Real Women: Healthy, happy and confident
Cllr Karen Chilvers has welcomed the latest Lib Dem Policy for Women launched to day by Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson. Jo has launched the "Real Women" paper which aims to inject some realism into the portrayal of women in the media.
Jo said:
"Despite great strides forward in equality, women still get paid less than men, and generally still end up taking more responsibility for childcare and looking after elderly relatives. This can be hugely rewarding, but combining this with a job can seem almost impossible. Hit hard by the recession, trying to juggle family commitments with work and home life, it's easy to feel like you're running just to stand still.
"The media screams out an endless list of things still to do: get a bikini body in 20 days, plan the perfect children's party, how to look 10 years younger."
"There's a lot the Government could do to give a helping hand and it would be nice to inject some realism into the media's portrayal of women, instead of the suggestion that nothing less than perfection will do."
Cllr Karen Chilvers, who is the sole female opposition councillor on Brentwood Borough Council, said:
"Jo's paper tackles a lot of very important issues for women which will strike a chord with women all across Brentwood. "Real Women" includes over 40 sensible ideas to help women and talks about how to tackle the pay gap, help throughout life, support for families, flexible working, body image pressure, health and fitness, safety and tackling violence.
"I would urge all women to read this paper that clearly sets out what the Liberal Democrats would do differently to help real women."