find it odd that every conversation about female equality starts with “haven’t you got enough?” | Do you really think women are still second-class citizens?Yes I do! I’ve seen it all my life, I see it around me. But it’s not just feelings, it’s in the data. We’ve got a 20% pay gap, one in four women experiencing domestic violence, men outnumbering women two-to-one at all levels of government… I find it odd that every conversation about female equality starts with “haven’t you got enough?” |
| That survey did find more young women identifying as feminists…Yes, and that’s fabulous. It’s cheering to see attitudes toward the word feminism changing. I lived as a teenager through the late 80s and early 90s, the age of lad culture – Nuts and Zoo, the sudden acceptability of lap-dancing and strip clubs and banter. I think it set women’s liberation back a lot because there was this idea that you had to mould yourself around this very aggressive male model, and feminism was for whingers. | That survey did find more young women identifying as feminists…Yes, and that’s fabulous. It’s cheering to see attitudes toward the word feminism changing. I lived as a teenager through the late 80s and early 90s, the age of lad culture – Nuts and Zoo, the sudden acceptability of lap-dancing and strip clubs and banter. I think it set women’s liberation back a lot because there was this idea that you had to mould yourself around this very aggressive male model, and feminism was for whingers. |
| Do you think #MeToo galvanised young women?It’s done some really important things, one of which is to awaken an understanding that women standing side by side achieve more than if we just keep swallowing the lines fed to us by the self-help industry, such as that it’s on us as individuals to try harder to break down centuries of discrimination. The other important thing #MeToo has demonstrated is how quick vested interests are to trigger a backlash. | Do you think #MeToo galvanised young women?It’s done some really important things, one of which is to awaken an understanding that women standing side by side achieve more than if we just keep swallowing the lines fed to us by the self-help industry, such as that it’s on us as individuals to try harder to break down centuries of discrimination. The other important thing #MeToo has demonstrated is how quick vested interests are to trigger a backlash. |
| We have to solve that general unhappiness that is a result of being second-class citizens | We have to solve that general unhappiness that is a result of being second-class citizens |
| Are you worried about Brexit turning the clock back for women?Without a doubt. From overlooking women, the parties are now relying on women’s exploitation to make Brexit work. The Department of Health has issued a report saying that [after Brexit] because of the dire underinvestment in social care, women are going to have to leave work to do it. We have for decades relied on the unpaid labour of women to prop up the economy! That’s why I’m going to be campaigning for a people’s vote. | Are you worried about Brexit turning the clock back for women?Without a doubt. From overlooking women, the parties are now relying on women’s exploitation to make Brexit work. The Department of Health has issued a report saying that [after Brexit] because of the dire underinvestment in social care, women are going to have to leave work to do it. We have for decades relied on the unpaid labour of women to prop up the economy! That’s why I’m going to be campaigning for a people’s vote. |
| Any specific impacts of Brexit on women being overlooked?When we talk about immigration, we are talking about people’s openness to travel and work. Any points-based immigration system based on minimum salary, assets and education will mean systems discriminating against women. | Any specific impacts of Brexit on women being overlooked?When we talk about immigration, we are talking about people’s openness to travel and work. Any points-based immigration system based on minimum salary, assets and education will mean systems discriminating against women. |
| David Davis has talked about WTO (World Trade Organization) rules and how that would all be fine, but nobody’s talking about the fact that bigger [trade] tariffs means a bigger dent in public services, which means more cuts and savings in welfare, which is going to have a bigger impact on women. | David Davis has talked about WTO (World Trade Organization) rules and how that would all be fine, but nobody’s talking about the fact that bigger [trade] tariffs means a bigger dent in public services, which means more cuts and savings in welfare, which is going to have a bigger impact on women. |
| Recently you tweeted that you said “clitoris” in your party conference speech and didn’t get asked on the radio to discuss it, but Vince Cable was invited on to discuss saying “erotic spasm”. Is that a double standard?What double standard are you talking about? | Recently you tweeted that you said “clitoris” in your party conference speech and didn’t get asked on the radio to discuss it, but Vince Cable was invited on to discuss saying “erotic spasm”. Is that a double standard?What double standard are you talking about? |
| Is it a gender thing, or because the Liberal Democrats have MPs and you haven’t?There’s a whole lot of stuff going on here. As soon as we set up the WEP we were dismissed as a funny little special-interest party – it took us six months to get out of the lifestyle pages. The lives, experiences and needs of women are seen as secondary to all the more important business rather than absolutely fundamental. Women’s experiences are always the thing you think of afterwards and it’s extremely frustrating to live that experience as a leader of a political party formed to change it. | Is it a gender thing, or because the Liberal Democrats have MPs and you haven’t?There’s a whole lot of stuff going on here. As soon as we set up the WEP we were dismissed as a funny little special-interest party – it took us six months to get out of the lifestyle pages. The lives, experiences and needs of women are seen as secondary to all the more important business rather than absolutely fundamental. Women’s experiences are always the thing you think of afterwards and it’s extremely frustrating to live that experience as a leader of a political party formed to change it. |
| You aim to devise “nickable policies” - which one would you most like to see stolen?Equal investment in care as in construction: pound for pound the same investment in care as in physical infrastructure. It would revolutionise women’s lives. | You aim to devise “nickable policies” - which one would you most like to see stolen?Equal investment in care as in construction: pound for pound the same investment in care as in physical infrastructure. It would revolutionise women’s lives. |
| If there was one living female politician you could get to defect and join your party, who would it be?There’s one or two we’re having conversations with at the moment, so I couldn’t answer that. | If there was one living female politician you could get to defect and join your party, who would it be?There’s one or two we’re having conversations with at the moment, so I couldn’t answer that. |
| Who? It couldn’t be some Labour women unhappy with the current Labour leadership, could it?I couldn’t possibly say anything else! | Who? It couldn’t be some Labour women unhappy with the current Labour leadership, could it?I couldn’t possibly say anything else! |
| Could it be Anna Soubry?I couldn’t possibly say! What’s the line in House of Cards... you may say that, I couldn’t possibly comment. | Could it be Anna Soubry?I couldn’t possibly say! What’s the line in House of Cards... you may say that, I couldn’t possibly comment. |
| Finally on trans rights and self-identification for trans people, can you explain what was decided at your party conference?I’m inspired by and proud of our members that came together to hold a public discussion on this. It’s an extremely difficult conversation, made harder to have by people seeking to shut down and silence opinions. We’re going to have a consultation of all our members to find a way forward and I’m working really hard to find options that don’t insist people have to come down on one side or the other. This is about the intersection of two groups’ need for space and protection and we have to venture right into that intersection no matter how uncomfortable it gets. | Finally on trans rights and self-identification for trans people, can you explain what was decided at your party conference?I’m inspired by and proud of our members that came together to hold a public discussion on this. It’s an extremely difficult conversation, made harder to have by people seeking to shut down and silence opinions. We’re going to have a consultation of all our members to find a way forward and I’m working really hard to find options that don’t insist people have to come down on one side or the other. This is about the intersection of two groups’ need for space and protection and we have to venture right into that intersection no matter how uncomfortable it gets. |
| Listen / | |
| Walking the Brexit tightrope at Labour conference – Politics Weekly | |
| Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here | |
| and listen https://flex.acast.com/audio.guim.co.uk/2018/09/26-51111-gdn.pol.180926.podcast.mp3 | |
| Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here | |
| and listen https://flex.acast.com/audio.guim.co.uk/2018/09/26-51111-gdn.pol.180926.podcast.mp3 | |
| Women's Equality Party | Women's Equality Party |
| The New Review Q&A | The New Review Q&A |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| Social care | Social care |
| Inequality | Inequality |
| Gender | Gender |
| interviews | interviews |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |