Downing Street Says » PM’s podcast for International Women’s Day

A transcript of a podcast recorded by the Prime Minister to mark International Women’s Day.

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As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s worth remembering the progress we have made together on equality over the past decade.

Just think of what’s changed. We have doubled maternity pay, introduced paternity leave and the right to request flexible working, and we’ve secured record survival rates for breast cancers. We’ve also ended pension discrimination against women and given part time workers the same rights as full time colleagues.

And we’ve given real support to family finances with the Child Trust Fund; tax credits; record child benefit; the minimum wage; and free early years support in more than 3,000 Sure Start centres.

I know some of the changes have been controversial – but we will continue to pursue bold policies to empower women, including enabling women to break through the glass ceiling once and for all.

We all recognise the value of strong role models for women in all walks of life – and there are many in politics, entertainment, society and sport. But there are too few in Britain’s boardrooms.

When more than half of graduates are women, it’s completely unacceptable that some of our top 100 public companies have not a single woman on their boards – and none at all have a majority of women on their boards.

So we’ve asked the Financial Reporting Council to consider including a new principle in its governance code to require companies to consider the diversity of their boards.

This will build on the provisions in the Equality Bill which will allow employers – for the first time – to take positive action when recruiting to balance their workforce.

But make no mistake. If we don’t see a dramatic change in the composition of company boards in the future, we will need to consider taking more serious action to ensure companies recruit from the diverse pool of exceptional talent we have in the UK.

And because I believe the public sector can and should set an example, I’m also making a new commitment that all state-owned companies will be required to increase the number of women on their boards over the next two years. Not through rigid quotas but by reaching out to successful women in all walks of life who have got a big contribution to make.

On International Women’s Day, we also have a duty to think beyond national borders.

This weekend I was in Afghanistan. Let us never forget that when the Taliban ran the country, only a million children were in school – all boys. There are now 6.6 million at school – with more than two million girls. So our forces are helping to deliver a better future for Afghan women and girls at the same time as making the streets of Britain safer for us all.

But it is horrific that in supposedly civilised and enlightened times, girls and women in some countries still suffer unimaginable atrocities: forced marriage, rape, mutilation and death in pregnancy and childbirth.

Discrimination also means they are more likely to be in poverty; denied schooling; deprived of health care; excluded from political and economic decision-making – and to die young.

And it’s our moral duty to act. That’s why Britain has led recent successful efforts to create a UN Gender Agency to ensure women’s rights have top priority in global negotiations. And Britain is also giving priority to development measures that tackle violence against women.

But we must always be vigilant to ensure we are doing enough – so I’m pleased that Glenys Kinnock will lead the UK government’s work on international violence against women.

So the International Women’s Day this year is a chance to remind ourselves of the challenges we still face at home and abroad. And it’s a day also to recognise the contribution women make not only to this country – but to every country.

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» Saturday, February 8, 0110

PM’s podcast for International Women’s Day

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