Educate the woman and you educate the family. Investment in people is the only way to deal with poverty and this begins within the family. In any society inequality is fundamentally unfair and truly damaging and should not be condoned or ignored. Men should be protectors of life not persecutors of the weak. Frankly, about time!

* Back #ICchange, to ratify the Istanbul Convention on ending violence against women and girls. * Complain to OFCOM / BBC Trust about political bias (pro-sexualization of the media & pro-gender stereotyping), rather than offensiveness. I pursued Britain's Got Talent for showing pole dancing in 2013. I lost on the basis, "political controversy can be formed on, or refer to, any conceivable subject... the subject matter of Britain's Got Talent, as a talent competition consisting of variety acts, [is] not a matter relating to public policy or political controversy." - What if there is a party campaigning against it in the run up to an election? * Back #EndDemand #nordicmodel, to end demand for sexual exploitation, decriminalise the sale of sex, criminalise the buying of sex, & provide support & exiting services for sex workers by passing the Sex Buyer Law. (I think WE ought follow EVAW's approach, rather than Amnesty International's backing of safe zones). * Recognize the economic implications of the sexualization of young women (e.g. Amartya Sen's cooperative conflict model, self-perception, internalizing etc.).

I was brought up by my mother as my father was a GI and went home.The stigma of being a single mother was bad enough, but my mum, who was a tailor was paid half of what the men, doing exactly the same job , were paid. She was extremely talented and could make anything from suits to ballgowns and theatrical costumes, wedding dresses ... She made clothes for royalty and theatrical costumes for many West End productions and musical films. Always being paid half of what the men were paid. One of the worst things she had to endure was when she wanted to buy a bed settee on H.P. - we lived in two rooms. A bedsit and kitchen. She could not have the HP agreement unless she had a man sign as guarantor. I feel so angry just writing this. Fortunately my uncle - her brother-in-law - signed for her. How did other women manage? As a young woman in the 60s, I challenged my boss at a large insurance company when I realised the boys doing the same work as I and the other girls were doing, (actuarial clerks) were paid a lot more than us. He agreed with me, but said he couldn't do anything as he did not have the power. I resigned. Here we are in 2015 and still fighting for equality for at least 51% of the population. If you take other 'minority' groups into consideration, the percentage is much higher!  Yours 'optimistically', Ann Curran Burt (member 0004145)

Until women are more fairly represented in all areas of life we have a duty to the next generation to campaign for equality.

I have always felt passionate about supporting equality and embracing diversity. I trained as a women's personal development trainer and coach so I could help women from a range of different backgrounds develop confidence in themselves and challenge discrimination. Similarly I joined the WE party as it speaks to my core values. There are so many issues that I want to see spoken up for by everyone especially men in order to bring an end to these abuses of human rights ie gender violence, gender pay gap etc. I am particularly keen to support BME women who face the dual barriers of gender and race inequality in preventing their advancement in society and the workplace.

I recently became a mother for the first time to a little girl. I was utterly staggered to witness the enormity of gender stereotyping that happens at children, right from birth. I naively thought this wouldn't be the case, what with it being 2015 an' all that. Plonker. It's rife. Having never been politically active before, I decided to become a Founding Member to combat this ridiculous notion that girls are less than. I want my daughter to grow up seeing Mummy putting actions to her beliefs. I want to "never grow a wishbone where my backbone ought to be" - Clementine Paddleford.

to show them I fought for change for a better and fair world for women, iam WE

In a period of time in which we have seen a General Election Campaign, the start-up of a new Party and, a long Leadership Campaign in one political party, there has been a continuous questioning fired at Parties: when are you going to do this? why aren't you doing that? what are you doing about something? And often, there has been a proviso: I shan't support you unless you do this, you won't have my vote if you don't do that. Yes, it is the job of a party to channel , prioritise and then push for those demands to be met through the implementation of policy. But there can be an over-reliance on this. In truth a Party, in having to prioritise, will not be able to represent all demands placed upon it. And when it does, the implementation of policy may have less of a reverberation than that really required to change things. A law may be changed but societal attitudes may take a long time to catch up. So, we also have to look beyond just a Party if we really want to change things. It isn't enough to merely tell a Party what we want of it: it isn't enough to give practical help to the Party in order to achieve that which it has prioritised. There is something else that is required and that is, that each of us have to individually be the change that we wish to see. As individuals we should live as far as we can, or push for as far as we can, that change that we wish to see. We, ourselves, have to go out on a limb like an astronaut leaving the mother ship on a safety line into an unknown space. Change demands that we venture into the new in our lives until it becomes our familiar. And if it seems scary, then we are held and sustained by that which is already familiar to us: our homes, our family, our friends. They are the safety line that enables us to venture into the new, experience the new and become excited by the new. As individuals we can be the change we want to be. We might say, through a Party, that we want a society that recognises that women can build and make things as men can do and we want it to provide for that in the interests of equality. But when my elderly neighbour recently said that she needed a new garden fence, I planned out how to make one, went to the DIY shop and bought the wood and metal joints and took some fence paint I had in my shed out and made her a new fence. Shortly afterwards, a male builder said in a tone of disbelief "You made that fence?" In order to truly bring about change, I believe that it is not enough to demand of a Party that it does the whole work for you but, that you have to also live the change and be the change you want .

It is time for us to continue the fight started by our sisters long ago.

I am WE so they get the chance to live in a better, equal world and so they never have to explain sexual discrimination to their children.

As a Diversity Specialist I am continually disappointed by the lack of understanding of why women are disadvantaged at work and in society. The way work is set up favours men, the differential way men and women are discussed for recruitment and promotion favours men. The language used to describe how men and women operate favours men. Many men in positions of power come from families where their mothers were home makers, their wives love that role too - they genuinely don't understand why other women want to be their equal in work...... until their daughters start to educate them. There are so many other examples and unintended biases that impact women in all areas of life. What is needed is more information in the public arena about these issues - discussion, understanding, sponsorship (by senior men of women) will all help. We can all work on fixing this and I am proud to be a part of the solution.

I believe that Women have experience that gives them insights that will help everyone achieve equality. I have never joined a political party before because there has never been a party that spoke of the need to develop equal opportunity so that we can all move forward together. My experiences of how inequality damages individuals, damages communities, damages our country made me want to be part of a movement for change and equality for everyone. When I was 16 (after failing throughout my school life culminating in failing all 7 of my O-Levels) I pushed my Mum to help me find out what was wrong with me. Eventually we got an appointment with an Educational Psychologist. He seemed to listen as I explained how hard it was to write so that people could read my words and how I wanted to write and to study. I then sat next to my mother and listened as an Educational Psychologist ignored me, looked at, and spoke directly to, my mum asking 'can she write enough to fill out a cheque?' 'Oh... yes' replied my mother 'Well then, she won't need to worry about anything; she'll be married soon and her husband will look after her' concluded the man. My desire to answer my mother's worries, to find out what was wrong with me and to have a future was written off. One failed marriage and 18 years later I started to study again, to take my GCSEs, to complete an access course, to complete my Maths and Education Degree; I could have done all of these things through my teenage years and into my early 20s if I had help, if my potential to contribute to anything had been recognised, if I had been valued. I have been teaching for 17 years and I love being part of a profession that contributes to the life of this country, a profession that at its best changes lives and empowers people to fulfil their dreams. I am excited to be part of the Women's Equality Party because at its best it promises to change lives and empower people to fulfil their dreams.

Drinking, partying, going to university, walking home, going to work, renting a house, going to hospital, should not be simple actions which result in sexual assault. I want the next generation to live in a country where a woman being raped is taken as seriously as a man being murdered - by the police, by the courts, by government, by society, by the friends and family of the victim, by the friends and family of the perpetrator. I am luck enough to be treated equally in my job - but everyone should get this. I want my daughters to not feel lucky to have equality at work because it is so normal they don't even realise it is something they should be thankful for.

What do you see? War, mostly men World leaders. Mostly men, Financial leaders, mostly men, Bankers, mostly men, As an alien what would you make of women?

I've been fortunate to have had a childhood where I was given the impression I could be anyone and do anything. That confidence has served me well through my forty odd years but I can, like all women, easily pick out a dozen instances, off the top of my pretty (but empty) little head, where I’ve encountered direct inequality. Mostly my experience has been with the casual sexism that has become part of our language, the throw away comments about women being weak (physically and therefore mentally and emotionally) or ‘family men’ being given more resources, respect and pay than working mothers by comparison. I’ve raised the odd comment in rebuttal but I mostly just let it slide, easier in the long run, I keep telling myself. I find it deeply saddening that inequality has become so ingrained in our society that on some level all women understand (and almost accept) that they will be treated as less than their male counterparts. After time the imbalance becomes the norm and social structures become reinforced. Equality rights affect everyone, think of how much stronger our nation and our world will be if everyone could take their place as equals. You can't sing with half a voice, you can't have vision with half an eye and you can't have a whole society without half the people being heard. Despite the backlash we need to find our voices. Up the women! (but obviously not higher than the men, just high enough to be equal. If we could sneak a brief period of dominance that would be great but let’s not run before we walk).

Because we should just be able to be who we are, not a male or a female doing a role but simply ourselves. I have a range of attributes, skills and ambitions. My personality and confidence is determined by myself and not by my gender or ethnicity. I feel the time is right to stand up and say lets be fairer and equitable to everyone. No more being 'lady-like' or 'acting like a man'.... lets just celebrate and appreciate humans as individuals

Because women's issues are people issues not a niche policy area. If the paradigm is to shift then women should be part of shaping all policy areas. WE are the majority not a minority.

Life is complicated. There are no simple answers to the multiplicity of problems that people, groups, and societies face. But given the transformative, multiplying effect that small advances in equality can have - like a form of homeopathy that actually works - supporting WE is the best way to promote changes that we all need.

All my working life I've seen women propping up men in the workplace. Offering up initiatives the men then take the credit for, together with the promotion AND the accompanying pay scale. They come into the workplace green as grass, they pick your brains and then suddenly they're listened to whilst you were never taken seriously. If there's a job going previously occupied by a male, and you're up for the position - they will offer it to you, of course, because you have the expertise and they need that - but the 'title' of the job will be changed, i.e. executive instead of manager, and the pay scale, of course, will be much lower! Then there's the 'old boy network' which I've had to put up with for years, along with all the condescension which goes along with it. Masters of the Universe, and capable of not much really. Thankfully this breed is dying out, but not fast enough for me. I'm not anti-men, not by a long shot. Just pro-justice. Fairness for every segment of our society has been addressed by the PC brigade but the women's cause is still bottom of the priority list, not taken seriously. After all, we've let it go on this long haven't we? The gals are still the ones sat at the front desk while the guys are, on the whole, the most likely to get the seat at the big desk.... Let's stop being emotional about this and get the laws tightened over women's employment rights, once and for all!