Toxicity and negativity are creating a backwards step in gender equality, campaigner Professor Helen Pankhurst has said, as she urged employers to be flexible so women can get out and vote on July 4.

The  great-granddaughter of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst said that women should be at the centre of policymaking rather than “on the margins”.

Prof Pankhurst, through her Centenary Action organisation, said she is calling on businesses to sign up to their “Promise”, which urges them to encourage staff to register to vote and make it easy for them to vote through flexible working.

A small snapshot poll by the organisation this month of 500 women across the UK suggested about three quarters (76%) are planning to vote.

A fifth (21%) said they think political parties only think about women’s issues for tactical gain, while almost three in 10 (28%) said they do not think political parties think about the female vote.

Prof Pankhurst said: “Apathy, toxicity and negativity is creating a backwards step in gender equality. We want to galvanise women to get out and vote, be at the heart of decision-making and create a more equitable playing field.

“And we want to call business to facilitate this too, which is why we are asking them to sign up to The Promise, to encourage staff to register to vote and make it easier to vote on the day through flexible working.

“Women, 51% of the population, need to be seen by politicians of all parties as important stakeholders, because we need to be in the centre and not on the margins of policymaking.”

Centenary Action was established by Prof Pankhurst in 2018 to mark the centenary of some women getting the right to vote.

It aims to take action over the next decade to deliver a gender-equal parliament by 2028.