Women in the World Today

I attended today the launch of a paper, which I helped create with Rt Hon Theresa May MP, called 'Women in the World Today'. It outlines the opportunities and challenges that we face in society today:

a) Women in the workplace - there is still a gender pay gap of 17%, flexible working is still not readily available and women typically have smaller pensions.

b) Women in their communities - there is a lack of choice for childcare and female carers suffer from a lack of support and a loss of earnings.

c) Vulmerable women - homeless women have issues in being housed, female prisoners suffer isolation and self-harm, 1 in 4 women still suffer domestic violence in their lifetime, victims of stalking are not properly supported and women are victims of human trafficking.

d) Women and ethnicity - women in Britain are being forced into marriage, polygamy exists in some communities, women in some communities experience enforced segregation, female genital mutilation is widespread in the UK and British women suffer 'honour' violence and killings.

e) The role of women in international development - women overwhelmingly bear the burden of extreme poverty and deprivation but can be used effectively as recipients of aid and can improve development.

I believe that these are incredibly important concerns within British society today and it is difficult to believe that some of these issues still exist in today's world. We need to be able to give women real choice over their own lives - a choice that remains elusive for too many women in 21st century Britain. I believe in an approach which is based on equality of opportunity and equitable legal, commercial, social and political treatment. We are all individual human beings, who deserve to be treated the same, no matter who we are, what our gender is or where we come from. I want choice and opportunity for all.

Pictured here are some female Conservative Parliamentary candidates with Rt Hon Theresa May MP (I am sixth from the left hand side..beside the yellow coat)