Lee Chalmers's Blog (17)

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Children of MPs to be cared for in Parliament’s first crèche



MPs taking part in late night Commons' votes will be able to drop their children off to be cared for in a purpose-built £400,000 crèche from September.



By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent, The Telegraph

Published: 4:18PM GMT 15 Dec 2009



Under plans to be announced shortly, the House of Commons will for the first time offer a flexible "short-term, short-notice" child minding service on… Continue

Women Will Rule Business

By CLAIRE SHIPMAN AND KATTY KAY Thursday, May. 14, 2009



Work-life balance. In most corporate circles, it's the sort of phrase that gives hard-charging managers the hives, bringing to mind yoga-infused, candlelit meditation sessions and — more frustratingly — rows of empty office cubicles.



So, what if we renamed work-life balance? Let's call it something more masculine and appealing, something like ... um ... Make More Money. That might… Continue

From the FT today, 14th Dec 2009



(Full report here: http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/bit-rich)



"Bankers should count themselves lucky they are being hit by a mere 50 per cent additional tax on bonuses, a new report argues today, because their benefit to society is negative.



The New Economics Foundation, a left-leaning think-tank, says that by contrast hospital cleaners and many other… Continue

British Government not backing UK Women for CEDAW Vacancies and the new UN Super-Agency For Women



Further to the response by Michael Foster to written Questions in the Commons from the MP Jo Swinson (see below at ‘Questions tabled and answered in the House of Commons’), the eminent human rights and equal opportunities Queen’s Counsel Lord Lester plans to table the following Questions in the Upper House:



Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what… Continue

Brighton Argus



9:41am Saturday 5th December 2009

By Andy Chiles »





Brighton is set to hold what is believed to be the first all-female parliamentary election ever in Britain.



The milestone has been reached after the Liberal Democrats revealed Andrew Falconer, their original candidate for the Brighton Pavilion constituency, had pulled out and would be replaced by one of a shortlist of four women.



Whoever is selected will stand against… Continue

So, as I look at the election approaching, probably on May 6th, I wonder what stops your average women on the street from wanting to stand as an MP. I know for me there a load of things that put me off. The notion of my entire life being trawled through and serialised in the Daily Mail, the never ending comments about my face/hair/teeth/shoes, the disparaging analysis of my every word or worse still, a complete disregard for my existence as a candidate at all. That's assuming that I can decide… Continue

THE WHITE HOUSE



Office of the Press Secretary

___________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release August 26, 2009



WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY, 2009

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA



A PROCLAMATION



Today, our country renews its commitment to freedom and justice for all our citizens. As we prepare to celebrate this women's day of equality, we reflect on the… Continue

Last week I had the good fortune to be in New York at the same time as one of the White House Project WOLF information events. Julie Gilbert and Marie Wilson kindly said that I could come along, to observe and see how where they are with their work can inform what The Downing Street Project is doing in its early and stumbling stages.



I took copious notes and thought I’d outline them here to give you a sense of what Marie Wilson was sharing about The White House Project, why it was… Continue

Here it is! What do you think?



http://10commandments.tweetminster.com/results.aspx



Here are the final "10 Commandments for Members of Parliament".



These commandments will be presented to all MPs and PPCs. Over the next few months and beyond the General Election, we will monitor the impact of these 10 Commandments to see if the actions of MPs live up to the standards that have been set. Our goal is to make a small contribution to making politics more open and… Continue

Fixing the Economy? It's Women's Work.



By Katty Kay and Claire Shipman

Sunday, July 12, 2009



While the pinstripe crowd fixates on troubled assets, a stalled stimulus and mortgage remedies, it turns out that a more sure-fire financial fix is within our grasp -- and has been for years. New research says a healthy dose of estrogen may be the key not only to our fiscal recovery, but also to economic strength worldwide.



The sexy new discussion in policy… Continue

Later this year the UN will vote on establishing a Women's Agency with a budget of a billion dollars. What would we like them to do? Read why Lesley Abdela thinks its important:



Finally, a UN agency for women

By Lesley Abdela, The Guardian

Wednesday, 27 May 2009



The UN system has failed the world's 3 billion-plus women - but a new 'super-agency' may bring welcome change.



This autumn the UN general assembly will vote yes or no to a… Continue

Here is the latest newsletter from CFWD



2009 Election Results

We have now completed some of our work on the 2009 European, mayoral and local elections. 33% of MEPs elected in the UK were women – a rise of 7%, whilst across Europe 35% of the new Parliament will be female as opposed to 31% before the elections. The country with the highest representation of women as MEPs is Finland (62%), with Malta (0%) the Czech Republic (18%) at the bottom. You can download the full… Continue

Here is the latest newsletter from The Centre for Women and Democracy. To view it as a web page click here. See back issues here. Many thanks to Nan Sloane, Director of CFWD, for permission to re-publish.



Elections 2009

Now that the results of the 2009 local, mayoral and European elections are all in, we… Continue

Too Much Testosterone on Wall Street?



Posted by Sylvia Ann Hewlett on January 7, in Harvard Business Review



Finance has always been dominated by men and driven by a testosterone-enhanced culture. If women had been running our banks, might we have avoided the sub-prime mess and the resulting economic meltdown?



Halla Tomasdottir, a prominent Icelandic financier, answers yes. In a recent BBC interview she shared her outrage at the wild risks male… Continue