Campaigners claim victory in ‘women on bank notes’ saga

At an event at Jane Austen’s House Museum today (24th July 2013), Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, confirmed that Jane Austen will appear on a forthcoming Bank of England banknote: the next new character following Sir Winston Churchill. The Austen note will be issued as a £10 note, within a year of the Churchill £5 note, which is targeted for issue during 2016. The Governor said: “We believe that our notes should celebrate the full diversity of great British historical figures and their contributions in a wide range of fields. The Bank is committed to that objective, and we want people to have confidence in our commitment to diversity. That is why I am today announcing a review of the selection process for future banknote characters.”

Campaigner Caroline Criado Perez of The Womens Room UK said “This is incredible news. Bank of England officials told me that their decision today is a direct result of the campaign. I started this petition because I couldn’t let another decision that airbrushed women out of history pass without challenge. I didn’t want to live in a world where young girls grow up thinking that they can’t achieve amazing things - and that even if they do they won’t be acknowledged for it. Now, because 35,000 of us (petitioners) stood up to them, they’ve responded in the best possible way.

This is just one example of the inequality that’s still rife in the UK, but today marks a watershed. Public institutions now know that sexist decisions no longer go unchallenged. We know that we have a voice - and that when we use it in unison, we can be mightier than the establishment.”

Features of the design on the reverse of the Jane Austen note will include:

• The quote – “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” from Pride and Prejudice (Miss Bingley, Chapter XI).
• Portrait of Jane Austen. Commissioned by James Edward Austen Leigh (Jane Austen’s nephew) in 1870, adapted from an original sketch of Jane Austen drawn by her sister, Cassandra Austen.
• An illustration of Miss Elizabeth Bennet undertaking “The examination of all the letters which Jane had written to her”– from a drawing by Isabel Bishop (1902-1988).
• The image of Godmersham Park. Godmersham was home of Edward Austen Knight, Jane Austen's brother. Jane Austen visited the house often and it is believed that it was the inspiration for a number of her novels.
• Jane Austen’s writing table – the central design in the background is inspired by the 12 sided writing table, and writing quills, used by Jane Austen at Chawton Cottage.

Review of process for selecting characters to appear on banknotes

“The Bank announced in April that Sir Winston Churchill would be the historical figure to appear on the next Bank of England banknote. While there was general support for Churchill’s inclusion on a banknote, concerns were also raised that, if he featured on the £5 note there would, in the absence of further changes, be a lack of female representation on our banknotes. We know that the public have great pride in Bank of England banknotes and that there is much interest in the characters that are featured. We acknowledge the concerns that have been raised recently about the diversity of characters on the notes, and would like to provide reassurance that, as part of the rolling programme of note launches, it was never the Bank’s intention that none of the four characters on our notes would be a woman. The Bank continues to be mindful of the need to ensure that our notes represent a diverse range of characters, both now and in the longer term.”

"In the light of recent concerns, and in order to ensure that our notes represent the full diversity of British people, the Bank has decided to review the approach to, and criteria for, selecting characters to appear on banknotes. The Bank’s Court of Directors discussed this at its meeting on 17 July, and agreed to the Bank’s plans to undertake a review. The purpose of the review, which will be overseen by Chris Salmon, the Bank’s Executive Director for Banking Services and Chief Cashier, is to refine the criteria for character selection, and establish a process to ensure that potential candidates are consistently judged against those criteria. In particular we will review:

a. The principles that guide the choice of historical characters, given the need for the choices to command respect and legitimacy.

b. How the process for choosing characters could ensure, and be seen to ensure, the delivery of those principles.

The Bank will also review whether it can take further steps to operate within the spirit of the Public Sector Equality Duty when deciding on future characters."