Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is set to launch a campaign in the New Year to celebrate 100 years since the first woman secured the right to vote in the UK (with the 1918 Representation of the People Act). He announced his plans while visiting Platanos College in Lambeth, joining teenage girls and boys in a Fawcett Society workshop about the work of Millicent Fawcett and the Suffragist movement.

The name of the new campaign –‘ #BehindEveryGreatCity’ - is a play on the expression ‘behind every great man is a great woman’. It comes at a time when City Hall data shows that three times more women than men in London say that their gender hinders progression at work.

A recent report by ONS revealed that in the last 20 years, the gender pay gap in London closed by only 0.5%, from 15.1% down to 14.6%. Khan previously published the first-ever gender pay audit for City Hall and other Mayoral bodies including Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade.

Other planned initiatives include the training of senior managers to ensure recruitment processes are as fair as possible and increasing the availability of part-time and flexible working options.

The campaign will see a range of events and celebrations take place in 2018, starting with a year-long programme of works by female artists on the Tube, including Heather Philipson at Gloucester Road station and Njideka Akunyili Crosby at Brixton station.

A statue of Suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett will be also be unveiled in Parliament Square next year, created by Turner-prize winning artist Gillian Wearing.

The Mayor of London said: “Next year we mark a century since the first women got to vote in the UK - one of our country’s most pivotal moments. Milestones like this are a time to look back and mark the huge strides that have been made towards gender equality and to celebrate the success of women in our great city. It is also a time to take stock of the huge inequalities women still face, almost 100 years on since women first voted and, more importantly, to take action”.

See the full report and keep up to speed with the campaign here.

Image: Rex Features