Frances Scott, founder and director of 50:50 Parliament, is a passionate advocate for gender equality of representation.

She launched 50:50 in November 2013 with the 50:50 Parliament petition. In 2016, 50:50 initiated “Ask Her To Stand” to inspire, encourage and support women to put themselves for elected office. This has had a major impact with women coming to #SignUpToStand via the 50:50 website on a daily basis. In the 2019 general election over 50 of the women selected to stand were part of the 50:50 network, nine went on to win seats in the Commons. 50:50 has gained top level support and recognition, it is now a registered charity with a team of around thirty people working together with all the political parties to help women progress in politics at a national and local level.

Frances has a background in operations analysis, marketing and economic feasibility studies. She had an international career in the Hotel and Tourism industry, based in Asia Pacific for several years as well as working as a senior negotiator for a firm of chartered surveyors on hotel deals throughout Europe. In October 2019 she was invited to present at TedX Brighton on what had been her “Turning Point” and why she started 50:50. In March 2020 and March 2021 Frances was included in the list of “Women in Westminster: The 100” which was a way to celebrate the achievements of those women who are changing the conversation, challenging the approach to policy making and providing a female perspective to the important political issues of the day. In November 2021 she was shortlisted for a National Diversity Award. This year the whole 50:50 team have been nominated for a National Diversity Award for their fantastic contribution to gender equality and building a better democracy.