IT’S been wonderful to see so many individuals, businesses and media channels celebrate February 6, 2018.

For those who have missed the fuss, the date marks one hundred years since approximately 8.4million women were given the right to vote.

They had to be over 30, own property, and married in order to be given voting rights but it was still a watershed in women’s suffrage.

However, a century after women took their first steps into the world of politics, the struggle continues.

Female MPs are subject to online abuse and threats, and it’s significantly worse for black or minority women MPs.

We should champion those who have done so much to balance gender equality in our area, from our own ‘Dangerous woman’ Margaret Hills, to our district council leader Doina Cornell.

But while we have deeply rooted gender inequality that allows the ongoing issues of pay gaps between men and women, the abuse that prompted the #metoo campaign, and female politicians are targeted due to their gender.

We still have a long way to go.