(10 years, 6 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, are not more and more women taking their remuneration into their own hands by setting up their own businesses, which has become increasingly easy to do?
Yes. The number of self-employed women has increased to 1.42 million. There are more women-led businesses than ever before and more women in employment than ever before, with wages going up.
(11 years, 7 months ago)
Lords ChamberDoes my noble friend the Minister agree that it is the job of Government to encourage the sort of changes on boards that we are talking about but that it is not the job of Government to dictate? It is the shareholders who own the business who should decide who sits on the board.
My noble friend is quite right that the Government, and indeed wider society, should encourage businesses to look at this and to recognise their own self-interest in the 21st century.