Why we’re becoming The New Feminist

The New Feminist will feature writing by New Statesman deputy editor Helen Lewis, BBC Newswatch presenter Samira Ahmed, TV presenter Konnie Huq, playwright and novelist Bonnie Greer, cookery writer Claudia Roden and journalists including Helena Kennedy, Afua Hirsch, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Suzanne Moore.

Criado-Perez, who recently campaigned to see the first statue of a woman, Millicent Fawcett, in Parliament Square and previously successfully fought to get women on British banknotes, said women were ‘woefully underrepresented’ in the media. Caroline Criado-Perez (c) Caitlin Mogridge

She quoted the latest study from the Global Media Monitoring Project which in 2015 found that women make up just 24% of people heard, read about or seen in newspaper, TV and radio news, despite making up half of the population.

Criado-Perez said: ‘This is a product of two biases: first, that women aren’t seen as relevant to the stories we have traditionally thought of as newsworthy, and second, that stories that affect women more than men are somehow niche.

‘I’m so excited to have this opportunity to showcase not only the breadth and talent of female writers working in Britain today, but also to demonstrate that women are as impacted by, and involved in, mainstream stories as men are. You just have to remember that they exist.’

Criado-Perez has previously written for the Guardian, New Statesman, Grazia, Independent, Times, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire on a number of social issues but particularly focusing on women.

Editor Matt Kelly said: ‘The New European embodies innovation in print and this is a great new experiment we are already very proud of.

‘We’re resting most of our regular male journalists for the week, myself included, and I can’t wait to see what Caroline makes of it.

‘One thing I already know – it will be exciting, challenging and dazzlingly well-written.’