Sophie Walker
I am going to make London the first city in the world where men and women are equal. London’s four million women are living with the UK’s biggest pay gap, most expensive childcare, highest sexual violence rates and highest child poverty.
I’ve watched one London Assembly after another ignore and undervalue women. Now I want to take action to help them flourish. Because when London’s women flourish, the city will be better for everyone.
I worked as a reporter for 20 years, covering politics, business and finance. I have campaigned hard as an ambassador and patron for autism charities so we can better understand and embrace diversity. As leader of the Women’s Equality Party, I have built a vibrant political movement of 45,000 members and supporters in just 9 months.
I've done this while balancing the needs of my children against the daily demands of work - one of millions of women to do so, wondering why politicians don’t seem to want to help.
I am going to help. I am going to make equality and diversity the fuel that drives our nation’s capital.
A vote for me is a vote for all.
Make this election matter. Invest in an equal future for our capital. Donate today.
Harini Iyengar
I grew up in Manchester and have lived in Hackney and Islington for 17 years.
In London I find the whole world: racially and socially diverse, spanning extremes of social privilege and disadvantage, delights and challenges.
If elected, I will act out a new, positive political culture that welcomes women.
WE aspire to create this.
Since 1999, I’ve been a barrister, specialising in anti-discrimination, sexual harassment, and equal pay cases.
I work full-time and care for my three children as a single parent. I care about the world we offer to young people.
I will share my knowledge and lived experiences, campaign with energy, and enact our ideas for change, in the service of London.
Jacquelyn Guderley
I’m Jacquelyn, a 28-year-old Londoner and committed social entrepreneur. I was born in Enfield, where I still live today.
I don’t want gender equality to be an idea. I want to make it a reality.
I work towards this every day in my work for Stemettes, which I co-founded. We’re an award-winning social enterprise that inspires girls and young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM).
If elected, I will implement practical measures so that the London Assembly becomes a permanent space for gender equality. It is time we embed gender equality across London.
We must teach the youth of today, and include the men of today, for all the women of tomorrow.
Isabelle Parasram
I was born in east London to Indo-Caribbean parents who emigrated from Trinidad. I now live in Wanstead with my husband Clyde and our four children.
I’m the Head of Chambers of Greycoat Law, a legal practice and regulatory consultancy I founded after a 17-year career as a barrister.
I offer a passion for justice and an unwavering belief, tempered by empathy.
If elected I will work tirelessly across cultural and ethnic divides, drawing on a wide range of community networks across diverse groups of Londoners.
I will passionately advocate for WE, as a lawyer representing women's rights and as an expert across a range of sectors.
And I will use my legal influence and expertise to campaign on such issues as FGM, human trafficking and forced marriage.
Nothing is impossible. I look forward to proving this in May.
As well as being a committed feminist and Londoner of forty years now living in Islington, I will bring valuable experience from my roles as an entrepreneur and charity trustee to the GLA.
I will push for a world where a genuine work-life balance is achievable for all women.
I will deliver the long-overdue reality of equal pay across all types of jobs. I will also increase job sharing and flexible working, including in politics.
As a successful entrepreneur, I know how critical it is to help solve everyday challenges in balancing work demands with caring responsibilities and other activities.
I will use my knowledge and experience to present and debate the women’s equality agenda in a credible and authoritative way.
As a Trustee of Women in Sport I will ensure the GLA works with London’s schools to get more girls and women playing sport and keeping fit.
I will also fight to keep women out of pension poverty, as well as to establish enterprise hubs in London to tap into the skills, experience and potential of older people.
If you give me your vote, I will be an energetic and effective GLA member in all these areas, and more.
I am 43 and a Londoner born and bred.
I live in Peckham with two housemates. I was brought up in Ealing and studied at the local comprehensive. I’ve lived, worked, studied and had fun all over our amazing city.
I have worked as a barrister for 15 years, in the fields of family and housing law. For the past three years I’ve been vice-chair of Liberty, the civil liberties and human rights NGO.
I’m a passionate advocate of justice and human rights.
I am also a passionate advocate of the Women’s Equality Party.
If elected, I will tackle the lack of diversity in politics and law, and the scandalous under-representation of women at all levels of policy and law-making.
I will stand up for equality in my city, putting my skills and experience to work.
The realities of inequality are starkly demonstrated in London: the pay gap, alack of affordable childcare and lack of housing will be top of my agenda.
I will put these issues at the top of the GLA’s agenda.
Anila Dhami
I am Anila Dhami and I live in Rainham, Essex. I’m a journalist working to raise awareness of the issues women face, and to initiate change.
I will work towards ending violence against women, from rape and domestic abuse to everyday sexism. I will work towards creating a fair representation of women in all aspects of media so that instead of being sexualised and objectified, women are valued for their intellects. I am committed to breaking glass ceilings for women in the workplace, and leaving them shattered for future generations.
“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back,” says Malala. Instead of campaigning #HeCan or #SheCan, I believe that #WeCan make a difference together, so will ensure that men are included in my campaign.
As a British Asian, I understand the importance of making the fight for women a fight for all – no matter one’s background, ethnicity or race.
I will use my position to create a better world for us and our children.
I’ve lived in London half my life and I’m determined to show Londoners that women’s equality benefits everyone.
I studied geography and human rights before starting my career as a teacher. Now I lead advocacy for an international health charity, demanding gender equality, women’s empowerment, health and rights.
During my career with campaigning charities I’ve advocated for an end to UK child poverty, and championed international development as a spokesperson for the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign.
I have experience of local politics and policy development with one of the three main Parties, but I’ve been bitterly disappointed with their lack of action on women’s concerns.
I am passionate about the Women’s Equality Party’s objectives and share the party’s values.
We all need better politics; we need women’s equality at the top of the agenda. Let’s start by getting more women in the GLA.
I love London. It's the greatest city in the world but I believe it could be even greater.
I have run a business in this city for nearly twenty years, I go to football and I'm passionate about the media and popular culture.
Since my parents came to north London from Cyprus in the 1960s, a lot has changed but still not enough for women - whether it’s in offices, in homes and communities, on our streets, in sports stadia or on our screens.
I want to make things better. For everyone. That means doing what I've always done: fighting for what's right, for equality. Challenging the day-to-day things as well as tackling structural constraints.
I'd love to see more people who aren't steeped in politics making a difference. People who can get things done. I've been getting things done at work, at home and in the LGBT community for years. That's why I've decided to stand.
London needs an articulate, campaigning businesswoman to hold the London Assembly to account on gender equality issues. In this time of uncertainty, London needs cohesion not conflict. WE can achieve this.
Rebecca Manson Jones
I want to be an astronaut, a rock star, join the Navy but it’s 1973 and I’m a girl. Instead, I become a feminist and a theatre director. After working in leading London theatres, I found an award-winning arts charity, touring theatre in London and out-of-the-way places.
My first job opened my eyes to politically-inspired theatre. Ever since, I’ve been addressing social equality, challenging injustices, and opening up opportunities for people to realise their potential.
I live in Brockley with my husband who I met 25 years ago. Over 20 years, I’ve become rooted in London.
Londoners are living through huge change and WE can be at its centre: I want a new way of doing things, a new set of people determining our future.
Using my experience of listening to and advocating for marginalized groups, I will focus on ensuring that women’s interests are represented at every level.
Politics could and should be for everyone.
I want to see politics opened up and made accessible, relevant and exciting to all Londoners.