Lobby Day: 11th September 2024

On Wednesday 11th September, hundreds of women and men came to Parliament to tell their MPs to stand up for single-sex services and to make the Equality Act clear. Some had appointments, others queued up patiently to “green card” their representatives, that is, to fill in a green slip of paper asking them to come down to the lobby for a meeting. Because there were so many of us the desk was moved from the central lobby to the larger space of Westminster Hall.

The government’s current position as set out by the Minister for Women and Equalities, Anneliese Dodds, is: “We are proud of the Equality Act and the rights and protections it affords women. The Government does not plan to amend legal definitions in the act.” But plans can change. We want every MP to hear again and again during this parliament that the law is not working in practice to ensure that single-sex services, spaces and sports are provided.

A mass lobby day on this scale was a huge operation for a small organisation and we worked with the Women’s Rights Network, and with the political groups Labour Women’s Declaration, Conservatives for Women, Liberal Voice for Women and Green Women’s Declaration. We were also joined by representatives of LGB Alliance and Transgender Trend. 

It was an amazing day: energising, inspiring and exhausting, particularly for those who travelled far. Afterwards we met at the statute of Millicent Fawcett to take a photograph (and then of course we went to the pub). There were many familiar faces, but also many I had never seen before, and women and men who had not spoken up publicly or met anyone else campaigning on this issue before. 

Here are some of the Sex Matters team that made it all happen!