International Women’s Day: Progress on Global Gender Equality

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, I, too, thank the Minister for introducing this debate in this key year when we mark 100 years since women first secured the vote in the United Kingdom. We sorely miss Lady Turner as we debate the issue today. I know that the noble Baroness, Lady Vere, will have access to a very large file—if she does not have it in front of her—from the wonderful but overstretched Government Equalities Office so that she can best cover the wide range of areas that we will no doubt raise. I know that because I was, during the coalition, in the fortunate position of being where she is, responding to this debate. When I look back to those days, it is stunning to see what has changed since then.

Who would have thought then that we would face the prospect of leaving the European Union, which has brought such benefits for women into UK law, and that we apparently plan to leave even though the Government’s own analyses show that it is the poorest in our society—and women are poorer than men—who will be disproportionately affected by Brexit? Who would have thought that we would have Donald Trump in the White House, despite all the abuse he has meted out to women, and currying favour with the right wing over the rights of women? Who would have thought that he would defeat Hillary Clinton, who made the phrase “women’s rights are human rights” her own, and who made sure that women in Afghanistan, for example, were not pushed aside for so-called cultural reasons in a country where perhaps all that has emerged from allied engagement is an improvement in women’s rights?

On the other side of things, who would have thought that Harvey Weinstein and others would have been brought low, and that the world would listen when women shouted #MeToo and Time’s Up? Who would have thought that Oxfam would be on the ropes over the sexual exploitation of women in countries where they are most vulnerable? Wherever there are inequalities of power and in the relations between men and women—in other words, globally—such exploitation has long been a fact of life. We knew that in many developing countries girls were not safe even in school, because their teachers demanded sexual favours. We knew that peacekeepers could not be trusted not to abuse the female population whom they were supposed to protect. So I guess it should not have come as a surprise that in aid there could be abuse, even by those who should fully have understood their responsibility.

It is clearly the case, as the Minister outlined, that we have indeed secured greater equality in the West and in Britain. That we are all here, in this House, playing the parts that we do, is testimony to that. But women in Britain, as we have just heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, are still far from equal in terms of pay, responsibility for domestic work, and caring for children and older relatives. I was shocked today to read that women are five times more likely to be donors of kidneys to their husbands than the other way around. How about that for what is expected of you, and gender inequality?

Nor are we on the boards of companies in the numbers that we should be, or governors of central banks. I heard last night that only 6% of central bank governors worldwide are women. I met one last night, courtesy of the noble Lord, Lord Desai, who was in his place just now, at OMFIF. She is the governor of the central bank of Serbia—but even she emphasised that she must also play a full part at home with her family; cleaning, cooking and, as she put it, having a smile on her face when her husband and children come home. This is the governor of a central bank.

We know that if equality is far from achieved here in Britain, it is miles away from being achieved worldwide. We see a sharp reminder of how things are elsewhere with the debate over the visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, though I welcome the shifts being made in his country and applaud the women who have helped this along. I recall visiting the country a few years back and seeing for myself the inequalities there: women boxed away in a small part of the university while the men ranged through the rest, including the library, which was barred to women. In my hotel, in a break between meetings, I decided to take advantage of the swimming pool. As I headed in, I was told “You can’t swim. This isn’t the women’s hour”. Disappointed, I asked when the women’s hour was. “There isn’t one”, came the reply.

It is because, worldwide, we see inequality that I am such a supporter of quotas and positive action in parliaments, including ours. I have seen how much was achieved in Pakistan, for example, by those elected to the women’s places. In the last Parliament there, 70% of the legislation was taken through by women, who made up less than 30% of the parliament, working across and deep into their own parties. Their focus was on improving the lot of women: for example, by criminalising acid attacks. It is also why, in terms of development, it is right to put the overwhelming emphasis on women and girls and to invest in girls’ education. The longer a girl is in school, the fewer children she has and the better she is able to be independent and provide for and educate her family. She, her family, her community and her country all benefit. It is also why emphasising family planning is vital, so that all women who wish to access family planning can do so.

We should not ignore the challenge of abortion. I welcome the report on abortion by the All-Party Group on Population and Development and I pay tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, in that regard. The report recognises that abortions will occur, and that so often deaths result where they are not legal and medically assisted. It estimates that the proportion of maternal mortality in developing countries resulting from unsafe abortion ranges as high as 18%. Maternal morbidity from the consequences of unsafe abortion is also common. The report points out, rightly, that young women, poor women and women in conflict situations are particularly vulnerable. I am proud of the fact that in coalition we put into law our commitment to 0.7% of GNI for aid, with a particular focus on women and girls. I am proud of the fact that DfID has not shied away from areas such as family planning and abortion over recent years—unlike Trump’s America. Long may that continue.

I also pay tribute here to the focus DfID has had on women with disabilities—something pioneered by my noble friend Lord Bruce when he was chair of the International Development Select Committee and my noble friend Lady Featherstone as a DfID Minister. Sightsavers points out that women with disabilities are among the most marginalised in the world. Many are likely to experience the double discrimination of gender and disability. Men with a disability are almost twice as likely to be employed as their female counterparts. Women and girls with disabilities suffer particularly high rates of gender-based violence, sexual abuse, neglect and exploitation.

So although we recognise what has been achieved globally for women, there is indeed still much to do, which is why this annual debate is important. Yes, we should not recall this on only one day a year, but this is a time, at the very least, to take stock of where we are and where we seem to be going. In some regards we appear to be moving forward, but in others the forces of reaction seem to be taking us in the opposite direction.