The States Assembly Diversity Forum’s immediate priorities include encouraging more women to stand for election next year, as well as making connections with Jersey’s Portuguese, Polish and other minority communities to encourage greater participation in the 2018 election.
And it intends to raise the profile of the work done by States Members, and the skills they bring to the role, to encourage a broader range of candidates to come forward.
The forum also plans to come up with a policy on maternity and paternity leave, as well as parental, adoption and care leave for States Members, as currently there are no such provisions in place.
Chief Minister Ian Gorst and Deputy Louise Doublet are leading the project. Deputies Anne Pryke and Sam Mézec are also members of the forum.
Deputy Doublet said that to do its job properly the States Assembly should reflect the makeup of the Island and represent all of the community’s interests.
‘It is our shared aim that the States Assembly should be as effective as possible, making decisions that are in the best interests of all Islanders,’ she said. ‘Good quality decisions, and positive culture change, are achievable if we ensure that many different points of view are heard and considered.’
Currently just 12 out of the Island’s 49 States Members are women.
