One Day Industrial Strategy Position Statement

our priorities

LCR’s economy is in growth and this presents an opportunity. The WBG evidence shows when women’s potential is unlocked, and women impact systems and culture, the outcomes are more inclusive and sustained and more likely to benefit everyone in the community. Our proposals contained in One Day will require a CA commitment that a diversity of women will not merely hold token, isolated positions within male dominated and determined structures; or rely on the grace and favour of men in power for their privilege; it will take radical action to ensure diverse women are engaged and empowered at every level and across growth priority.

2018 marked 100 years since some women got the vote in the UK and yet no women have a vote within the Liverpool City Region CA.

For One Day we selected themes rather than sectors as we believe it is how we do business, rather than what business we do, that will deliver an inclusive and prosperous region. Alongside the context of reducing gender inequality with the LCR city region we believe that radical regional actions are required if negative economic impacts at a global level are to be mitigated. We therefore start by reframing the priorities from our perspective based on what success looks like to us.

The kind of world we want to live in One Day soon is:

• Diverse

• Caring

• Creative

• Social

• Circular and

• Safe

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO HARNESS GENDER EQUALITY

One Day identified 6 priority themes and has made 26 recommendations, centred around the following beliefs:

• Diversity and Gender is essential to fulfil our economic potential as a region.

• The Care Sector is a recognised and valuable industry that will add to overall economic productivity.

• We are now recognising creativity as a competency that will support growth across the economy.

• The Social Economy is an accelerator of local economies found to be more competitive than traditional firms.

• Community owned and controlled action on all issues - global to local - will reap better results and ROI.

• The metrics for measuring the outcomes and successes of the LCR CA industrial strategy need to be updated to include wellbeing, the value of health, the value of care and our aim to be self sufficient.

summary of one day recomMendations

Diversity and Gender is essential to fulfil our economic potential. One Day asked LCR CA that evidence from the Women’s Budget Group and many other associated gender and diversity studies be used to inform its investment priorities and to consider structural changes that:

• Use women only shortlists for vacated positions on the CA going forward until a target of 50% is achieved.

• Adopt criteria that encourage organisations they invest in to have at least 30% women on their Boards and Leadership teams with a target of 50% in a given timescale.

• To become the first place in the UK to harness gender and diversity as a key economic driver.

• Take positive action to ensure the region sets and achieves progressive targets for a diversity of women in each of the four key gender equality indicators used by the World Economic Forum.

• Continue to commission the development of innovative positive action programme(s) to be applied to apprenticeships, growth workforces, business leadership roles and to areas of research that are not adequately serving BAME women / communities.

• Take a proactive approach to an increasingly diverse population, building on the successful World In One City Campaign of 10 years ago, to vision becoming the most Cosmopolitan city in the UK, supported by the policies and actions that deliver that vision, with the benefits for import/export, international trade, tourism, as well as population growth that flow from it.

• Make a commitment to full employment, providing everyone (women, men and diverse communities) with the right to a valued role, including recognition in unpaid care. Furthermore, an associated responsibility campaign placing measures on business leaders / employers to provide access level jobs and a programme of Intermediate Labour Market type roles in growing sectors such as Creative and Digital.

Care as an industrial contribution

Even more now than pre the Covid19 pandemic, Care needs to be recognised as a high value and added value contributor as it addresses productivity and reward. One Day asks that LCR CA invests in Care on that basis and on the same scale as they invest in the physical redevelopment of our city region. Taking into consideration and calculating the impact or consequential deficit of removing unpaid and underpaid care from the LCR economy, we ask that all care workers are re-valued, minimum salaries set, pay progression plans put in place and that the relationship with the region’s pharmaceutical industries is recognised so health and wellbeing in the region (not their profit) is their measure of success.

creativity drives productivity and innovation

One Day advocates that Creativity must be recognised as a core sector and embedded as a foundation of any industrial strategy. One Day asks that LCR becomes ‘a creative city region’ where creativity is valued as both an economic driver and a productivity driver within every sector and at every level. That the Creative Industries Council definition of ‘Creative Industries’ be adopted to help strengthen the economy.

One Day asked LCR to:

• consider who might be suitably experienced to act as Chief Digital Officer (as per other regions) AND Chief Creative Officer to provide informed leadership across these distinct areas of growth.

• understand growth as multiplication, not just scale, and distributed models in respect of the Creative and Digital industries.

• invest in the significant opportunity to train and accelerate diverse women at every level of the Creative and Digital sectors to address the known skills gap, mitigating the risk of our future systems and processes becoming more gender and race biased. This will provide a pipeline of creative talent that drives enterprise growth and industry innovations across all sectors.

The Social Economy

The social economy is an accelerator of local economies and more competitive than traditional firms. One Day asked that LCR takes account of the evidence from Power to Change, The Heseltine Institute, The European Hubs network and others to accelerate the growth and multiplication of social enterprises confident in the knowledge they are equitably led by, employ and benefit women. In ensuring that large employers are engaging in responsible business activities aligned to the principles of the City Region and are paying above Real Living Wage, and that Social Value is prioritised as an impact measure we ask LCR to require changes from systems of exclusion, rather than expectations on women to adapt. Resources when applied should be to compensate women and wholly within their control.

Community action - global to local - climate change - transport - housing

Through ownership and control community action on all issues - global to local - will reap better results and ROI. One Day requests a community challenge fund to stimulate ideas and participation in direct and affordable actions that are of a human scale and can be delivered at a local level that contribute to climate change targets. To compliment large public transport infrastructure expenditure with human scale interventions that encourage walking and cycling including car free neighbourhoods and giving priority to pedestrians in built up areas. To invite disruption pilots that have the potential to make housing more accessible and affordable to women and consider to what extent regional policy can be used to ensure more homes are lived in and truly affordable. To help redefine affordable housing based on evidence from existing pilots, making funds a buyer has, after deduction for all living and other expenses, to be available for housing costs.

The metrics for measuring the outcomes and successes of the lcr ca industrial strategy need to be updated. the measures of success and productivity should include the value of wellbeing, the value of health, the value of care, and our aim to be self-sufficient.