Spend ten minutes browsing Mumsnet, and you’ll see that every single day, women and girls are told that society considers them less than men. The failure to tackle male violence against women, the gender pay gap, the crisis in maternity care - all of these examples are indicative of a political culture which sees “women’s problems” as less important than men’s.
Ahead of the General Election, and based on what our 9m - overwhelmingly female - users have told us over the past four and a half years, we’ve compiled this Mumsnet Manifesto, with a series of policy asks for the next government.
76% of our users tell us they think women’s voices are not heard at the top levels of government: we’re challenging politicians to change that, engage with these issues and prove that they are listening to women.
Our asks for the next government
A statutory inquiry into maternity care
Immediate action to tackle birth trauma
Guarantee of hands-on breastfeeding support for every new mum
Reform of formula marketing regulations to ensure they are not penalising families
Make women and girls safe
Reform family law to protect survivors of domestic abuse
Mandatory publication of parental leave for large employers
Improved paternity leave
Action to improve female representation in politics
Decriminalisation of abortion
Reform of the Equality Act to ensure women can access single-sex spaces
A Parliamentary vote on assisted dying
If you are interested in finding out more about our campaigning ahead of the election you can stay updated via our Mumsnet Campaigns page and follow us on X/Twitter @MumsnetTowers for all the latest news.
If you want to help us spread the word please do share our manifesto with your local candidates - we’ve shared some suggested text below to be shared on X:
‘@Candidate’sXaccount As a voter in your constituency I wanted to highlight my support for the Mumsnet Manifesto and would ask that you take a look at and support their recommendations (attach link)’
Or if you would like to e-mail your candidate:
'Dear (candidate name),
I’m writing to share a copy of the Mumsnet Manifesto, which was developed with the input and experience of the site’s nine million - predominantly female - users. This manifesto brings together 12 policy asks for the next government that reflect the website's campaigning work on women's health, women's safety, the Motherhood Penalty and political representation over the past twenty years. They are:
A statutory inquiry into maternity care
Immediate action to tackle birth trauma
Guarantee of hands-on breastfeeding support for every new mum
Reform of formula marketing regulations to ensure they are not penalising families
Make women and girls safe
Reform family law to protect survivors of domestic abuse
Mandatory publication of parental leave for large employers
Improved paternity leave
Action to improve female representation in politics
Decriminalisation of abortion
Reform of the Equality Act to ensure women can access single-sex spaces
A Parliamentary vote on assisted dying
Mumsnet’s users are highly engaged in politics with 92% voting in every General Election - but three quarters of them feel their voices are not heard by politicians. Please take the time to engage with the issues raised here and listen to women’s voices. My vote will depend on it.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXX'
Our full manifesto is linked below.