Parish Council internet sensation Jackie Weaver wants more women to stand as councillors
Internet sensation Jackie Weaver called on women to recognise their own abilities and consider putting themselves forward for election to local councils.
Jackie, who lives near Whitchurch, is the chief officer of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils and she shot to fame during lockdown in February 2021 when a testy Handforth Parish Council meeting went viral.
Ms Weaver spoke at a International Women's Day meeting of the Black Country Chamber's Women in Leadership on Thursday at Weston Park, in Weston Under Lizard.
She said: "I think for me the thing I would want to convey is that we have a nation of intelligent, competent, capable women who are great at being kind to others but who are very bad at being kind to themselves and do not recognise their own abilities."
She said she would encourage other women to stand for election to local councils, despite her experienced in the short clip of a meeting that famously descended into chaos.
It it was her refusal to be emotional and her determination to retain control that propelled her to national fame. But Jackie said parish council meetings are far removed from that notorious Handforth episode.
Ms Weaver added: "If you went on to watch the full meeting there was a calm, considered discussion on planning applications of importance to the local community. Parish councils are not like the Houses of Parliament."
Black Country Women in Leadership was established in May 2019 in order to support and celebrate women in senior leadership roles and to help inspire the next generation.
Ms Weaver agrees that organisations are better if they are diverse - and that includes councils.
"You can't have a properly functioning democracy if 50 per cent of the population isn't represented," she said.
She doesn't want to force people to stand but said it is all about women recognising their skills and abilities and acting accordingly.
"Not every man is super-confident," she said. "But women tend to be very hard on ourselves but very kind and supportive of others."
Ms Weaver was joined by Chamber board members, Jo Smith, the managing director of Fortress Interlocks and Sarah Williams, associate director at the University of Wolverhampton Business School.
Women now, for the first time in the Chamber’s 160-year history, now make up half of the board of directors at the region’s longest running business support organisation.