Jersey celebrates 75 years of women in politics

Saturday 09 December 2023

Jersey’s "ground-breaking" first female politician was elected 75 years ago this week – a milestone celebrated with the current States Assembly being the most diverse in Jersey's history.

Thursday 7 December marked 75 years since Ivy Forster was elected as the first female politician in 1948, three years after equal voting rights for men and women were gained in 1945.

The current States Assembly is the most diverse in Jersey's history, comprising 43% women in total and led by a female Chief Minister.

Women currently make up 51% of the Assembly's deputies – a significant increase compared to the previous assembly, where women made up only 28% of all deputies.

Pictured: Ivy Forster, Jersey's first female politician.

Born in 1907, Ivy Forster gained attention during the German Occupation where she provided refuge to escaped Russian labourers alongside her sister, Louisa Gould. 

The pair sheltered Russian prisoner-of-war Feodor ‘Bill’ Burriy for 18 months in their family business Millais Stores in St Ouen – guided by Mrs. Gould's belief that: "I have to do something for another mother's son."

In recognition of the support Mr Burriy received from islanders, a still-life drawing he created in hiding was recently gifted to Jersey Heritage.

Pictured: The artwork of a Russian slave labourer who took refuge with Ivy during the occupation was recently donated to Jersey Heritage.

Unfortunately, the sisters were betrayed and Ivy's siblings were sent to concentration camps. Ivy served her sentence in Jersey due to feigned health reasons. 

After the war, Ivy was encouraged by Bailiff Sir Alexander Coutanche to enter politics. She served two terms before losing her seat in 1954 and passing away in 1997.

The Jersey Women for Politics groups said Ivy "shouldn’t just be remembered for simply being the first female politician to be elected to the States Assembly in Jersey".

"Her legacy is far greater than that," they said. "She is also remembered for her bravery, and that of her family, in hiding Russian forced workers during the Occupation.

"Perhaps it is this same guts and resilience that enabled her to strike out as Jersey’s first female States Member in what was very much a man’s world, and then to top the polls 4 years later. You cannot undersell just how ground-breaking this was for women in politics.

"The number of women sitting in the States Assembly has slowly – too slowly – increased since Ivy Forster blazed the trail 75 years ago. However, the images following the last election of almost half the Assembly being women – and of our first female Chief Minister – certainly send a powerful message to women and girls that politics is absolutely a place for them too, and the vital diversity this brings to politics is changing the world for the better."

Pictured: Caroline Trachy, Jersey's first female election candidate 

While Ivy was the first woman elected, she wasn't the initial female candidate.

In 1922, Caroline Trachy stood for election but was disqualified based on her gender.

Caroline continued advocating for reform, although her attempt to stand for election again in 1928 was unsuccessful.

Comparatively, the UK elected its first female MP 30 years earlier than Jersey. 

Irish revolutionary and suffragist Constance Markievicz was elected in 1918, coinciding with part of the UK female population gaining voting rights. 

However, Constance abstained from taking her seat due to her opposition to British rule in Ireland. 

Nancy Astor became the first sitting UK female MP in 1919 after winning a by-election.