An evening at The Houses of Parliament
- onlineoptimist
- Feb 11, 2018
- 2 min read
Although many of the laws passed and values stood for in the Houses of Parliament may not be so beautiful, visually, it is a stunning place. Last month, I visited to attend a conference, BAME Women: Why Parliament Needs Us & How to Make it Listen. As for "making it listen", we are still a long long way from completely achieving that, but there's no harm in making a start. That day, I walked through the corridors in awe of just how beautiful and intricate the building was. It was very calm and still and I wished I hadn't worn such loud clunky boots that day.
Here's what I learnt (along with some pretty images you can find at the end😊):
8% of MPs are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 54% attended a private school. It doesn't take a genius to work out that this is in no way representative of the UK population and there are many members of society who don't have someone to speak for them as a result. I find this very alarming and wish that those in power would see this as more of an issue. But unfortunately, wishing doesn't get you anywhere.
Power isn't given, it's taken
Taking power means that you speak up, speak out, challenge and actively aspire to be as capable as those in higher positions. Being a young person in the workplace, I am constantly told to be the best I can be as otherwise, you can risk someone else stealing your shine.
We need to question the term BAME*
It has always made me feel a bit weird. It's almost as if Black and Asian people have been grouped together, when in reality, we have very different struggles and are at different points in the journey to equality. I'm not sure it makes sense to have just one term that encompasses a whole group of people?
A shorter post today, but hopefully, just as interesting.
*Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic or Black and Minority Ethnic
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