Tag Archives: the gender agenda

Alice Thomas

The Gender Agenda #4: The Liberal Democrats are a feminist party

By Alice Thomas | Wed 27th August 2014 - 9:16 am

Feminist fist by Eva the WeaverThe Liberal Democrats are a feminist party. When I first wrote that down I knew it would be a controversial statement among a minority, but right now I think it’s going to cause a wider stir.

It shouldn’t. When I first read the Lib Dem constitution, it seemed obvious that liberalism as it is expressed there, is feminist.

Feminism as I understand it describes a movement that aims to achieve true equality of opportunity, as reflected in more equal outcomes between genders. My support for that movement is why I joined a party that rejects ‘all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation and oppose all forms of entrenched privilege and inequality.’ (Ok, so I’d prefer if that said ‘gender’ not ‘sex’, but it’s a much bolder statement than the other parties are making).

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Posted in Op-eds | 29 Comments
Alice Thomas

The Gender Agenda #3: Is there such a thing as “Women’s Policy”?

By Alice Thomas | Wed 23rd July 2014 - 11:44 am

LDW stallI was long-winded last time so let’s try brevity: yes, and no.

When people talk about ‘women’s policy’ they usually mean one of three things:

1. Policies which only affect women directly: men (apart from trans men) do not, for example, suffer FGM or need access to abortion, so they will only ever be indirectly affected by policy on those issues.

2. Policies were your gender directly determines your rights and treatment in society: that includes gender separation in schools or prisons, or access to parental leave.

3.  Policies aimed at everyone, but that …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 33 Comments
Alice Thomas

The Gender Agenda #2: Helping women climb the rungs of the activist ladder

By Alice Thomas | Thu 17th July 2014 - 3:10 pm

Womens shortlistsI think we all got into politics for one of three reasons: principle, policy or people. When it comes to joining a political party, most Liberal Democrats reading this will know which category they fall into. Maybe it was the idea that ‘no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity’; for some it was policies born from those principles, like electoral reform or fairer parental leave; and for others, it was the local councillor who took the time to get to know them and help when they needed …

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Posted in Op-eds | 19 Comments
Alice Thomas

The Gender Agenda #1 Why have women only training? What’s so special about women?

By Alice Thomas | Mon 30th June 2014 - 10:30 am

Womens shortlistsOn May 7th, I wrote my first article for Liberal Democrat Voice.

It wasn’t exactly ground-breaking. It was promo for an internal SAO, written in a hurry by a first-time candidate (me), a couple of weeks out from one of the toughest elections we’ve ever seen. It was less than five hundred words of innocuous fluff.

You would never have guessed it from the reaction.

Within a few hours, it had over seventy comments, and it hovered on the Most Read list for days. Why? Because it was about Liberal Democrat Women, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 141 Comments
Alice Thomas

Opinion: The Gender Agenda: What Liberal Democrat Women can do for women candidates

By Alice Thomas | Wed 7th May 2014 - 10:31 am

Campaigning on the doorstep - Lynne FeatherstoneOn May 22nd I’m fighting my first local election as a candidate. I’ve been stuffing envelopes and knocking on doors for other people for 8 years, but with a seat on Islington Council in the balance, this time it seems a little more real.

But I’m lucky. I’m fighting – and fighting hard – alongside a councillor with 8 years experience, and an experienced campaigner who’s already fought a by-election. The ward has two Lib Dem councillors out of three, and if we all get elected, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 116 Comments
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