Mandu Reid
Mandu Reid in Manchester on 30 September 2021. Photo by Carol Ann Whitehead.
Leader of the Women's Equality Party
Assumed office
April 2019
Preceded bySophie Walker
Personal details
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Malawi[1]
NationalityBritish
Political partyWomen's Equality Party
ResidenceLondon[1]
Alma materLondon School of Economics[2]
OccupationPolitician
WebsiteWomen's Equality Party

Mandu Kate Reid[3] (born 1981) is the leader of the British Women's Equality Party (WEP).

Early life and education

Reid's mother is Black Malawi and her father is White British. Her parents met while her father was teaching English in Malawi, where Reid was born. The family moved to the United Kingdom in 1982, but subsequently lived in Somalia and Eswatini (also known as Swaziland), before returning to the UK, where Reid attended sixth form.[4][5] Concerning her growing up in Eswatini, Reid said that being a mixed-race child led to awareness in childhood of injustice and prejudice.[5]

While at school in England, Reid experienced racist abuse as the only black student in her school.[6]

Reid is a graduate of the London School of Economics.[2]

Career

After graduating from LSE, Reid worked at in project and programme management for HM Treasury, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Greater London Authority.[5]

Reid founded The Cup Effect in 2015, a period poverty charity which campaigns donates menstrual cups to women and girls struggling with period poverty in the UK and East Africa.[7][8][9]

Political career

Reid joined the Labour Party in 2010, but later moved to the Women's Equality Party (WEP) in 2018.[10] As a member of WEP, Reid stood in the 2018 Lewisham East by-election,[10] coming fifth and losing her deposit. Despite not being a parent, Reid supports equal parenting policies and flexible working, and has been party spokesperson on equal parenting since 2018.[10] Reid has spoken publicly about her abortion, which was what sparked her interest in equal parenting policies and promoted her to pursue a career in politics.[7] Talking about her abortion, she said:

It is strange to me, when I reflect on it now, that neither of us could imagine a scenario where I wasn't the sole caregiver of the child and the main breadwinner....I crunched the numbers and realised at that point in time, I couldn't balance being a single mother and hold on to my career aspirations...so I had a termination. It wasn't an easy choice.[7]

In April 2019, Reid took over the interim leadership of WEP,[11][10] and was confirmed as party leader in January 2020.[12] She has been described as "the first black, bisexual leader of a political party in the UK".[11][13]

In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and murder of George Floyd in the U.S., Reid wrote to prime minister Boris Johnson to express support for the movement.[14] Under Reid's leadership, the Women's Equality Party released a statement which highlighted racial injustice in the UK.[14]

Reid was the party's candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election, having replaced Sue Black, who had to withdraw for health reasons.[15] She came tenth and lost her deposit.

Reid has written opinion articles for The Independent and The Huffington Post.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b Ferber, Alona (26 February 2020). "Mandu Reid of the Women's Equality Party: "Misogyny permeates every facet of our lives"". New Statesman. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b Batha, Emma (27 April 2019). "Making history, UK's new feminist party leader aims to popularise 'f-word' politics". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. ^ "THE CUP EFFECT - Charity 1166618". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ^ Steele-Perkins, Chris. "Malawi". The New Londoners. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Withers, Matt (7 June 2020). "Now is a big moment for a new women's equality movement". The New European. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  6. ^ Ferber, Alona. "Mandu Reid of the Women's Equality Party: "Misogyny permeates every facet of our lives"". The New Statesman. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Iqbal, Nosheen (27 April 2019). "My abortion politicised me, says WEP leader Mandu Reid". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  8. ^ Effect, The Cup (29 January 2019). "A Manifesto for Menstrual Cups in the Fight Against Period Poverty". The Cup Effect. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  9. ^ Crockett, Moya (3 May 2019). "Interview - Women's Equality Party leader Mandu Reid". Stylist. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Iqbal, Nosheen (27 April 2019). "'We're not just for middle class white women': new head of Women's Equality party". The Observer. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b Lyell, Carrie (29 August 2019). "Mandu Reid: The personal is political". Diva. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  12. ^ "The Story so Far..." womensequality.org. Women's Equality Party. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  13. ^ Baldwin, Philip (22 September 2021). "Bisexual stars and activists share their advice for coming out and 'finding your community'". Gay Times. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  14. ^ a b Sandover, Althaea. "Black Lives Matter: Political Leader Mandu Reid tells PM "I can't breathe"". Harpy. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  15. ^ Proctor, Kate (16 February 2020). "Women's Equality party candidate pulls out of London mayoral race". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Mandu Reid". The Independent. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  17. ^ Mandu Reid. Retrieved 11 March 2021. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)
Party political offices Preceded bySophie Walker Leader of the Women's Equality Party 2019– Incumbent
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