Ahead of the centenary of the first women in the UK securing the right to vote in 2018, the Mayor has announced that he will be running a year-long campaign to celebrate the role London played in the women’s suffrage campaign, to mark the progress that’s been made on women’s equality over the past 100 years and to drive gender equality across the capital.
The #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign will run throughout 2018, celebrating women from all walks of life – from the famous to the less well known – who have contributed to making London great.
“Next year we mark a century since the first women got to vote in the UK - one of our country’s most pivotal moments,” Sadiq said.
“Milestones like this are a time to look back and mark the huge strides that have been made towards gender equality, and to celebrate the success of women in our great city,” he said.
“It is also a time to take stock of the huge inequalities women still face, almost 100 years on since women first voted and, more importantly, to take action.”
A year of exciting events and celebrations will kick off with a programme of works by women artists on the London Underground. Art on the Underground, Transport for London's public art programme, has commissioned work from an international selection of renowned women artists to mark the momentous year.
The Mayor has also commissioned Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing to create a statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett. The statue will be the first-ever monument of a woman to stand within Parliament Square, following campaigning by feminist activist Caroline Criado-Perez.
“One hundred years ago women advocated, campaigned and fought bravely against a system that denied them their fundamental democratic rights,” Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said.
“So much has been achieved over the past 100 years but there is still a long way to go. Together with organisations and industries across the capital, we need to spread the message that Behind Every Great City are women and girls from all walks of life, contributing hugely to the success of our capital.”