CAMPAIGNERS are urging whoever becomes the first North East mayor to take “concentrated, determined action” to improve the lives of the one million women and girls in the region.

The political rivals set to contest a historic mayoral election this May are being asked to commit to a series of pledges aimed at addressing gender inequality issues in a range of key areas that the new political figurehead will hold power over – including transport, housing, and jobs.

Members of the One Million Women and Girls campaign are challenging the mayoral candidates to lay down a vision that will maximise the potential of females across the region, with the economic exclusion of women estimated to have cost the wider North East more than £2 billion in 2022.

Campaigner Cullagh Warnock said: “We are trying to seize this moment. This is a point in time where we can see a really significant step change, if we can get the candidates and the local authorities on board.

“This is not about making things better for women and girls to the detriment of men and boys. If things work better for women and girls they tend to work better for everyone – whether that is more accessible, safe public transport, more flexible adult education options, etc. It tends to scoop everyone up and give them a better deal.” 

The campaign cites the region’s current strategic economic plan as one area tilted in favour of men, due to a focus on developing sectors like manufacturing, digital technology, and energy – areas in which women are less likely to be employed.

The 58-year-old, from Heaton, added: “Those are really sensible areas to concentrate on and we are not saying that we should not be looking at renewables or transport or IT. But how do we make sure that women and girls can get into those industries? Experience suggests that it will take a concentrated, determined action that has been well thought out. It won’t just happen by chance.”

It has been suggested that the new mayor could push for greater job creation in areas such as social care, while also “taking concrete steps to remove barriers to women and girls choosing careers in sectors such as digital, energy, transport and logistics”.

Prioritising improvements to bus services, which women use more often, and tackling problems like a lack of affordable childcare are also on the agenda.

A motion backing the One Million Women and Girls group and calling on the new North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA) to take action was passed by Newcastle City Council last week and the campaign hopes that every other local authority in the region will follow suit.

Karen Kilgour, the council’s deputy leader, said it was essential that the North East’s multi-billion pound devolution deal is not “another opportunity that leaves women behind”.

She added: “Women are far more likely to work in low-paid sectors than men, with part-time or temporary contracts also being more common. This means women, especially women with children, are far more likely to face poverty and destitution than men. Women are more likely to need or arrange childcare and are far more likely to be caregivers, either paid or unpaid.”

Fellow Labour councillor Lesley Storey told colleagues how the North East has fewer women in work than anywhere and that 25.3 per cent of women in the region are economically inactive, compared to 20.5 per cent of men.

An order that will ratify the new devolution deal is expected to be laid in Parliament shortly, paving the way for a mayoral election to be held in May.

The new mayor will cover a large patch encompassing Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Durham.

The current list of candidates features Labour’s Kim McGuinness, independent Jamie Driscoll, Conservative Guy Renner-Thompson, Liberal Democrat Aidan King, the Green Party’s Andrew Gray, and Paul Donaghy for Reform UK.