Ethnic minority women councillors: swimming against the tide (29/10/07)

A report published today by the Fawcett Society and the Government Equalities Office reveals that ethnic minority women still face too many barriers to becoming councillors.

Ethnic minority women councillors are passionate about improving local communities and want to use their expertise on the issues facing ethnic minority women. They are motivated to become councillors by a desire to 'put the world right', taking pride in their abilities to make a difference by helping others.

They also act as role models and champions for other women – but recognise that there are still too many barriers to other ethnic minority women getting involved in local government.

Responding to the report, Minister for Women Harriet Harman said:
"Traditionally people have seen being a councillor as a white middle class hobby for men. The 2.3 million Black, Asian and ethnic minority women in the UK make a great contribution to our society and economy and we need them to be represented at every level of our democracy from magistrates and councillors in their local communities to MPs at Westminster."

zohra moosa, Fawcett's Senior Policy Officer for Race & Gender, said:
"Ethnic minority women councillors appear to be swimming against the tide. They are motivated and keen to make a difference but council's have not yet modernised to accommodate them. What we need is for political parties and local councils to wake up to the needs of 21st century local governments by making use of all the talent that is available. In particular, they should focus on improving recruitment and training, and reviewing working hours and remuneration to ensure that those aren’t a barrier to involvement."

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said:
"There are those who talk about our councillors being  'pale, male and stale' – I think that label is unfair but we do need to ensure all elected representatives, national and local, better reflect their communities. I know what an invaluable role councillors play in every aspect of our communities. But if we want to make sure that councils are truly representative so that every voice in every part of the community is being heard it is vital that we find new ways to encourage more black and ethnic minority women to take up these crucial posts. That is why we set up the Councillors Commission – that will report to me later this year and I am committed to finding practical ways that will help to make this happen."

Ethnic minority women face three key barriers to becoming councillors

• Being a councillor still looks like a white middle class hobby
  The councillor role continues to be treated as a pastime for those with spare time and money – rare gems for most ethnic minority women.
• Political parties are gate-keeping
  Local political parties' commitment to diversity remains weak and ethnic minority women potential candidates face poor support and even discrimination from parties.
• Local parties are not bridging the distance to ethnic minority women
  Most of the ethnic minority women councillors interviewed had become a councillor because somebody asked them. Many ethnic minority women simply have a longer journey to become a councillor because they tend to start with lower knowledge of what councils are about, their communities may not support women taking on such a role, and they may feel isolated if they do become a councillor because they are likely to be in the minority. But not enough ethnic minority women are being asked.

Ethnic minority women councillors face common challenges

• Unprofessional: office hours are unspecific and often extend to late evenings and weekends. There is an over-reliance on personal contact information such as private mobile numbers or home addresses for council work.
• Poorly paid: allowances are often inadequate for the work involved, inconsistent across boroughs, and penalise those receiving benefits.
• Overworked: central Government’s push to decentralise increases the quantity and complexity of local council work and the capacity of councillors to manage the load needs to be increased.
• Under-resourced: councillors struggle to receive the financial, logistical and administrative support they need to do their jobs well.

Ways to support ethnic minority women becoming councillors

• Outreach: government and local political parties need to specifically and consistently target ethnic minority women in their recruitment efforts and then champion them once they become councillors. Most of the ethnic minority women councillors interviewed said they got involved because somebody asked them.
• Professionalisation: councils need to catch up with modern trends in public service by standardising councillors’ office hours, providing appropriate remuneration, and helping ethnic minority women maintain other responsibilities such as care work, private lives and work-life balance.
• Support: councils need to provide adequate formal induction and training to new councillors. Councils also need to modernise by providing flexible, tolerant and diverse working practices (e.g. enabling remote working and timetabling meetings to suit those with caring responsibilities).

About the Research

These interim findings are part of Fawcett's wider qualitative research project called Routes to Power which is tracking ethnic minority women's routes into, through, up and out of decision-making positions. The final report will be published later in the year.