London

About:

London is the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom, with a population of around 8.8 million people. The Greater London Authority, led by Mayor Sadiq Khan, is working to ensure no barriers prevent the full participation of the more than 4 million women and girls living, working, learning and caring in the city from enjoying all that London has to offer.

FEATURED WORK:

TACKLING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

London has made ending gender- based violence (GBV) a priority to make the city a safer place for women and girls. Launched in 2018, and refreshed in 2022, the Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy focuses on: preventing and reducing VAWG, supporting all victims and survivors, holding perpetrators to account, and building trust and confidence.

The strategy was published after extensive consultation with Londoners, victims of crime, partner agencies, and community and voluntary groups. it champions a public health approach and encourages everyone in London to play their part in ending the epidemic of violence against women and girls.

READ THE FULL STRATEGY

women’s night safety charter

The Women’s Night Safety Charter, the first of its kind, was launched to make London safer for women at night. It was developed to encourage councils, businesses, venues, and other organizations to prioritize women’s safety after 6:00 p.m.

Funding from the Mayor provides support, training, and resources to signatories to help them meet the seven pledges of the carter. The city has challenged workplaces to do their part in making the city safer for all women- employees, customers, and the broader public alike- by signing a pledge to take specific actions, including designating a lead for night safety within each organization and providing training for staff on how to respond appropriately to victims who come forward. Organizations that join are publicly recognized for signing the pledge- including every Premier League football club in London as of November 2023.

Download the women’s night safety charter toolkit

Have a word campaign

In 2022, Mayor Khan launched a new campaign – Have a word– calling on men to reflect on their own attitudes and to say something when their friends behave inappropriately towards women.

In 2023 Mayor Khan launched a follow up interactive video called Say Maaate to a Mate. The video cuts to a scene of a group of friends hanging out and asks the viewer to click the ‘Maaate’ button when they think it’s time to call out any misogynistic behaviour.

teachers toolkit

London schools that want to equip their students to recognize and tackle sexist and misogynistic behavior can deploy a new education toolkit available to every secondary school in London. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime worked in partnership with a local arts and education organization, Tender, as well as teachers, youth workers, and other partner organizations, to develop resources for educators to effectively engage young people on the issues of gender- based abuse, including relationship abuse and sexual violence.

Check out the toolkit

Project guardian

Through Project Guardian, London has made it easier for victims to report unwanted sexual behavior on public transport by using a text messaging service, which is routinely promoted across all of the city’s public transport networks. Furthermore, the city launched a communications campaign to encourage women to report incidents to the appropriate authorities.

WOMEN, GIRLS AND GENDER DIVERSE PEOPLE’S SAFETY IN THE PUBLIC REALM

The GLA’s Women, girls and gender diverse people’s safety in the public realm phase 1 report provides six key gender inclusive design principles for the built environment sector; a toolkit of questions to support design review and design processes; resources and exemplar projects.

The Women, girls and gender diverse people’s safety in the public realm phase 2 report builds on phase 1 providing case studies of applying the principles and processes.

Addressing the Gender pay gap

In the United Kingdom, annual reporting on the gender pay gap is mandatory for employers with more than 250 employees. Since 2016, the London government has not only published data on its workforce pay gap, but also has published a yearly action plan to monitor efforts taken to address the gap. Since 2017, it has also published a yearly ethnicity pay gap action plan, taking into account employees who experience multiple barriers on account of their gender and ethnicity. By publishing a gender pay gap action plan, the Mayor is seeking to lead by example and encourage other employers to take action.

Paid leave

Since 2018, London has provided paid leave to city staff for the parents of premature infants or those needing neonatal care. This is in addition to the paid time off parents receive for traditional maternity/ paternity leave. In announcing the policy, the Mayor of London Stated that he hoped others would follow suit.

Menopause support

In 2022, the Greater London Authority developed a world-leading menopause policy to better support women and colleagues going through menopause transition and introduced measures to shift perceptions surrounding menopause in the workplace. The GLA’s sickness policy affirms that debilitating gynaecological issues – including severe period pain – are grounds for reasonable adjustment or paid leave. The policy was created in order to tackle discrimination and the stigma around those experiencing menopausal symptoms in the workplace, as the Mayor is committed to leading by example and making London’s City Hall a ‘truly inclusive’ workplace.

GLA’s Menopause policy can be found here

THE LONDON GOOD WORK STANDARd

The Mayor’s Good Work Standard aims to improve working lives for Londoners, including those of women, by bringing together best employment practice and links to resources and support from across London to help employers improve their organisations.

WORKFORCE INTEGRATION NETWORK

The Mayor’s Workforce Integration Network (WIN)

works with employers, industry bodies and other public authorities to improve pathways for under-represented groups in the workplace to access and progress in good work and sustainable careers.

WIN is focused on improving labour market inequalities for groups identified as among the most underrepresented in London’s workforce, specifically:

Young Black men (16-24) and older Black men (50+)
Black women and
Pakistani and Bangladeshi women

The GLA has commissioned the National Institute for Economic and Social Research to research Bangladeshi and Pakistani Women in Good Work: Barriers to Entry and Progression.

WOMEN’S NETWORK

The GLA has a Women’s Network, which connects, informs and empowers GLA’s women employees. It provides opportunities to network, learn and celebrate women achievements.

Building a fairer city

The Building a Fairer City programme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing structural inequalities within London. Informed by a vision statement provided by the women and girls sector, it is focusing of four priorities