Browse content similar to International Women's Day. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
We come together to recognise and
celebrate the achievement women and | 0:00:35 | 0:00:39 | |
girls across world. This year
International Women's Day is | 0:00:39 | 0:00:46 | |
significant for us in this country
on this Parliament. In 2018, we | 0:00:46 | 0:00:50 | |
celebrate the centenary of the first
British women getting bored and | 0:00:50 | 0:00:55 | |
there is much to celebrate. 100
years of women are represented at | 0:00:55 | 0:00:59 | |
every level public life. In my own
department, the Home Office, over | 0:00:59 | 0:01:10 | |
half the ministers are women
including the Home Secretary. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:19 | |
Cressida Dick was appointed the
first women commission of the London | 0:01:19 | 0:01:23 | |
Metropolitan Police and my
honourable colleague Baroness Hale | 0:01:23 | 0:01:25 | |
became the first woman president of
the Supreme Court. Danny Cotton | 0:01:25 | 0:01:39 | |
became the first female commission
of the London Fire Brigade. Jodie | 0:01:39 | 0:01:46 | |
Whittaker it in the first in a
Doctor Who. I waited to see the | 0:01:46 | 0:01:49 | |
first female James Bond. Although
this is a day to celebrate the | 0:01:49 | 0:01:55 | |
achievements of women we must also
recognise the challenges and | 0:01:55 | 0:01:57 | |
prejudice with which women and girls
are faced. Both at home and across | 0:01:57 | 0:02:04 | |
the world. We must continue to press
for progress to excel in gender | 0:02:04 | 0:02:13 | |
equality. We must not be complacent
and believe this struggle has been | 0:02:13 | 0:02:18 | |
consigned to the past. Just as the
sub suggests, suffragists and their | 0:02:18 | 0:02:25 | |
supporters stood side by side --
just as the suffragettes they fought | 0:02:25 | 0:02:33 | |
the past ballot 100 -- 100 years
ago, we have witnessed a global | 0:02:33 | 0:02:37 | |
movement of women coming together to
call out injustice. Women from all | 0:02:37 | 0:02:42 | |
walks of life have issued a rallying
cry, calling time on sexual | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
harassment, violence against women,
unequal pay and discrimination. We | 0:02:46 | 0:02:52 | |
must capitalise on the momentum of
campaigns such as the need to | 0:02:52 | 0:02:57 | |
movement to accelerate the drive
towards equality for all. This | 0:02:57 | 0:03:01 | |
government has been making great
strides to build on the work of | 0:03:01 | 0:03:05 | |
countless members on all sides of
both houses. The UK has a proud | 0:03:05 | 0:03:11 | |
history of playing the central role
in securing change for women and | 0:03:11 | 0:03:14 | |
girls and we are well respected
internationally or other world | 0:03:14 | 0:03:19 | |
leading policy and legislation on
equalities. Outside of the UK, many | 0:03:19 | 0:03:23 | |
women and gales still do not have
the opportunities and choices they | 0:03:23 | 0:03:28 | |
deserve more credit due to cultural
expectations, poverty, conflict or a | 0:03:28 | 0:03:33 | |
combination of all three. We know
there is a crucial role for us to | 0:03:33 | 0:03:38 | |
play to end injustice at home and
abroad in this country already does | 0:03:38 | 0:03:42 | |
great work internationally to ensure
gender equality reaches all corners | 0:03:42 | 0:03:46 | |
of the globe. The UK was
instrumental in securing agreement | 0:03:46 | 0:03:51 | |
for dedicated targets on gender
equality and women's empowerment | 0:03:51 | 0:03:56 | |
within the sustainable development
goals and right now as I speak, UK | 0:03:56 | 0:04:01 | |
it is having a significant impact on
the lives of millions of women and | 0:04:01 | 0:04:04 | |
girls across the globe. To name but
a few examples, UK aid has supported | 0:04:04 | 0:04:09 | |
over 6000 communities across 16
countries to make public commitments | 0:04:09 | 0:04:14 | |
to end female genital mutilation,
representing 18 million people. UK | 0:04:14 | 0:04:21 | |
aid has also enabled 8.5 million
women to access modern methods of | 0:04:21 | 0:04:25 | |
family planning over five years.
Yesterday, the Department for | 0:04:25 | 0:04:31 | |
International Development launched
their new strategic vision for | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
gender equality. This sets out the
UK's global leadership and securing | 0:04:34 | 0:04:39 | |
with our partners the rights of all
girls and women around the world, | 0:04:39 | 0:04:43 | |
particularly in fragile and conflict
affected states and in humanitarian | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
and protracted crises. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:53 | |
These are all great achievements,
but there is more to do to improve | 0:04:53 | 0:04:57 | |
gender equality and improve the
lives of women and girls around the | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
world. One in three women are beaten
or sexually abused in their lifetime | 0:05:00 | 0:05:04 | |
around the world. We hear so many
statistics in this chamber every | 0:05:04 | 0:05:10 | |
day, we risk becoming desensitised
to the horrific facts. We must do | 0:05:10 | 0:05:14 | |
everything in our power to ensure
that we do not. Imagine looking at a | 0:05:14 | 0:05:19 | |
class of young girls knowing that
one third of them will face physical | 0:05:19 | 0:05:24 | |
or sexual violence over the course
of their lives. That cannot go on. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:29 | |
Protecting women and girls from
violence and supporting victims is | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
an absolute priority, whether they
suffer violence in their | 0:05:32 | 0:05:38 | |
communities, relationships, or
online. The UK is leading the way | 0:05:38 | 0:05:42 | |
internationally, but we know there
is more to do. That is why we have | 0:05:42 | 0:05:46 | |
today announced that we are
consulting on our programme of work | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
to tackle domestic abuse. This
consultation will shape the response | 0:05:49 | 0:05:54 | |
to domestic abuse at every stage,
from prevention through to | 0:05:54 | 0:05:59 | |
rehabilitation and reinforces the
Goverment's aim to make domestic | 0:05:59 | 0:06:03 | |
abuse everybody's business. By
consulting, we aim to harness the | 0:06:03 | 0:06:07 | |
knowledge and expertise of victims
and survivors. Charities and | 0:06:07 | 0:06:12 | |
specialist organisations and
experts, professionals across | 0:06:12 | 0:06:16 | |
policing, criminal justice, health,
welfare, education, local | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
authorities, those who deal with
these issues everyday. Part of what | 0:06:19 | 0:06:24 | |
we are consulting on is a domestic
abuse Bill, aiming to better protect | 0:06:24 | 0:06:29 | |
and support victims, recognise the
lifelong impact that domestic abuse | 0:06:29 | 0:06:33 | |
has on children and make sure that
agencies effectively respond to | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
domestic abuse. The Bill will create
a domestic abuse Commissioner for | 0:06:36 | 0:06:43 | |
law to stand for victims and
survivors and hold the system to | 0:06:43 | 0:06:46 | |
account. It would also create a new
domestic abuse protection order | 0:06:46 | 0:06:50 | |
regime to create a clearer pathway
of protection for victims and will | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
make sure that if abusive behaviour
involves a child that the court can | 0:06:53 | 0:06:57 | |
hand down a sentence that reflects
the devastating lifelong impact that | 0:06:57 | 0:07:02 | |
abuse has. The Government is also
announcing today how additional | 0:07:02 | 0:07:06 | |
funding for domestic abuse will be
spent. This includes £8 million to | 0:07:06 | 0:07:10 | |
support children who witness
domestic abuse, £2 million to | 0:07:10 | 0:07:18 | |
improve the health response to
domestic abuse, and £2 million to | 0:07:18 | 0:07:20 | |
support female offenders who are so
often the victims of domestic abuse. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:24 | |
Internationally, we are generating
world leading evidence on what works | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
to prevent violence before it starts
through our £25 million What Works | 0:07:27 | 0:07:34 | |
To Prevent Violence Against Women
And Girls Programme. We contributing | 0:07:34 | 0:07:40 | |
to the UN trust fund to end violence
against women. The fund has reached | 0:07:40 | 0:07:44 | |
over 1 million people. Another
threat facing women around the world | 0:07:44 | 0:07:50 | |
is safe pregnancy. Every two
minutes, a woman dies in pregnancy | 0:07:50 | 0:07:54 | |
or childbirth. That means that in
the time that I've been speaking, | 0:07:54 | 0:08:00 | |
that's five women. The majority of
these deaths are preventable. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:05 | |
Millions of women in developing
countries do not have access to | 0:08:05 | 0:08:11 | |
modern contraception. In the summer
of 2017, this Government hosted a | 0:08:11 | 0:08:16 | |
family planning Summit to accelerate
global progress and reinforce the UK | 0:08:16 | 0:08:20 | |
is global commitments to give 120
more women and girls access to | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
contraception. Our ambition is that
all women around the world can | 0:08:25 | 0:08:29 | |
access quality care, and we will
continue to provide bold and brave | 0:08:29 | 0:08:34 | |
leadership by developing important
strategic relationships, | 0:08:34 | 0:08:38 | |
international summits, and
generating world-class evidence and | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
research. To make progress on these
important issues, we need to | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
continue the fight for women's
voices to be heard. Equal political | 0:08:44 | 0:08:49 | |
representation ensures that
Parliament's globally represents the | 0:08:49 | 0:08:54 | |
needs of their citizens. We support
women's political representation | 0:08:54 | 0:08:58 | |
around the world for a number of
programmes. For example, in | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
Pakistan, our support of the 2013
election helped many more women to | 0:09:02 | 0:09:06 | |
register as voters. With many going
on to the vote for the first time | 0:09:06 | 0:09:09 | |
ever. It brought national attention
to the 8 million women missing from | 0:09:09 | 0:09:13 | |
the electoral roll. Education is
crucial if we want to ensure that | 0:09:13 | 0:09:19 | |
women and girls are engaged and
active in political and public life. | 0:09:19 | 0:09:23 | |
In this country, girls tend to
perform well at school. In fact, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:28 | |
they regularly outperform their male
counterparts. However, around the | 0:09:28 | 0:09:32 | |
world there are 65 million girls
aged 5-15 that are not in school. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:37 | |
Almost the equivalent of the entire
UK population. Education is a | 0:09:37 | 0:09:42 | |
critical tool to tackle injustice
and to build a more equal society. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:46 | |
It provides girls with the space to
develop their own thoughts and | 0:09:46 | 0:09:51 | |
opinions, and, most importantly,
their voices. This Government has | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
championed girls' education across
the world. The Foreign Secretary has | 0:09:55 | 0:09:59 | |
made girls' education a foreign
policy priorities and pointed a | 0:09:59 | 0:10:03 | |
special -- appointed a special envoy
to make this work. We have supported | 0:10:03 | 0:10:11 | |
at least 3.3 million girls around
the world to get a good education. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:18 | |
Education is so important, but we
know it's not enough in itself to | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
ensure that gender equality happens
in the workplace. For women to have | 0:10:21 | 0:10:26 | |
equal opportunities to men at work,
employers need to take action, and | 0:10:26 | 0:10:30 | |
we all need to challenge harmful
social norms that can hold women | 0:10:30 | 0:10:34 | |
back. We want the UK to lead the way
for gender equality in the | 0:10:34 | 0:10:39 | |
workplace. Research has shown that
companies with more diverse | 0:10:39 | 0:10:42 | |
workforce perform better than their
counterparts. The employment rates | 0:10:42 | 0:10:45 | |
for women is at a joint record high
of 70.8%, we need to build on this | 0:10:45 | 0:10:50 | |
to make the most of women's skills,
Charlie Subban talent and potential. | 0:10:50 | 0:10:55 | |
To tackle the gender pay cap we have
introduced world leading regulations | 0:10:55 | 0:11:00 | |
requiring organisations with 250 or
more employees to report their gap. | 0:11:00 | 0:11:04 | |
These regulations will not only
drive employers to calculate and | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
report their gender pay caps, they
will shine a light on the factors | 0:11:08 | 0:11:13 | |
driving the gaps. Encouraged and
enabling employers to take action to | 0:11:13 | 0:11:15 | |
close them. Working with our
international friends is essential | 0:11:15 | 0:11:21 | |
in making progress. Over the past
year, we have agreed a road map for | 0:11:21 | 0:11:25 | |
gender equality with the other G-7
countries. We have taken extra steps | 0:11:25 | 0:11:30 | |
to strengthen our collaboration with
Canada following the Prime | 0:11:30 | 0:11:32 | |
Minister's visit in Ottawa last
summer. And the Government | 0:11:32 | 0:11:38 | |
equalities office signed a
memorandum of understanding with the | 0:11:38 | 0:11:41 | |
all China women's Federation. Next
month, women's empowerment and | 0:11:41 | 0:11:45 | |
girls' education will be one of the
key issues to be talked about at the | 0:11:45 | 0:11:51 | |
Commonwealth summit in London. My
Lord's, may I conclude by thanking | 0:11:51 | 0:11:58 | |
everyone who will be speaking in the
debate today, and I look forward to | 0:11:58 | 0:12:03 | |
hearing some of the contributions.
The question is that this motion by | 0:12:03 | 0:12:09 | |
agreed to. I wish to thank the noble
Baroness, the Minister, for bringing | 0:12:09 | 0:12:16 | |
this debate before us today. And for
her opening marks, which shows that | 0:12:16 | 0:12:22 | |
we've made progress in many fields,
but we've still got a way to go yet. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:27 | |
And I certainly look forward to the
day when a woman gets a top job and | 0:12:27 | 0:12:31 | |
it doesn't make headlines, because
it will become the norm, and we look | 0:12:31 | 0:12:35 | |
forward to that day. My Lord's, the
theme for International Women's Day | 0:12:35 | 0:12:42 | |
is press for progress. And making
progress on what has so far been | 0:12:42 | 0:12:46 | |
achieved is something we should be
looking to accelerate in all walks | 0:12:46 | 0:12:50 | |
of life as far as women are
concerned. The eight women in | 0:12:50 | 0:12:54 | |
politics, in the workplace, at home,
young girls in school, or in young | 0:12:54 | 0:13:00 | |
women in further education -- by it
women in politics. We need to press | 0:13:00 | 0:13:04 | |
for more and faster progress. When
one looks at young women and girls | 0:13:04 | 0:13:08 | |
today, starting out in life, what
can they expect? The women and it to | 0:13:08 | 0:13:15 | |
Select Committee carried out in
inquiry into sexual harassment and | 0:13:15 | 0:13:20 | |
sexual violence in schools, and
published its report in September 20 | 0:13:20 | 0:13:25 | |
16. And it showed that 29% of 16-18
-year-old girls say they have | 0:13:25 | 0:13:32 | |
experienced unwanted sexual touching
at school. And 59% of girls and | 0:13:32 | 0:13:38 | |
young women aged 13-21 said that in
2014, and I'm sure nothing has | 0:13:38 | 0:13:44 | |
changed since then, that they have
faced some form of sexual harassment | 0:13:44 | 0:13:48 | |
and school college in the past year.
Young people told the committee that | 0:13:48 | 0:13:53 | |
sexual harassment has become a
normal part of school life. And I | 0:13:53 | 0:13:59 | |
just think that's so sad, isn't it,
that it's become normal, to have | 0:13:59 | 0:14:03 | |
sexual harassment at school. Lord
Bates of the Everyday Sex Was | 0:14:03 | 0:14:11 | |
Project has described sexual
harassment in violence and school | 0:14:11 | 0:14:14 | |
as, and I quote, a widespread,
regular and common problem, | 0:14:14 | 0:14:19 | |
something that the majority of girls
are experiencing. The committee's | 0:14:19 | 0:14:23 | |
report found inconsistencies in how
schools deal with sexual harassment | 0:14:23 | 0:14:28 | |
and violence and a lack of guidance
and support for teachers. The UK | 0:14:28 | 0:14:36 | |
feminist and the National education
union published a report in 2017 | 0:14:36 | 0:14:41 | |
called sexism in school. And it said
that sexism in school is in BMX, but | 0:14:41 | 0:14:47 | |
is not inevitable. -- is endemic.
Consistent and ongoing action is | 0:14:47 | 0:14:55 | |
required from schools, Government
and education bodies to tackle it. | 0:14:55 | 0:14:58 | |
The findings and conclusions were
similar to the women and it do is | 0:14:58 | 0:15:02 | |
report. Bearing in mind these two
reports, it shows us there is lots | 0:15:02 | 0:15:06 | |
of problems in schools. So I'd like
to ask the Minister, what action is | 0:15:06 | 0:15:13 | |
the Government taking on the
recommendations of the women and the | 0:15:13 | 0:15:16 | |
use Select Committee, as the
Government did respond positively, | 0:15:16 | 0:15:19 | |
and hopefully they have action and
measures suggested in their | 0:15:19 | 0:15:23 | |
response. One recommendation was a
setting up of an advisory group to | 0:15:23 | 0:15:28 | |
look at how the issues and
recommendations can be best | 0:15:28 | 0:15:33 | |
reflected within the existing DfE
guidance for schools, including, KCS | 0:15:33 | 0:15:42 | |
i:e., and that stands for Keeping
Children Safe In School, perhaps the | 0:15:42 | 0:15:49 | |
Minister could say, what progress is
being made and if the advisory group | 0:15:49 | 0:15:53 | |
is working? A change of culture in
our school must be what is required, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:58 | |
and it can be achieved, providing
the resources are put into it. I | 0:15:58 | 0:16:03 | |
feel only then the next generation
of girls will be able to attend | 0:16:03 | 0:16:06 | |
school without fear of sexual
harassment in a place that should be | 0:16:06 | 0:16:11 | |
one of safety. As far as educational
achievement is concerned, as the | 0:16:11 | 0:16:19 | |
Minister said, girls are
outperforming boys at school, but | 0:16:19 | 0:16:22 | |
they are not going on to be higher
earners than men, or to be equally | 0:16:22 | 0:16:26 | |
represented in leadership positions.
There are of course a number of | 0:16:26 | 0:16:30 | |
reasons for this. School and the
education system have their part to | 0:16:30 | 0:16:37 | |
play. Young women experienced gender
norms and stereotypes which prevent | 0:16:37 | 0:16:41 | |
them from reaching their full
potential. Only one in three girls | 0:16:41 | 0:16:46 | |
who take maths and science at GCSE
level want to take a stem subject at | 0:16:46 | 0:16:51 | |
a level or the equivalent, compared
to eight out of ten boys. The | 0:16:51 | 0:16:57 | |
education policy Institute has found
that there are large gender gaps in | 0:16:57 | 0:17:05 | |
entries to art subjects, with girls
far more likely to enter art | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
subjects than boys. This has been
the case throughout the last decade, | 0:17:08 | 0:17:12 | |
and it is widening. My Lord's, the
men and men starting | 0:17:12 | 0:17:20 | |
apprenticeships, men are dominating
the apprenticeships with higher | 0:17:20 | 0:17:21 | |
earning potential. We have seen that
the way that gender stereotypes move | 0:17:21 | 0:17:27 | |
from school subjects to
apprenticeships to the workplace, | 0:17:27 | 0:17:31 | |
and that male dominated work is
valued more highly. According to the | 0:17:31 | 0:17:37 | |
House of Commons Library figures, in
2016-17, 50 4% of the apprenticeship | 0:17:37 | 0:17:43 | |
starts work by women. And 46 by men.
The number of women starting | 0:17:43 | 0:17:50 | |
apprenticeships in England has been
higher than men every year since | 0:17:50 | 0:17:55 | |
2010-11, but men continue to
dominate apprenticeship with the | 0:17:55 | 0:17:58 | |
best earning potential. In 2014-15,
nearly 17,000 men started | 0:17:58 | 0:18:05 | |
engineering apprenticeships. Whilst
only 600 girls did. So, that's not | 0:18:05 | 0:18:11 | |
good. And much progress is needed to
be done to ensure that we make much | 0:18:11 | 0:18:15 | |
more progress than that. So, I'd
like to ask the Minister, what | 0:18:15 | 0:18:20 | |
action is the Government taking to
encourage more women to take up jobs | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
such as engineering? We mark the
Centenary of women getting the vote | 0:18:24 | 0:18:30 | |
and being allowed to stand for
Parliament, and I know we did have a | 0:18:30 | 0:18:34 | |
good debate on this on February
five. And we all know that progress | 0:18:34 | 0:18:40 | |
is so slow for women wanting to get
into politics. We know 489 women | 0:18:40 | 0:18:46 | |
have been elected to the House of
Commons since 1918. And of those, | 0:18:46 | 0:18:54 | |
489 women... No, wouldn't it be
great if it was men and the reverse! | 0:18:54 | 0:19:03 | |
I think there would have been quite
a row about that! But this is where | 0:19:03 | 0:19:10 | |
we are. Out of those women, only 45
women have been coveted ministers. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:18 | |
-- Cabinet ministers. There have
been two women prime ministers. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:22 | |
According to the global ranking
table for women parliamentarians, | 0:19:22 | 0:19:27 | |
the UK is 39th on that list. The
World Economic Forum 2017 global | 0:19:27 | 0:19:34 | |
gender Gap report findings tell us a
gender parity is over 200 years | 0:19:34 | 0:19:40 | |
away. That means it only happened in
the lifetime of not everyone on the | 0:19:40 | 0:19:47 | |
planet today and not for several
generations to come, that is | 0:19:47 | 0:19:51 | |
tremendously... We need to make much
better progress than that. Progress | 0:19:51 | 0:19:59 | |
in this field will not happen unless
action is similar to that the Labour | 0:19:59 | 0:20:03 | |
Party has taken for having all women
short lists since 1997. Now, this | 0:20:03 | 0:20:11 | |
progress has been used in all types
of election, not just of the | 0:20:11 | 0:20:14 | |
Commons, and it does work. | 0:20:14 | 0:20:57 | |
The in the UK we need to have a
serious discussion. I don't believe | 0:20:57 | 0:21:01 | |
gender parity will just happen,
action has to be taken and we will | 0:21:01 | 0:21:05 | |
wait to future generations of young
women who want to enter politics and | 0:21:05 | 0:21:09 | |
make their contribution in public
service in February 2017, the Prime | 0:21:09 | 0:21:15 | |
Minister announced we're working
towards a domestic violence and | 0:21:15 | 0:21:21 | |
abuse act which the minister talked
about earlier. Last month Supply | 0:21:21 | 0:21:26 | |
Minister confirmed that there would
be a further wait for legislation. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:31 | |
The consultation, I'm pleased to say
has been launched today and this is | 0:21:31 | 0:21:34 | |
to be welcomed and we have waited
quite a while for it. What is | 0:21:34 | 0:21:40 | |
concerning is that the scope of the
bill will be too narrow and focus | 0:21:40 | 0:21:45 | |
solely on domestic violence and the
criminal justice system. It misses | 0:21:45 | 0:21:51 | |
out vital, wider issues such as
sustainable funding for refugees. I | 0:21:51 | 0:21:56 | |
will as the minister if you would
make a commitment of ensuring this | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
new bill will address the full range
of issues affecting victims of | 0:21:59 | 0:22:04 | |
domestic violence. On average every
week, we all know the statistics and | 0:22:04 | 0:22:17 | |
we quartered and as the minister | 0:22:17 | 0:22:28 | |
said many women gossip is to do and
they seek refuge and have stories | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
they had been turned away as there
is no place for them where once | 0:22:37 | 0:22:40 | |
there was. This is such an essential
service for the protection of women | 0:22:40 | 0:22:47 | |
and girls who are caught up in
domestic violence and more action | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
and funding is required in order to
see you this happen. I hope the | 0:22:49 | 0:22:57 | |
consolation arrives different
organisations to feed in and that's | 0:22:57 | 0:22:59 | |
obviously the purpose of the
consultation and hopefully a lot of | 0:22:59 | 0:23:04 | |
good things will come out of it. My
Lords, I really hope this domestic | 0:23:04 | 0:23:08 | |
violence and abuse act will address
these problems and make life a | 0:23:08 | 0:23:13 | |
little better for women who suffer
from domestic violence and abuse. My | 0:23:13 | 0:23:18 | |
Lords, we will need to continue the
press for progress for some time yet | 0:23:18 | 0:23:24 | |
but if the will and determination is
there it will happen and I have no | 0:23:24 | 0:23:29 | |
doubt about that. I looking forward
to the contributions of noble Lords | 0:23:29 | 0:23:34 | |
Baroness is and I look forward to
the minister's request. | 0:23:34 | 0:23:38 | |
I too would like to thank the noble
Lord -- the noble lady the Minister | 0:23:41 | 0:23:46 | |
for introducing this debate in this
key year when the Mark 100 years of | 0:23:46 | 0:23:52 | |
women Brassica Givaudan United
Kingdom. I think that we sorely miss | 0:23:52 | 0:23:57 | |
the noble lady Baroness Turner as we
debate this issue today. The | 0:23:57 | 0:24:04 | |
Baroness will have access to a very
large funds from the wonderful but | 0:24:04 | 0:24:13 | |
overstretched government equalities
office and she can best cover the | 0:24:13 | 0:24:18 | |
wide range of areas that we will no
doubt raise. During the coalition, I | 0:24:18 | 0:24:23 | |
was in the fortunate position of
being where she is, responding to | 0:24:23 | 0:24:28 | |
this debate but if I look back to
those days, it is stunning to see | 0:24:28 | 0:24:33 | |
what has changed since then. Who
would have thought then that we | 0:24:33 | 0:24:38 | |
would face the prospect of leaving
the European Union now, the union | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
that has brought such benefits for
women into UK law and that we | 0:24:42 | 0:24:48 | |
apparently planned to leave even
though the government's on analyses | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
shows that it is the poorest in our
society and women are poorer than | 0:24:51 | 0:24:59 | |
men, who will disproportionately be
affected by Brexit. Who would have | 0:24:59 | 0:25:02 | |
thought that we would have Donald
Trump in the White House, despite | 0:25:02 | 0:25:07 | |
all the abuse he has meted out to
women and carrying favour with the | 0:25:07 | 0:25:12 | |
right-wing over the rights of women.
Who would have thought that he would | 0:25:12 | 0:25:17 | |
defeat Hillary Clinton, the phrase
he Vries her own that women rights | 0:25:17 | 0:25:21 | |
are human rights. Make sure that
women in Afghanistan, for example, | 0:25:21 | 0:25:27 | |
were not pushed aside for so-called
cultural reasons. In a country where | 0:25:27 | 0:25:34 | |
perhaps all that has emerged from
Allied engagement is an improvement | 0:25:34 | 0:25:37 | |
in women's writes. On the other side
of things, who would have thought | 0:25:37 | 0:25:43 | |
that Harvey Weinstein and others
would have been brought down and the | 0:25:43 | 0:25:48 | |
world would listen when women
shouted me to an times about who | 0:25:48 | 0:25:54 | |
would have thought that Oxfam would
be on the ropes over the sexual | 0:25:54 | 0:25:57 | |
exploitation of women in countries
where they are most vulnerable? | 0:25:57 | 0:26:02 | |
Wherever there are inequalities of
power and in the relations between | 0:26:02 | 0:26:08 | |
men and women, globally, then such
exploitation has long been a fact of | 0:26:08 | 0:26:11 | |
life. We knew that in many
developing countries, girls were not | 0:26:11 | 0:26:17 | |
safe, even in school because their
teachers demanded sexual favours. We | 0:26:17 | 0:26:22 | |
knew that peacekeepers could not be
trusted not to abuse the female | 0:26:22 | 0:26:29 | |
population, whom they were supposed
to protect. I guess it should not | 0:26:29 | 0:26:32 | |
have come as a surprise that there
could be abuse, even by those who | 0:26:32 | 0:26:38 | |
should fully have understood their
responsibility. It is clearly the | 0:26:38 | 0:26:45 | |
case as the noble Baroness, the
minister, has outlined that we have | 0:26:45 | 0:26:48 | |
a secured greater equality in the
West and in Britain that we are all | 0:26:48 | 0:26:52 | |
here in this house playing the parts
that we do is testimony to that. But | 0:26:52 | 0:26:59 | |
women in Britain, as we had from the
noble lady, Baroness Gale, are still | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
far from equal in terms of pay,
responsibility for domestic work, | 0:27:02 | 0:27:09 | |
caring for children and our older
relatives. I was shocked today to | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
read that women are five times more
likely to be donors of kidneys to | 0:27:13 | 0:27:18 | |
their husbands than the other way
round. How about that for what's | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
expected of you and gender
inequality? Neither are we on the | 0:27:21 | 0:27:28 | |
boards of companies in the numbers
that we should be, or governors of | 0:27:28 | 0:27:32 | |
central banks. I had last night that
only 6% of central bank governors | 0:27:32 | 0:27:37 | |
worldwide are women. I met one last
night courtesy of the noble Lord who | 0:27:37 | 0:27:41 | |
is in its space just now and she was
a governor, as the governor of the | 0:27:41 | 0:27:46 | |
central bank of Serbia but even she
emphasised that she must also play a | 0:27:46 | 0:27:52 | |
full part at home with her family
cleaning, cooking and as she put it, | 0:27:52 | 0:27:56 | |
having a smile on her face when her
husband and children came home. This | 0:27:56 | 0:28:03 | |
is the governor of the Central bank.
We know that if equality is | 0:28:03 | 0:28:15 | |
far from far away and Britain, it is
even further elsewhere. We have had | 0:28:16 | 0:28:19 | |
the visited of trumpets of Saudi
Arabia. I welcome the ship 's been | 0:28:19 | 0:28:24 | |
made in his company -- country and
applaud the women who have helped | 0:28:24 | 0:28:28 | |
this along. I recall visiting the
country a few years back and seeing | 0:28:28 | 0:28:32 | |
for myself the inequalities are.
Women boxed away in a small part of | 0:28:32 | 0:28:37 | |
the University while the men ranged
through the rest, including the | 0:28:37 | 0:28:41 | |
library, which was barred to women.
In my hotel and a break in meetings, | 0:28:41 | 0:28:47 | |
I decided to take advantage of the
swimming pool as I headed in, I was | 0:28:47 | 0:28:52 | |
told, you cannot swim, this isn't
the women's hour. Disappointed, I | 0:28:52 | 0:28:58 | |
asked when the woman's hour was.
There isn't one came the reply. It | 0:28:58 | 0:29:05 | |
is because worldwide we see
inequality that I am such a | 0:29:05 | 0:29:09 | |
supporter of quarters and positive
action in Parliament. Including | 0:29:09 | 0:29:12 | |
ours. I have seen how much was
achieved in Pakistan, for example, | 0:29:12 | 0:29:18 | |
by those elected to the women's
places in the last parliament there, | 0:29:18 | 0:29:23 | |
70% of the legislation was taken
through by women and they were under | 0:29:23 | 0:29:29 | |
30% of the parliament. Working
across and deep into their own | 0:29:29 | 0:29:31 | |
parties. Their focus was on
improving the lot of women, for | 0:29:31 | 0:29:37 | |
example criminalising acid attacks.
It's also why, in terms of | 0:29:37 | 0:29:42 | |
development, it is right to put the
overwhelming emphasis on women and | 0:29:42 | 0:29:48 | |
girls, to invest in girl 's's
dedication. The longer a girl is in | 0:29:48 | 0:29:52 | |
school, the fewer children she has,
the better she is able to be | 0:29:52 | 0:29:56 | |
independent and provide for an
educate her family. She, her family | 0:29:56 | 0:30:01 | |
and community at her country will
benefit. It is also why emphasising | 0:30:01 | 0:30:05 | |
family planning is vital so that all
women who wish to access family | 0:30:05 | 0:30:10 | |
planning can do so. And we should
not ignore the challenge of | 0:30:10 | 0:30:15 | |
abortion. I welcomed the report of
the all-party group on population | 0:30:15 | 0:30:18 | |
and development on abortion and I
pay tribute to the noble lady | 0:30:18 | 0:30:23 | |
Baroness told him that regard. It
recognises that abortions will occur | 0:30:23 | 0:30:26 | |
and that so often deaths result
where these are not legal and | 0:30:26 | 0:30:31 | |
medically assisted. The proportion
of maternal mortality in developing | 0:30:31 | 0:30:37 | |
countries resulting from unsafe
abortions ranges as high as 18%, the | 0:30:37 | 0:30:45 | |
estimate. Maternal morbidity from
the consequences of unsafe abortion | 0:30:45 | 0:30:47 | |
is also common and the panda rightly
that young women, poor women and | 0:30:47 | 0:30:55 | |
women in conflict situations are
particularly vulnerable. I'm proud | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
of the fact that in coalition we put
into law a commitment to 0.7% of GNI | 0:30:57 | 0:31:04 | |
for aid with a particular focus on
women and girls. I'm proud of the | 0:31:04 | 0:31:09 | |
fact that David has not shied away
from areas like family planning and | 0:31:09 | 0:31:13 | |
abortion over recent years. Unlike
Donald Trump's America. Long may | 0:31:13 | 0:31:18 | |
that continue. I also paid tribute
here to the focus that David has had | 0:31:18 | 0:31:26 | |
on women with disabilities,
something pioneered by my noble | 0:31:26 | 0:31:30 | |
friend Lord Bruce when he was chair
of the International Development | 0:31:30 | 0:31:33 | |
Select Committee on my noble friend
Baroness Weatherstone as a minister. | 0:31:33 | 0:31:38 | |
Sight Savers point out that women
with disabilities are among the most | 0:31:38 | 0:31:42 | |
marginalised in the world. Many are
likely to experience the double | 0:31:42 | 0:31:47 | |
discrimination of gender and
disability. Men with disabilities | 0:31:47 | 0:31:51 | |
are almost twice as likely to be
employed as their female | 0:31:51 | 0:31:54 | |
counterparts. Women and deals with
disabilities suffer particularly | 0:31:54 | 0:31:59 | |
high rates of gender-based violence.
Although we recognise what has been | 0:31:59 | 0:32:08 | |
achieved globally for women, there
is indeed still much to do. Which is | 0:32:08 | 0:32:15 | |
why this annual debate is important.
We should not recall this only on | 0:32:15 | 0:32:18 | |
one day a year but this is a time at
the very least to take stock of | 0:32:18 | 0:32:23 | |
where we are and where we seem to be
going. In some regards, we appear to | 0:32:23 | 0:32:28 | |
be moving forward but in others, the
forces of reaction seemed to be | 0:32:28 | 0:32:34 | |
taking us in the opposite direction.
In the centenary year when we | 0:32:34 | 0:32:44 | |
celebrate the fact that some women
in the UK got the right to vote in | 0:32:44 | 0:32:47 | |
1918, I would like to widen the lens
to consider briefly the | 0:32:47 | 0:32:53 | |
international scene as it is now and
the noble Baroness is part of that | 0:32:53 | 0:32:59 | |
and I would like to focus on one
country in particular and that is | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
Albania. And not just because I
visited it last month in the | 0:33:02 | 0:33:07 | |
February says as member of the UK's
IPU group but also because Albania | 0:33:07 | 0:33:12 | |
provides an example of the
challenges that must be overcome | 0:33:12 | 0:33:15 | |
when seeking to achieve gender
equality and the progress that can | 0:33:15 | 0:33:18 | |
be made by determined efforts within
the country but also with the | 0:33:18 | 0:33:24 | |
assistance of the UK and also with
UN women. The report published this | 0:33:24 | 0:33:31 | |
month by the IPU Secretary General
states that the progress made in | 0:33:31 | 0:33:34 | |
women's political involvement is
slowing. With the exception of some | 0:33:34 | 0:33:39 | |
countries that have made headway
because of political will, this has | 0:33:39 | 0:33:44 | |
been overall a disappointing year.
It is vital that women are part of | 0:33:44 | 0:33:49 | |
decision-making institutions such as
Parliament. It is fundamental, not | 0:33:49 | 0:33:54 | |
just for gender equality but also
for democracy and the legitimacy of | 0:33:54 | 0:33:57 | |
the process. My lord, last year did
see some positive developments in | 0:33:57 | 0:34:04 | |
women's participation in elections
worldwide. A record number women | 0:34:04 | 0:34:09 | |
contested elections, more seats were
won by women than previous years but | 0:34:09 | 0:34:13 | |
this was largely due to measures
such as electoral quarters for | 0:34:13 | 0:34:16 | |
women. Whatever your views on gender
quarters systems, you cannot ignore | 0:34:16 | 0:34:22 | |
the impact that they have. In the 20
countries where quarters were used, | 0:34:22 | 0:34:30 | |
women 1/20% of the seats while in
the 16 countries where quarters were | 0:34:30 | 0:34:35 | |
not, it was just 17%. The
trailblazers in the Americas were | 0:34:35 | 0:34:40 | |
Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, all
countries that have developed | 0:34:40 | 0:34:43 | |
progressive legislation to promote
women's political leadership. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:48 | |
Elections across the Asia and
Pacific region generally affected | 0:34:48 | 0:34:52 | |
the fact that gender normality
continue to work against women's | 0:34:52 | 0:34:57 | |
entry into politics Society is lay
stronger emphasis on women's roles | 0:34:57 | 0:35:00 | |
in the unpaid domestic sphere. New
Zealand, of course, it was the | 0:35:00 | 0:35:05 | |
standout success when the elected
highest ever women MPs and 39% and | 0:35:05 | 0:35:12 | |
the Prime Minister. Her pregnancy
has given rise to a national debate | 0:35:12 | 0:35:18 | |
on women's ability to balance
political leadership. The most | 0:35:18 | 0:35:27 | |
prominent increase was in France
where President Micron's party | 0:35:27 | 0:35:35 | |
fielded gender balanced lists --
Emmanuel Macron. Now to Albania. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:40 | |
Historically it has a low numbers in
elected office but it made | 0:35:40 | 0:35:44 | |
significant progress last year. The
proportion of women elected jumped | 0:35:44 | 0:35:49 | |
from 18 to 20%. It is because they
benefited from a gender quarter and | 0:35:49 | 0:35:56 | |
from a public forum organised by UN
women which enabled them to raise | 0:35:56 | 0:36:01 | |
the awareness of the importance
women playing a role in public life. | 0:36:01 | 0:36:06 | |
Every UK Parliament hearings visit
to Albania was timely. There is a | 0:36:06 | 0:36:10 | |
significant focus on the Western
Balkans this year by the UK and by | 0:36:10 | 0:36:16 | |
the EU. We will host the EU Western
Balkans summit in London in me and I | 0:36:16 | 0:36:22 | |
believe we host a world summit on
the Western Balkans later in the | 0:36:22 | 0:36:24 | |
summer. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:31 |