International Women’s Day

Baroness Moyo Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Moyo (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I begin by cautioning the Chamber that I may sound slightly Pollyanna-ish, if not naive, in the remarks that I offer today. It strikes me as curious that, each year, across the world and here in your Lordships’ Chamber, we meet to celebrate women, yet almost invariably we hear an extensive list of how women and girls continue to struggle, face harm, endure worsening inequity and economically recede. Of course, as policymakers we should not wish to see the lack of access and limited opportunities for women further entrenched, and we should be seeking and listening to lasting solutions. In this sense, clear and accurate articulation and problem identification have their part to play in achieving the best and highest policy outcomes.

However, we must also celebrate success and thus highlight some sectors where women continue to progress. In politics, the share of women in parliaments globally has increased from 24.3% in 2019 to 27.2% in 2025. In the United Kingdom, both in the other place and here in your Lordships’ House, we now have the highest proportion of female representation ever recorded, at 40% and almost 30% respectively. Dare I say it? We are in the room where it is happening. We need to do more.

Around the world, several countries have achieved even higher levels of female representation in parliaments. In what is clearly a win for women in politics globally, at least 20 countries, including from Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, have a higher proportion and representation of women than the other place here in the United Kingdom. On that list are countries such as Cuba, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, in business and finance, the Cranfield University annual survey notes that women now make up 43% of directors on FTSE 100 boards, compared with 5.8% in 2000. The number of women CEOs in the Fortune 500 has risen more than sixfold in the past two decades to reach a paltry, but nevertheless notable, 10.4%.

Yes, even in science and technology, the narrower fields picked to be highlighted in today’s debate, we see some progress. It is sadly true that women remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and that women-led start-ups, as the noble Baroness, Lady Lane-Fox, mentioned, find it hard to secure venture capital for technology. Of course, there is a well-known concern that AI contains an intrinsic gender bias that continues to harm women. However, there is also good news worth stressing.

First, according to the Government’s statistics, over 29% of STEM roles are now held by women. It is crucial for long-term economic growth that women form a greater proportion of the technological workforce. It is thus encouraging to see total numbers of women in STEM roles having reached 1.3 million in 2023, according to the WISE Campaign, up from estimates of 800,000 nearly a decade ago.

Secondly, there are visible improvements showing that the gender pay gap in wages and compensation is closing, albeit slowly. According to a 2024 report by Outsource UK, the tech pay gap has improved. It was at 15.6% in 2024, compared with 17.3% in 2021.

Thirdly, in terms of leadership, there is no doubt that there are prominent women making a mark, thereby inspiring a new generation of young women and girls. Here in the UK, we have standout examples in these important trends, such as Dame Emma Walmsley, the chief executive of the global pharmaceutical company GSK, which in the run-up to the 2020 pandemic was the largest vaccine producer in the world. She is also a member of the board of directors of Microsoft, one of the magnificent seven technological companies. Dame Kate Bingham, the prominent venture capitalist specialising in health, was instrumental in the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine and was at the intersection of business and government efforts in the face of that pandemic. Here in the Chamber, the noble Baronesses, Baroness Gustafsson and Baroness Lane-Fox, count in the ranks of successful entrepreneurs in the fields of technology, which is why we must listen to them, but let us also celebrate them. Of course, there is also Hannah Fry, the Cambridge academic who has made maths fun again.

There is no doubt that significant and even unfair inequities between men and women remain and persist. However, we are policymakers—we are in the room—and if we are not the ones pushing to advance and scale progress in Britain and beyond, then who is? We need policies that can deliver more women working and leading on science and technology, together with greater pay and equity, which is why it is very interesting and helpful to participate in this debate. Clearly a lot more needs to be done, and at pace, but we must celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day by at least taking note of the progress being made in science and technology. After all, the more that we celebrate successes today, the more likely we are to have inspiring examples of success in the future.