International Women’s Day

Baroness Wilcox of Newport Excerpts

Friday 10th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, I echo the warm words of the Minister about Baroness Boothroyd. I remember that her comments to me after my maiden speech were very warm and supportive. I also look forward to hearing the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Lampard, in the House today.

I have great pleasure in opening the debate for the Opposition Front Bench on such an important topic, celebrating such an auspicious day in our international calendar. The campaign theme is Embrace Equity this year, and focusing on gender equity needs to be a part of every society’s DNA. It means creating a fair and equal world. The topic of this debate, education, could not be closer to my heart: I worked at the chalkface in schools, from Brixton to Brynmawr and Newport to Pontypridd, for almost 35 years. My contribution does not come from an ideological viewpoint or from a theoretical perspective, as welcome as these are, but is based on direct experience of five lessons a day, five days a week, for three academic terms a year.

Throughout those decades, I experienced many changes within and outside the curriculum and to the place of women and girls, both as teachers and learners. When I began my career, it was unusual to see a woman head teacher of a secondary school or girls studying science and technology beyond GCSE—or O-level, as it was in those days. Much has changed in those intervening years and both areas are now much better represented but, indeed, more needs to be done.

Research shows that, across the UK, women currently make up 47% of employees in male-dominated STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—with a quarter of the jobs in mathematical sciences and 13% in engineering positions. However, the lack of female role models in STEM is a key reason why girls do not pursue a career in the sector. Just 42% of girls said they would consider a STEM-related career, but this rose to 60% if they had confidence that men and women were equally employed in those professions.

That is why I was so pleased to see the Minister in the Welsh Government, Vaughan Gething, launching a scheme for STEM subjects just this time last year, when he said that Wales’s programme for government looked to celebrate diversity and move to eliminate inequality in all its forms, including by increasing diversity in STEM by seeking out participation from underrepresented groups to build and develop a world in which studying and working in science are open to all. Our innovators and leaders of tomorrow are sitting in our classrooms, colleges and universities of today. We need to embrace and empower women and girls to see themselves as those leaders of tomorrow.

Wales launched its new 13-18 curriculum last autumn. It is now quite distinct from England and it is inclusive, giving all learners a broad and balanced learning pathway. The four purposes of the curriculum are the shared vision and aspiration for every child and young person to become: an ambitious, capable learner, ready to learn throughout their life; an enterprising, creative contributor, ready to play a full part in life and work; an ethical, informed citizen, ready to take part in the world; and a healthy, confident individual, ready to lead a fulfilling life as a valued member of society. The curriculum also covers human rights and diversity, respecting differences and experiences in skills, and careers and the workplace.

In fulfilling these aims, high expectations are set for all, promoting individual and national well-being, tackling ignorance and misinformation, and encouraging critical and civic engagement. It is not simply what is taught but how it is taught and, crucially, why it is taught. This development will contribute to Wales’s goals as a nation as set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. It is also an important vehicle for embedding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Turning to the economic place of women in our society, it is well documented that women often earn less and are more likely to work in insecure jobs, often in the informal sector and with less access to social protections. They also run most single-parent households, which further limits their capacity to absorb economic shocks. It is crucial therefore that women’s voices are at the core of policy development and decision-making. The participation of women and girls is both necessary and vital, at every level and in every arena: central, devolved and local government, or within the community and the wider business arena. Without equal participation, responses will be less effective at meeting their needs and lead to negative consequences.

The empowerment of women is key. I am pleased that Governments in Wales and Scotland have incorporated the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into legal frameworks and the school curricula. I would urge the UK Government to do the same for England.

Alongside my work in the classroom over many years, encouraging my pupils to be their best selves, I have always engaged in mentoring programmes in the Labour and Co-operative Party and in other organisations, such as Equal Power Equal Voice. It runs mentoring programmes to increase diversity of representation in public and political life. Across Wales—indeed, across the UK—there exists a massive social and intellectual capital that is untapped and excluded from our public and political systems. The Equal Power Equal Voice programme aims to help bridge that gap, to get more diverse representation in politics and public life by strengthening the knowledge and skills of those who aspire to be there, while learning from and being supported by those who have achieved positions of power.

I have greatly enjoyed my involvement in those schemes and have achieved some very good outcomes. I note for the record that during our time together a recent mentee of mine, who had no prior political experience, became a list candidate for the 2021 Senedd elections. In 2022, she was elected for the first time to a Welsh council, subsequently becoming the leader as control changed from Tory to Labour. I am glad to have played a small part in her personal and political development, so here is to Councillor Mary Ann Brocklesby and the tremendous changes she is bringing.

Other examples may not be as meteoric, but I am pleased to have helped many women take their first steps into public life. Indeed, after I became the first woman leader of Newport City Council, my successor, Councillor Jane Mudd, and her deputy, Councillor Deborah Davies, maintained the positive representation and the gender balance of the Labour group. Both Newport Members of Parliament are women and one of the two members of the Senedd are female, so women are indeed around the top table in my home city.

I am sorry that one of Wales’s most eminent women is not in her place today due to illness. It would be totally remiss of me not to mention my noble friend Lady Gale, who has done so much in our party to bring the issue of women’s political representation to the fore and has ensured that we have opportunities to stand for election at all levels. The twinning mechanism she brought in for the first Assembly elections in 1999 was nothing short of a masterstroke. It ensured a 50% selection of women candidates, making the Welsh Assembly a ground-breaker in equal representation. That legacy has endured to the present day thanks to my noble friend Lady Gale’s determination and the charter for women that she developed. She changed the perception of women in power in Wales and beyond for ever.

So, what can we do? We need to actively support and embrace equity within our own spheres of influence. We need to challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias and seek out inclusion. When we embrace equity, we embrace diversity; we embrace inclusion. We embrace equity to forge harmony and unity, and to help drive success for all. Equality is the goal and equity is the means to get there.