Guy Renner-Thompson has signed the five pledges put forward by the ‘One Million Women and Girls’ campaign to support women if elected as the new Mayor of the North East.
The women and girls campaign group was established last year to campaign for better, gender-informed policy making by the new Combined Authority. The campaign centres on getting leaders to consider the specific needs of women from the beginning, which results in better public policy making that works for everyone.
The specific responsibilities of the new Mayor will include transport, housing and regeneration policy, economic policy and adult education and skills. These are all areas of importance to women and girls.
Guy said, “I met with the campaign group back in early February and it wonderful to be invited to their very well attended hustings in Newcastle to talk about my plan for the North East and sign the 5 pledges.
There are many practical steps I would take as mayor to make life better for women, including better lighting at metro stations and bus stops, and getting into our schools and collages so the new jobs I will bring to the North in green energy or manufacturing are there for women too.
I’ve seen this first hand at our world class welding training centre in Blyth and I can do it across the North East.”
The five pledges are:
1. I/we will take practical steps to improve the lives of women and girls in our
region
2. I/we will work with partners to ensure women and girls can access safe
transport, can access housing, good quality jobs, training, and adult education
3. I/we will listen to women and girls from all communities and act on what they
tell me/us to understand what they need / the barriers they face
4. I/we will put in place systems and structures to ensure equality for women and
girls
5. I /we will explicitly consider the specific impact on women and girls of every
policy / strategy we develop, seeking to maximize positive and mitigate
negative impacts
