London local body backs women
Controversial advocate with big budget and full-time staff
By
JACQUELINE STEINCAMP
The interests of women in London now have a new, official, and controversial champion — the Women’s Committee of the Greater London Council.
Established in early 1982 with an initial budget of more than half- a milion Bls, the committee is on County Hall. It has a staff of eight paid workers.
This news comes from the GLC as a result of the recent visit to Britain by Sir Hamish and Lady Hay Mayor and Mayoress of Christchurch. It is one of the most interesting pieces of information gathered up by Lady Hay, who is chairman of the Canterbury Regional Women’s Decade Committee.
“I was fascinated to find that a local body should have such a committee dealing specially with the perspectives of women,” said Lady Hay.
“I believe there is a need for a new look at changing government at every level, and a need for the special kind of contribution that only women can make.”
Support by the LabourParty dominated G.L.C. for the Women’s Committee, with its firm policies of grassroots involvement in setting priorities and in deci-sion-making, reflects the concern ’ of the International Women’s Decade, Copenhagen, 1980 at Women’s lack of progress. The 19 person committee is chaired by a Labour coun-
cillor Valerie Wise, and includes at least four male councillors. Baroness Gardner and Sonia Copland represent Conservative women in the GLC.
Eight co-opted members (non-councillors) represent specific minority groups, such as lesbian and disabled women, and ethnic groups.
The committee and its 14 working sub-groups meet regularly at County Hall. A free creche is supplied. Quarterly public meetings are being held to involve as many women as possible. As a result, working-sub-groups were formed to discuss policy and make recommendations in the areas of employment, child care, planning, ethnic minority women, lesbian woman, violence against women, education and youth services, media and the arts, peace, and women with disabilities.
Each of the these working groups meets regularly in County Hall and in conjunction with the women’s committee secretariat have produced a “Programme for
Women in London.” This is intended to be the subject of widespread discussions. “A programme for women is needed because women have distinct needs as women. Any programme on any issue, be it employment, education crecreation or whatever, will perpetrate existing male privilege unless there are concrete proposals for action to ensure otherwise,” explains the chairperson, Valerie Wise. The 1982/83 targets for the Women’s Committee includes advising on policy for the promotion of equal opportunity, and liaising with the equal opportunities adviser to the Council about women within the Council’s service, and also with other boroughs, and with employers in the Greater London area.
Other employment related activity includes a proposal to the GLC that firms or organisations obtaining any type of financial assistance
from the council should undertake to give full equality of opportunity to women. The Women’s committee is at present organising a major conference on equal opportunities which will be held later this year. For the general welfare and interests of women, the Committee organised a conference on ‘Women, Immigration and Nationality.’ It has also funded four Women’s Centres to the tyne of £75,000, provided financial assistance to more than 50 women’s organisations and voluntary groups; is running a pilot scheme to provide safe transport for women in Lewisham; and had made a London-wide survey on the adequacy of contraception, abortion, and sterilisation facilities.
The type of organisations funded are shown in the minutes of a meeting held on December 15, 1982. They are creche facilities at the
Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common; Dalston Children’s Centre, Lewisham Women Workers Group; St Raphael’s Women’s Workshop; Sisters Against Disablement; Spare Rib; Waltham Forest Women’s Centre; Westminster Women’s Aid, and a number of small grants.
The committee is alos: invovled in running and encouraging events on International Women’s Day. The sub-group on Violence Against Women met recently with the English Collective of Prostitutes to discuss the “related issues of police harassment and the law relating to prostitution.” They are also working on a criterion for the certification of films shown in cinemas in the London area.
Generally speaking, the committee is “deeply concerned about peace, power and racism, all of which are very much to the fore in British politics. The Greater London Council has itself. pledged to fight racism this’ year.
The Peace sub-committee
of the women's committee, formed at the end of 1982, made the bold initial step of hiring London Region green coaches to take women to Greenham Common to protest against the arrival of Cruise missiles.
“The greatest cause of conflict is injustice in the distribution of power and economic clout,” says Valerie Wise. “The people who have most to lose in a world, or a country, or a community dedicated to solving conflict by non-violent means, are almost exclusively male. A peace which does not' include a balance of justice in daily life will not be acceptable to women.”