Women need allyship to enter politics, expert says

Ellisha Soanes is an award winning equality and diversity consultant from Suffolk

Representation and allyship are vital to encourage women from ethnic minorities into politics, an equality expert has said.

Ellisha Soanes, a co-director of Aspire Black Suffolk and chief executive of Shine by ES Consulting, works to inspire the next generation, and speaks to schools about equality, diversity and inclusion.

She was invited to be a guest speaker at the Houses of Parliament on 27 October to encourage women from minority groups to enter politics.

Mrs Soanes said it was important for these women to be supported and to see themselves represented within the world of politics.

Mrs Soanes met with Ipswich Labour MP Jack Abbott during her visit to Parliament

"I think it's so important that we see representations and representations in a positive way," she explained to BBC Look East.

"I always say, regardless of the lack of opportunities that I saw growing up, I was still able to climb those ladders.

"It's really important to have that understanding and the biggest thing is allyship - where is that support - making sure we have people opening doors for everyone.

"But also it's about education... do we even understand the world of politics, the roles that are out there and what that looks like.

"It's recognising our understanding of biases, not just for women from diverse backgrounds, but everybody to have opportunities and understanding."

The Connect and Reflect session brought in many different voices to help encourage ethnic minority women into politics

According to a recent House of Commons Library report, following last year's general election there were 51 women from minority ethnic groups in the House of Commons, making up 8% of all MPs and 19% of the 263 female MPs.

While the report states that the number of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in public positions in the UK has increased, "they are still proportionally underrepresented", Mrs Soanes says.

She was invited to attend the Connect and Reflect: Empowering Ethnic Minority Women in Politics session at Parliament, which brought together MPs and other political leaders as part of Black History Month in October.

"We had some really important people in that room and hopefully changemakers can really take on some of the conversations we had around women, ethnicity and the thought of empowering people moving forward on that journey," she added.