The Senedd in partnership with Women’s Archive Wales have launched a project entitled ‘Setting the Record Straight: safeguarding the records and voices of women in Welsh politics’.
This project aims to capture the voices and papers of the current and former female Members of the Senedd (previously known as Assembly Members, AMs) who have been elected to our national parliament during its first twenty years.
2019-20 is a significant milestone in the history of the Senedd, as it celebrates 20 years since it was established in 1999.
From the beginning, the Senedd has exceeded the proportion of women among its Members compared to other similar legislative Assemblies and Parliaments. Following the elections of 2003, the Senedd achieved the status as the first legislature to achieve a gender balance. This was an event of international significance.
Some of these women have held seats since 1999 and some have held important government posts.
They all have an interesting and personal story to tell which is of great significance to our democratic history and heritage. These stories examine how they became engaged in politics, what difficulties they encountered, their particular political interests, the campaigns they championed and why, amongst other things.
Women have made a huge contribution to the story of devolution in Wales and their records and stories should be preserved for the future.
The National Heritage Lottery Fund is also sponsoring this project.
Watch a selection of interview summaries here.
