Promoting job-sharing: let’s start at the top!

Next Tuesday, John McDonnell MP will introduce a bill to the UK Parliament which would change the law to allow members of parliament to job-share.  According to the explanatory notes,

Over recent decades the practice of job sharing has been introduced into many fields of public administration, private sector companies, professions and civil society organisations.

There is considerable research evidence to demonstrate that job sharing is not only possible and practicable but also benefits both the individuals involved and the organisations that they serve.

More recently the proposal that the role of a Member of Parliament could be job shared has been proposed to enable more people to become MPs who may not be able to at present because of their disabilities or their caring responsibilities.

It has also been suggested that job sharing could be a way of attracting into Parliament people who may wish to contribute to our society by representing their community as the local MP but who also want to continue to contribute to society by working in their chosen field or profession.

It’s being supported by Disability Politics UK and the Fawcett Society, among others. There’s an e-petition you can sign, and if you’re in the UK, encourage your MP to support it!

‘I am neither Irish nor Catholic’

The words of Savita Halappanavar, who died last month in Ireland. According to the Irish Times, after being told that she was miscarrying, she requested multiple times over the course of three days that her pregnancy be terminated. Her requests were denied. She was told, “This is a Catholic country.” She miscarried. A week later, she died of septicaemia.