(Samaj Weekly)-
The West Midlands will soon have its first woman deputy mayor if Labour’s Liam Byrne is elected as Metro Mayor in May’s regional elections.
He made the pledge during an online hustings to mark Monday’s International Women’s Day organised by the women’s activist group The Fawcett Society.
Liam Byrne’s gender equality scheme will extend right through the West Midlands Combined Authority. He said:
“There will be no ifs or buts. We can’t level up our region until we fix the power failures that deny West Midlands women the power and influence that should be theirs.
“My second in command, the deputy mayor, will be a woman.
“This has to be part of an overhaul of the way our region does business. Four years after he was elected, our Tory Mayor still has 80% of the voting rights in his combined authority held by men. We just won’t get on as a region until we’re a region that helps West Midlands women get on. But if we’re to take better decisions, we need a proper balance of men and women at the top table.
“So, I’ll work with leaders of the region to create a proper, gender balanced cabinet to help run the region day to day.
“Every one of our policies will be subject to an equalities impact assessment to ensure that we serve all of our communities whatever their gender, sexuality, race or religion.
“All our contractors will be asked to confirm that they have recruitment and promotion policies in place which ensure equal treatment for all sections of the community,” added Liam Byrne.
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