By Vivienne Hayes, WRC Chief Executive

WRC Source magazine - December 2008

Despite Sarah Palin’s high profile nomination for the vice-presidency in the US elections, we are all well aware of the disgraceful lack of representation of women in all areas of public life, in parliament, on boards of directors, local councils and Local Strategic Partnerships.

I welcome the recent moves by government departments and some of our sister organisations to highlight the urgent need to change this. However the concern we hear raised again and again is that we need not just any woman in these positions of influence.

As Ranjit Kaur (former director of Rights of Women) said at WRC’s AGM last year, “we need feminist women”, women who understand the nature and complexity of women’s discrimination in public life. Otherwise we just end up with more Mrs Thatchers, who do nothing to further the concerns of women.

It is a dangerous misconception to assume that any woman will represent the views and concerns of her species, but to achieve meaningful progress in the struggle to achieve women’s equality we must have women in public life who are in touch with and support the women’s voluntary and community sector. Our sector is the vehicle of change and the women working in our organisations are the individual and collective agents of change.

Not only do women’s organisations understand the realities of women’s lives, they also enable women to develop their skills and confidence, thereby enabling them to go into public life. So in any drive to increase women’s representation and participation the women’s sector is the vehicle. Our sector provides safe women-only spaces for women to gain support to overcome the direct discrimination and abuse they have experienced and helps them to rebuild their lives. Without such services there is little chance of them fully participating in civic life.

If we want diverse and inclusive representation, women’s organisations must be supported. If we want women’s equality to have any hope of being achieved then we need women in public life who understand the nature and complexity of that inequality and who are then able to understand some of the remedies.

And finally for those women already in public life, to all the female Ministers and local councillors: can we ask you to do what you are always asking us to do? Talk to each other and come up with cross departmental strategies to ensure the future health of the women’s voluntary and community sector. This might be your last opportunity to leave our society with a legacy of hope.

A blueprint for women’s equality is a blueprint for everyone’s equality.

• Read Nan Sloane's (from the Centre for Women & Democracy) comment on the same topic