Ministerial Interview - Labour and Conservative Perspectives on Women in the Workplace: Policies, Pitfalls and Hopes for the Future.
About
This session brought together three senior female politicians: The Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Carolyn Harris MP, Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour and Anneliese Dodds MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, who discussed how government policy needs to progress, with Dodds declaring: “185,000 women between the ages of 50-64 have left the workplace since the pandemic, so we are clearly not getting this right.”
There was resounding applause for our three female representatives of the house, with a rallying cry from Carolyn Harris MP, who said: “Women have been around for a long time, we are 51% of the population – why should we have to sit back? It’s our responsibility to every generation ahead of us to make sure that we have our voice and we are heard.”
Speakers
Caroline Nokes
MP
Caroline is the Member of Parliament for Romsey and Southampton North and the current Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee in Parliament. Since her election in 2010 she has served as a Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, the Cabinet Office and was Minister of State for Immigration in Theresa May’s Cabinet. Immediately prior to becoming an MP she was the Chief Executive of an animal welfare charity.
Caroline is currently the co-chair of the APPG for Muslim Women, Vice Chair of “Show Racism the Red Card”. As Chair of the Select Committee Caroline has headed up inquiries into the gendered economic impact of covid, menopause in the work place and reform of the Gender Recognition Act.
Carolyn Harris
MP
MP for Swansea East, Carolyn Harris, chairs the Menopause All Party Parliamentary Group and co-chairs the government’s Menopause Taskforce. Her Private Members Bill in 2021, led to commitments from the government to dramatically reduce the cost of NHS HRT prescriptions in England and to tackle wider societal issues that impact women’s menopause experiences.
Annaliese Dodds
MP
Anneliese Dodds is the Labour (Co-op) MP for Oxford East, and has been an MP since 8 June 2017. She currently undertakes the roles of Chair of Labour Policy Review, and Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities. In addition, she is Party Chair, Labour Party
