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Women, Justice and Gender Equality

Having been a woman Whip, I know the advantages only too well. Of course, the hon. Lady is right, but I could not resist the very rare opportunity to make such a point. However, we are getting rather off the subject. The Minister gave a wide-ranging and thorough speech on matters of great importance, very little of which I disagreed with. All of us, on both sides of the House, have worked together very well these past few years on issues of equality and fairness, and an awful lot has been achieved. However, very many women, in all walks of life, are still at a disadvantage in one way or another, and that is why it is important that we have a full and thorough debate today. I realise that the motion is specifically about matters in the UK, as is correct, but I should note that the progress that we have made and the lives that we lead today as women in the western world bear no relation whatsoever to what women are having to suffer in many countries around the world. So much still has to be done for them, but that does not diminish what we still have to achieve in our own country. I would argue that there is no such thing as a women’s issue. People who do not come to debates like this will sometimes say, ““Oh, that’s just about women’s issues and I speak on transport,”” or ““I have an interest in defence,”” or ““I specifically deal with foreign affairs.”” Every issue affects women and men, and women are affected by every issue. What there is, though, is a slightly different women’s point of view on many of the policy areas that we discuss from day to day. It is good that at last we can dare to say that women do things differently from men—not better or worse, or at least not always. I am not making a value judgment but stating a simple, stark, obvious point, which is rarely stated because it is too obvious or because it is disagreed with. Because women do things differently from men, we sometimes find ourselves in this place, and in many institutions around the country, seeing a way in which something could be changed and improved from the point of view of women, but finding that no one will listen because the argument will always be, ““We’ve always done it like this—why change it?”” Often, a small change would improve the lives and working conditions of many women. The Under-Secretary covered some of those issues today, as did other hon. Members in interventions. I shall not attempt to cover everything that we could discuss, not least because I cannot stand up for that long. I am sure that my colleagues are delighted to hear that. I should like to welcome, as I have done on every occasion when we have discussed the matter, the great achievements of the Equality Act 2006 and the establishing of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. It is a great step forward that Conservative Members supported all the way. I look forward to further progress on the matter.