We Belong Here: Women’s Takeover of the Senedd

Hosted by the Senedd Commission and organised by WEN Wales and Elect Her, this exciting one-day event on 21st October 2023 aimed to bring together the women of Wales to connect, mobilise and champion their role in Welsh democracy. Read the blog here, and check out photos from the event here.

We want equal and diverse representation for women in Welsh politics – particularly women from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds, LGBTQ+ women, Disabled women, and women with other protected characteristics. To this end, this event is geared towards ensuring that a broad and diverse range of women in Wales:

• Can meet and work together to consider the progress made to date towards equal and diverse representation in politics in Wales and the UK.
• Engage with senior representatives from relevant public bodies in Wales, including the Senedd, the Welsh Government, the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and others.
• Can learn more about the stages involved in standing for elected office and explore their own potential as candidates.
• Can meet with political leaders in national and local government to explore and learn about the roles, realities, opportunities, challenges, and potential impacts of standing for and achieving elected office.

Attendees found a warm welcome and a room full of amazing, like-minded women. They participated in free workshops and activities as we explored democratic participation in a safe and inclusive space. To top it off, we heard the positive and inspiring stories of women in elected office, both in person and live-streamed from our We Belong Here event at Senedd Cymru.

The Chamber session, led by Llywydd Elin Jones MS, featured politicians from across the political spectrum in a panel discussion and Q&A, preceded by keynote speeches from Deputy Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt, Natasha Asghar MS, and WEN Wales.

If we want a genuinely feminist and equitable society, we need your perspective to change the conversation. Women across Wales are underrepresented at every level of politics. We’re not short of women who care and are working for change in Wales, and it’s these women we need represented in the corridors of power. For politics to truly reflect the diversity of the Welsh population, there needs to be MSs who are women, including disabled women, women from an ethnic minority background, LGBTQ+ women and women with protected characteristics.

If you’d like to explore becoming a leader, legislator and champion of Welsh political governance, we’re here to help you take those steps. The time is now – you could be the one to make a difference.

Read more about the day’s selection of workshops here.