International Women�s Day

Chris McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris McDonald (Stockton North) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) for moving the motion. We have just heard some extremely powerful testimony from my hon. Friends the Members for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting) and for Knowsley (Anneliese Midgley), but, if the House will forgive me, I intend to shift the tone slightly and talk about a moment of joy that I experienced yesterday. First, however, I want to acknowledge the proud achievements of our Labour party in advancing the cause of women over the last century, and to pay particular tribute to the members of the women�s sections in our labour and trade union movement for the work that they do in their local communities.

Yesterday I paid a lovely visit to our marvellous education centre, where I met students from St Joseph�s Catholic primary school in Billingham, in my constituency. As always, I was asked the best and hardest questions by the students. One of those questions was, �What are MPs going to do to help women who play football receive the same pay as men who play football?� What a great question.

We have heard a bit about women�s sport today, and we are seeing the rapid growth and transformation of football for women and girls. We have heard about the Lioness effect. The England women�s team have been fantastic role models, and, on the main stage at Wembley under the floodlights, they have laid their critics to rest. However, we should not forget what they have been up against. The Football Association now has ambitious targets to grow the girls� game, but on 5 December 1921 the FA met at its headquarters in London and announced a ban on the women�s game, stating that

�the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.�

Before that, there were about 150 women�s football clubs, attracting 45,000 fans to their games. We have to wonder whether the FA was motivated by the fact that the women�s game was taking fans away from the men�s.

I think that if women had been asked about this before the ban, they would have said there was a bright future for the women�s game. There certainly is now, because since the ban was reversed in 1971 it has gone from strength to strength, and I commend the FA for the work that it has done to improve access and opportunities for women and girls. Tomorrow, to celebrate International Women�s Day, I shall be joining pupils at Bewley primary school, also in Billingham, to watch a training session and a football match run by the Hartlepool United Community Sports Foundation. The �Let Girls Play Biggest Ever Football Session� sends the strong message to girls growing up today that they can look forward to the same success and achievements in our national game as boys.

Let me end by saying that it is incredibly inspiring for me to work with such brave, talented, dedicated and hard-working women in Parliament, including everyone who is speaking in today�s debate. Our women Members are wonderful role models.