Centenary Action, an organisation seeking to achieve gender equality in parliament by 2028, is calling on politicians to put women at the centre of the vote in the upcoming general election.

The organisation has launched several campaigns as part of its #SheVotes2024 mission. On 11 June, the organisation revealed a billboard at Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford, London, as part of its campaign. #SheVotes24 is a coalition of over 100 organisations that have come together to ensure women’s issues and voices are at the heart of the election.

In addition to revealing the billboard, Centenary Action launched The Promise – encouraging business leaders and entrepreneurs to take the lead by sharing information on how staff and employees can register to vote or apply for a postal/proxy vote and enable staff to vote on polling day through working from home or allowing flexibility to get to the polling station. This comes after research by the organisation found that 76% of women are planning to vote yet 21% of women think that political parties only think about women’s issues for tactical gain and 28% of women don’t think that the political parties think about the female vote. This lines up with Stylist’s recent survey that found, shockingly, only 0.6% of women would say they “trust” current politicians.

Speaking about #SheVotes2024 and The Promise, Helen Pankhurst CBE, convenor of Centenary Action, campaigner and the great-granddaughter of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, said: “Apathy, toxicity and negativity are creating a backwards step in gender equality. We want to galvanise women to get out and vote, be at the heart of decision making and create a more equitable playing field. And we want to call on businesses to facilitate this too, which is why we are asking them to sign up to The Promise, to encourage staff to register to vote and make it easier to vote on the day through flexible working.

“Women, 51% of the population, need to be seen by politicians of all parties as important stakeholders, because we need to be in the centre and not on the margins of policy making. The fact that the candidates are still predominantly men – estimated to be 69% of candidates at this election – does not help.”

You can find out more about #SheVotes2024 here and sign up to The Promise here.

Images: Getty