International Women's Day - 11:48 am, Fri 6th Mar 2009
It was not until 1918 that the vote was given to women – and even then you had to be over thirty years old. It took decades on blood, sweat and tears just to get that far.
Fast forward to the present day. Societies and women’s groups (like the Women’s Coalition in Swindon) have been working away in the background, supporting each other, forming networks, giving women the confidence to break through into politics.
At the general election in 2005 128 women were elected as members of Parliament, the highest number ever. Of these MPs, 95 were Labour, 17 Conservative, 9 Liberal Democrat.
This may sound like a high number, but it means only one in 5 MPs is now a woman. A vast improvement but still not good enough.
This year International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th March. It’s an opportunity to look back at the progress made – and the work ahead.
Tomorrow I am speaking to Swindon Womens’ Coalition, who have chosen Children and Families as their theme this year.
It’s a subject area I have been intimately involved in as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and I hope I can them some insight into the Government’s work.
The fact is: It’s no coincidence that since more women have been in Government the family, and children have been higher up on the agenda.
When women MPs got into power in Westminster they created one million more child care places.
We didn’t stop there. This Government appointed the first ever Minister for Women. Paid Maternity increased from 18 to 39 weeks. We had the biggest overhaul of domestic violence legislation in 30 years. NHS investment and reform means that we catch breast and gynecological cancers earlier because of scanning and quicker treatment.
By supporting women, we are supporting the family, but there are specific family friendly policies that I have supported that I think are important: 7.2 million mothers have benefited from the record child benefit rises. Child trust funds give a £250 nest egg to every family, and £500 for the babies of low income families. There’s free fruit for kids at primary school and child care vouchers for working parents.
These are the policies that during a recession we must protect - so that women can stay at work and also have time with their children, and so that children can be healthy and safe.
Children must not pay for the down turn, that’s something that has been a priority since I have been at the Department for Children, Schools and Families. I reject the Conservative Party plans to cut investment in education.
There is much work yet to do, because if we achieved this with only one in 5 MPs a woman, imagine what we can do with half of MPs women. The rate that politics is changing we could see that in our lifetimes.
I want better play areas for kids, improvements in front-line social work practice and more help for children with special needs.
All these are things the Government is looking at as part of the Children’s Plan over the next few years. As long as we have the women MPs in Parliament to see it through and the women’s groups on the ground, giving support and feeding in ideas – we will achieve our goals.
