What are you worried about? I know that might seem like a vague question but sometimes it's better to leave a question open that to lead people on with a suggested answer. That's a lesson that plenty of politicians have learned the hard way: "Do you like policy X" often elicits plenty of enthusiasm from voters - yeah, sure, why not. But ask the same voter to list some policies that they'd like to see enacted and, guess what, your prized and oh-so-popular flagship recommendation doesn't even get a mention.
It's for that reason that just before the last election my company polled 1,000 women non-voters. We didn't want to know which party they would choose if they had to or which of the policies on offer was least unattractive to them - instead, we gave them the chance to tell us what their priorities were, their hopes and their fears. In the abstract, in their own words. No leading questions.
When we, with the help of Survation asked them what their biggest worries were they told us:
"My children's/grandchildren's future"
"Not being able to afford to pay the bills"
"Not having enough money as I'd like to have"
"Getting or being unwell"
"Becoming or being unemployed"
It's good to know what is worrying women. But you know what, it's even more powerful to listen when they tell you what could make their lives better, And that's why, this year, our grassroots campaign RegistHERtoVote is supporting what we hope will be the largest ever survey of women - What Women Want 2.0.
20 years ago, the women behind What Women Want came up with a simple yet powerful idea, designed to give British women a voice. Women up-and-down-the-country were invited to answer the simple, open question; "What do you want?". More than 10,000 women replied from all over the UK - on postcards and on slips of paper - making this the largest survey of its kind. Taken from across our society, these women's responses outlined a powerful vision - one that was their own in their own words.
20 years on, the goal is even bigger. The campaign wants to collect the views of over ONE MILLION British women to gain powerful insights into the views of women today. So, whether what you want is better abs or world peace, we really don't care but what we do want is to hear from you. Tell us what you want, what you really, really want. We're asking the question and all we want from you is an answer.
Join us and add your view by clicking on http://thisiswhatwomenwant.org or www.registhertovote.org.uk
