Baroness Gale (Lab)

My Peers, I am very pleased to take part in this debate; I thank the Minister for ensuring that we have such a debate. I congratulate my noble friend on her excellent maiden speech and look forward to the maiden speeches of other Peers later. The United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day is “Rights. Justice. Action.” for all women and girls, but what does this mean and how can it be achieved? The Women’s Equality Network Wales has published research on women’s experiences of their political journey in Wales, but the findings could equally apply to all parts of the United Kingdom. The research found that women face additional barriers, including greater exposure to online abuse, higher personal financial costs and limited access to networks. It recognised that these inequalities mean that the pathway to becoming a candidate is not the same for everyone. The report showed that women remain underrepresented across the political system in Wales. To address this underrepresentation of women MPs, in 1997, Labour took action to have all-women shortlists, which increased the number of women MPs following the 1997 general election. Labour took similar action in the first election to the Welsh Assembly in 1999, which ensured that Labour fielded an equal number of women and men candidates. What followed was that other political parties took action to ensure that women in their parties were given an opportunity to be selected. Although each party had its own method, it made a difference in getting women elected. The success of these measures was clear. In the 2024 general election, a record 263 women were elected to the House of Commons, making up 40% of all MPs. This milestone represented the highest percentage of women elected in UK parliamentary history. But we must now look at how we get elected institutions to look like the people they represent. This can be achieved if Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 is implemented. I hope that, when I ask my Oral Question on 10 May, this time the Minister will give me a positive answer. I have asked this question so many times, both to the Conservative Government and to my own. As well as taking measures to have more women elected to political institutions, there are other barriers that women and girls experience, including domestic violence, sexual violence and online abuse. I am pleased that the Government are now working on their 2024 manifesto commitment of halving violence against women and girls within a decade. Can the Minister say how this policy is progressing? Are domestic abuse experts being introduced in 999 control rooms? What progress is being made on having specialist rape and sexual offence teams in every police force and fast-tracking rape cases, with specialist courts in every Crown Court in England and Wales? Are things getting better for girls and young women? I read an article in the Guardian last week, written by a 15 year-old girl, about her experience. These are her words: “I can’t speak for every girl my age, but I frequently feel objectified, dehumanised and disgusted by the hate towards women I see online, and I can say with certainty that most of my friends would agree with me. A social media ban for under-16s might prevent young boys seeing endless content that treats women with contempt and hate. Boys at this age are very susceptible to the cool and funny framing of what is … relentless misogyny. A ban might not fix the problem, but it would help. If society can’t stop it, it can show it disapproves”. That is the experience of a 15 year-old girl in 2026. I find that shocking. So I really hope that the United Nations theme of “rights, justice and action” will be taken seriously and made a reality. Although much progress has been made for women and girls, I think we would all agree that there is still much to do.