TO MARK the 100th anniversary of the first women getting the vote in the UK, the Bishop-Elect of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, has called for patriarchal culture to be “challenged at every possible opportunity”.

In a blog post on the centenary of the passing of the Representation of Peoples Act, Bishop Mullally wrote: “In the year that I am to be installed as Bishop of London, the year we celebrate the centenary of the vote for some women, then I believe more is possible and not just possible, but necessary.”

The Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, echoed this in a statement, saying that there was “still a long way to go” for gender equality.

Bishop Treweek, the Church of England’s first female diocesan bishop, said that “we need to go on adding our voices to those who stand against practices and accepted cultural norms which demean women and girls across our world”.

British business have been warned by the Church Investors Group that it needs to do more for gender diversity on their boards or the group will refuse to re-elect directors at these firms.

The group, which includes the pension fund of the C of E and has combined investment funds of about $17 billion, said it would vote against the re-election of nomination committee chairs at UK listed companies if women made up less than 33 per cent of board members, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
 

Leader comment: Not over yet