The executive committee of Cambridge University Conservative Association (CUCA) has voted in favour of creating a Women's Officer role, after the Chairman, Samuel Carr, described receiving complaints about the society's openness to women. 

On Thursday, in an email to members, Carr called for applications for next term's committee, adding that "it has reached me through others that a few
members do not feel as welcome as they might wish." Speaking to Varsity, Carr explained that he had a "real and genuine concern that not all our members are happy." In the email, he described himself as being "in listening mode", and willing to engage with members' concerns.

There are currently only three women on CUCA's executive committee of 14, although the previous two chairs were both women. Speaking to Varsity, Carr claimed that around one in five attendees of CUCA events are women. Varsity understands that concerns were raised after a committee formal at Gonville and Caius College, at which the seating plan positioned the two women in attendance together at the end of the table.

In the email, Carr added: "To speak plainly, the suggestion has been put about that the Association does not feel as open to women as it should be."

Defending the Association, Carr said that "My politics, my conservatism, and the attitudes of the Association more widely, are rooted in an embrace of individual merit rather than the politics of identity."

At a meeting that evening, Carr raised the issue with the committee and suggested a motion to create a fully-elected and permanent Women's Officer role on the executive committee. Varsity understands that during discussions, some committee members argued that the creation of such a role would pigeonhole women who wanted to join the committee, and would undermine CUCA's ethos of meritocracy. Carr agreed, arguing that committee members should be elected based on "their merit rather than their gender." 

Instead, the committee suggested creating a co-opted and non-executive Women's Officer role, which would be in place as long it was felt that there was an issue with the inclusion of women at CUCA. The committee voted unanimously in favour of the creation of the role on Thursday evening, nominating Eleanor Costello to take on the post. Costello was the only eligible female member present at the committee meeting.

At the termly general meeting the following evening (Friday), the Chairman explained the committee's decision to members, adding that the Women's Officer role would include heading up a sub-committee to tackle the problems of inclusivity within the Association. He also announced that an anonymised survey will be circulated, in which respondents will be able to report concerns to the Women's Officer.

During the general meeting, Costello was asked by members to explain her ideas for the role. She suggested requesting members to bring along female friends to Association events – an idea which was laughed at by some of the assembled members. One member, interrupting Costello, was told by a male committee member to allow her to finish. 

In a statement to Varsity, Costello explained that "CUCA is battling against history. There's this perception that it's this fusty, dull club of public-school boys, and events like 'Port and Policy' sound really pretentious and are a massive turn off for women."

However, she added that "It's actually a really fun, tongue-in-cheek society, for people who like having interesting conversations and consuming large quantities of alcohol. I'm really happy that Sam and the committee have properly talked about the issue and have been so receptive to the idea of shaking things up. This isn't by any means going to magically solve the problem, but it's the beginning of an exciting opportunity."

Speaking to Varsity at the meeting, current Vice-Chair Nakul Khanna expressed his support for the move. Conor Monighan, incoming Vice-Chair for Easter term, said that "This is a really important issue both for CUCA and for me personally, and I'm absolutely delighted that CUCA has unanimously agreed to create this post." He argued that "It will ensure women feel just as welcome as men," and that it is "a sign of real change for the society."