Alliance Party candidate for Foyle, Rachael Ferguson, praised the work that has been done by women in politics to raise the profile of women's issues and the progress that has been made in tackling them.
If elected, Rachael wants to work further in achieving a more fair and equal society which tackles violence against women and girls at its core.
Rachael spoke to MyDerry about the key items she would want to tackle in the Stormont chamber.
She said: "We need the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to go through. We also need to tackle things as simple things as relationship and sex education. We need it to be age appropriate and standardised across our schools.
"Better education will allow more girls and women to come forward and raise their voices. Having a good relationship with sex education in schools will build respect and raise confidence in tackling misogyny and sexism."
As well as better education, Rachael stated that more support is needed in workplaces to ensure a fair playing field in maternity and paternity leave.
She said: "I am passionate about achieving equal maternity and paternity pay. This will allow choice for whether the man or woman stays at home.
"This will give women more access to get back into the workplace. If we could achieve that where maternity and paternity leave becomes equal, it would allow a better balance in families and career progression."
Political representation has done a lot for the progression of women's issues. Rachael and other female candidates hope that they can continue to inspire other females to become involved in creating change.
She said: "For me, violence against women and girls and further women’s issues impacts me and will impact my daughter.
"We are only seeing some of these issues being brought to life very recently, such as menopause policy and bereavement leave for miscarriage and stillbirth. Representation has taken many years but we are seeing women’s issues are being tackled thanks to increased representation.
"When a child sees someone in a role they can aspire to be that role. My daughter sees me in politics and recently did an election to become an eco warrior."
Rachael wanted to note the positive work that is being done to increase the profile of women's issues. She hopes that, if elected, she can contribute to this journey towards a more fair and equal society.
She said: "Having women around the table brings issues to the forefront like childcare. During the pandemic wasn’t necessarily thought about. Mothers were having to work from home, home school without access to childcare. Without women speaking up about it, it would not have changed.
"I want to praise the work of SH24- a new service in which contraceptive and emergency contraceptives can be obtained online. It is a small thing that has made a huge difference.
"Additionally, the work on the ground by young women in tackling things like up skirting and period poverty, they are fantastic and an inspiration.
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