1. Bristol’s Counting
Women In Initiative
Susie East

2. Overview
1. Background information
2. Our activities since 2012:
Mayoral election 2012
Local Council elections 2014
General election 2015
3. Collaboration/who we work with
4. What we have achieved
5. Lessons learned

3. Background Information
 Who are Bristol Fawcett?
 Local statistics:
21 out of 70 councillors are women.
4 MPs – 2 Labour, 1 Conservative, 1 Lib Dem.
 What we want to achieve:
“Our vision for a feminist politics is one that recognises women as over 50% of the
population, that recognises the strengths and benefits of collaborative decision-
making and that conceptualises leadership as power to enable rather than the
exercise of power over others.”
 How we work:
Compile and report data, work with/advise politicians, inform voters, and work to
increase turnout.

4. Our Main Activities Since 2012
 Mayoral elections 2012: Published a report, “The Right Man for Bristol?” and
helped organise a Bristol Women’s Question Time with Mayoral Candidates.
 Local council elections 2014: Compiled and published a report rating
candidates’ engagement with women’s issues in Bristol.
 General election 2015: Write briefings for candidates on transport,
childcare, women’s representation in politics, health and the economy. We
will meet personally with them to discuss the briefings before the hustings in
April.

5. Mayoral Election 2012
 We produced a report called “The Right Man for Bristol?”.

6. Mayoral Election 2012
 Percentages of Female Councillors by Party:

7. Mayoral Election 2012
 Women’s Question Time

8. Local Council Elections 2014
Created three
questions and
scoring system
Contacted
council
candidates
through Bristol
Women’s Voice
Analysed and
scored their
answers
Compiled report
and shared
online
 (See handout for finished report)

9. General Election 2015
 Write briefings for MP candidates on Health, Transport, Political
Representation, Childcare, Violence Against Women, and the Economy.
 Meet up with key candidates to present briefings, talk about women’s issues,
and network/create relationship.
 Collaborate with Bristol Women’s Voice on hustings before the general
election and send a representative.
 Compiling data of MP voting behaviour to inform public.
 Starting a new webpage to use in the run-up to the general election.

10. Collaborations
 Bristol Women’s Voice
Pros: Use data/reports, takes off pressure of ‘doing everything’.
Cons: Work to a different schedule, had some issues with local elections.
 Bristol Women’s Commission
Pros: Invited to events, sharing platform.
 Bristol Feminist Network
Pros: Join in with campaigns eg. Reclaim the night.
 University of Bristol
Pros: Expertise, a platform to speak from, students.
Cons: In and out of touch.
 Local councillors, the Mayor, and MPs.
Pros: Having influence, staying informed.
Cons: Maintaining impartiality.

11. What We Have Achieved
 Creating and sharing numerous reports: Cutting Women Out 2014, Views of
Local Council Candidates on Women’s Issues, PPC Briefings, “The Right Man
for Bristol?” etc.
 Attending events and speaking on behalf of Bristol Fawcett, encouraging new
members to join.
 Positive relationships with MP candidates and councillors.
 3000 visitors per month to the website, 188 facebook members, over 1000
twitter followers.

12. Lessons Learned
 Campaign plan, minutes, and agendas keep us organised. Need to take into
account minor details and how they effect strategy.
 Sometimes we just don’t have the resources, have to agree to leave issues
because we don’t have the time.
 Our group meets once a month which means that we have to plan in advance,
difficult to be spontaneous, more about long term strategy.
 Using social media to spread word/reports works well.

13. Thank you