Women must take back control of their futures from the Brexit 'Boy's Club' and demand a People's Vote
Julie Ward MEP
| European Parliament
Even with a female PM Brexit has become an extended Boy's Club. If the government won’t change its tune then women across the UK must demand that their voices are heard.
As Harriet Harman said, Theresa May is “no sister” with regard to women’s rights, and neither has she been a champion for women in the Brexit process.
When Theresa May became Prime Minister she signed off a team of eleven main Brexit negotiators and only one of them was a woman. This gender imbalance has continued ever since and women´s rights were only mentioned four times in the 600 page Withdrawal Agreement and not once in the Political Declaration with the EU.
90% of all contributions in the House of Commons on Brexit have come from male MPs, and in the run up to the referendum 85% of the coverage was also dominated by men. Our voices have not been heard throughout the process.
Even this week, Theresa May, to save her own skin in a vote of no confidence, restored the whip to Andrew Griffiths MP who was suspended for sexual harassment. In the era of the #MeToo movement this does not send out a signal of solidarity or support to her sex.
But the Conservatives have never been on women´s side. Since taking office in 2010, the austerity agenda has imposed a staggering 87% of cuts on women. Leaving the European Union will only make the economy weaker; the government`s own figures show that any deal, except remaining in the EU, will make the UK poorer and households will be £1,100 worse off. Women will likely bear the brunt of additional austerity measures, and that means children will suffer too. Equality between women and men is one of the EU’s founding values – the principle of equal pay is included in the 1957 Treaty of Rome. We have no equivalent in the UK. By leaving the EU we are trusting the UK government to maintain its commitment to equality. It must therefore be noted that the extent of this commitment is in turn dependent on the government of the day and the degree to which this is a priority for them.
Also, currently, European Protection Orders guarantee that ‘crime victims who are granted protection from their aggressors in one EU member state will be able to get similar protection if they move to another’, are applicable across EU borders, and recognised throughout the EU. What will their status be in the UK after exit day? If a woman is experiencing domestic violence in one EU country and then comes to the UK, followed by her partner, will she still be protected? As Home Secretary Theresa May knew full well that we must have an EU-wide approach to crime.
The Brexit risks for women also abound in the workplace. In an independent legal opinion commissioned by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Michael Ford QC stated that, “all the social rights in employment currently required by EU law would be potentially vulnerable” if Britain were outside the EU, with women’s rights being particularly at risk. Ford continued by saying, “It is difficult to overstate the significance of EU law in protecting against sex discrimination. A history could be written based on the theme of progressive decisions of the ECJ correcting unprogressive tendencies of the domestic courts.”
This covers hugely important legislation, such as equal pay for work of equal value, the right to protection from discrimination on grounds of pregnancy, equal pensions and increased sanctions and compensation for workplace discrimination.
Ford's statement highlights that equality is therefore vulnerable to the political climate, and with the Conservatives in power in charge of Brexit, these rights are under threat at home, in the work-place and across borders.
As some people have said regarding Theresa May´s premiership, what's the point of changing the singer if you don't change the song? Well, if the government won’t change its tune then women across the UK must demand that their voices are heard.
We must protect women and also the girls who will grow up to become the mothers, carers and workers in the future. We must protect them at home and in the work place, securing those valuable rights that the Labour movement has always fought for and won. Brexit cannot and should not become just another job for the boys. Women must take back control of their futures and demand a People`s Vote.
Julie Ward is a Labour Member of the European Parliament for the North-West.
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