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Pictured above: The States Assembly's six female Connétables - top row, left to right: Deidre Mezbourian, Connétable of St. Lawrence 2008 - present; Iris Le Feuvre, Connétable of St. Lawrence 1984 - 2000; Juliette Gallichan, Connétable of St. Mary 2008-2018; bottom row, left to right: Karen Shenton-Stone, Connétable of St. Martin 2018 - present; Enid Quenault, Connétable of St. Brelade 1987 - 2000; Sadie Le Sueur-Rennard, Connétable of St. Saviour 2011 - 2022.
On the 12 April 1924, British women aged 30 and over, were officially allowed to stand for election as Deputy after the States Assembly had approved the move and a Law was registered in the Royal Court. However, while the story of the road to election as a Deputy for women has been well-recorded, it isn’t the only role in the States Assembly. For those who wanted to lead their Parish, 1924 represented a move in the right direction, but there was still a very long way to go.
Caroline Trachy headed the campaign to allow women to stand as a Deputy, and had herself stood in 1922, only to be disqualified on the grounds of her gender.
While some women may have been able to stand in 1924, unfortunately it was not possible for all women - including Caroline - to become an election candidate, as the Married Women’s Property Act wasn’t brought in until 1925. Up until this time, women’s property was their husband’s which meant married women were not eligible to stand for election under the rules for nominating candidates. Caroline tried to stand again in the 1925 elections but was disqualified due to a legal technicality - the new Property Act didn’t cover her marriage because she’d been married before 1925.
Undeterred, Caroline stood again in 1928, but unfortunately didn’t secure enough votes to be elected. It wasn’t until Ivy Forster stood in 1948 that Jersey finally elected its first ever female States Member.
All this, of course, only refers to the role of Deputy. Gwyneth Huelin became the Island’s first female Senator in 1966, (the role was introduced in 1948). She had a big impact, overseeing a massive modernisation project at the General Hospital, as well as a transformation of the St. Saviour hospital facilities. A wing of the General Hospital is named in her honour.
The oldest, still-existing elected role in the States Assembly, is that of Connétable (also known as Constable). With 500 years' worth of records of States Assembly meetings, the Connétables have been around for an impressive amount of time. The 1924 law which enabled women to stand for election as Deputy did not specifically stipulate that women could or couldn’t stand as heads of their Parish, but male election candidates continued to dominate the parishes for many more decades. This wasn’t down to a legal issue but customary traditions and expectations. It simply wasn’t ‘expected’ that women would become a Connétable.
By 1957, sex discrimination laws meant that a woman could become a Jurat (a judicial role in the Royal Court) and that they could hold any civic or civil positions. Yet it wasn’t until 2008 that it was written into law that women had equal rights to stand for the role of Connétable.
Iris Le Feuvre was the first woman to be elected to the role in 1984, when she became the Connétable of St. Lawrence, serving her Parish until 2000. To this day – in 2025 – we have still only ever had six female Connétables in the entire history of the States Assembly.
Jersey’s roll of female Connétables
Iris Le Feuvre: St. Lawrence 1984 - 2000
Enid Quenault: St. Brelade 1987 - 2000
Sadie Le Sueur-Rennard: St. Saviour 2011 - 2022
Juliette Gallichan: St. Mary 2008 - 2018
Deidre Mezbourian: St. Lawrence 2008 - present
Karen Shenton-Stone: St. Martin 2018 - present