• My Lords, let me join other Lords by congratulating the Noble Baroness, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood, for securing this evening’s debate on the subject of women’s representation.
• We have had an interesting debate and given the constraints on time I will endeavour to reply to as many noble Lords as time permits and beyond that I will write.
• My Lords, I would also like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks for the kindness shown to me by members and officials of this House since my introduction 2 weeks ago.
• I regard my new post as Minister for Women as a daunting, but great, challenge and I am proud to have been given the chance to build on the work of my predecessors as Ministers for Women, – My Noble friend the Baroness Jay of Paddington and the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell.
• I also feel privileged to be chairing the new Cabinet sub-committee on Equality which will coordinate the Government’s policies on equality issues.

[Representation of women]

• My Lords, women’s involvement in politics is a subject close to my heart and one with which I have been concerned since I dealt with women’s issues as vice-chair of the British Youth Council – now 20 years ago – as a former secondary school teacher and throughout my political life, as a local councillor, as an official in the Labour Party, and as political secretary to the Prime Minister.

[Reason for introducing bill on women’s representation]

• My Lords, this Government wants to encourage women to take their rightful place in public life and it is clear that many members of this House share our aspiration that in the 21^st Century women should have an equal chance to be part of the institutions that govern our country.
• I know that many of you also share the Government’s determination to make sure that our society offers equality of opportunity to everyone, using legislation if necessary, and makes use of the country’s full wealth of talent. This is a subject on which members of this House have often taken a lead.

• And, my Lords, I am pleased to note the support the proposed legislation is now attracting from all parties, notwithstanding the doubts expressed . My Lords, it is encouraging that support for this legislation has been expressed in the other place by members of all the main parties and that a leading contender in the Conservative leadership debate has also been positive.

[History to the Bill]

• My Lords, as you will know, the Government made clear its determination to take action, both in its election manifesto and in the recent gracious speech.
• The reason for this is simple.
• All women shortlists, which were introduced by the Labour Party prior to the general election in 1997, were deemed to be unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Act by an employment tribunal.
• At the moment, therefore, if a political party tries to bring in positive measures to increase women’s representation, it may face a legal challenge.

[The legislation]

• But My Lords, it is important to note that the legislation that we propose will be permissive. Its purpose is to remove the risk of a legal challenge where parties choose to introduce positive measures.
• It will, of course, be up to the parties themselves to decide the best action to take, if any at all.

[Experience in Scotland and Wales]

• My Lords, as my Noble friend, Baroness Gale has explained we have much to learn on this subject from the experience in Scotland and Wales. 37% of the members of the Scottish Parliament are women and almost 42% of the members of the Welsh Assembly. This compares with 17% of women in this House and the other place. The Government will build on, and learn from, the experiences of the devolved administrations.
• [Experience in Wales suggests that PR is not the solution as more Women were elected in the constituencies on the first past the post system than on the list system]
• Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer raised the issue of whether the legislation will cover local government elections. We are currently looking at details of how our commitment to legislate should be taken forward, including whether this should also cover other elections.

[Government’s wider agenda of equality of opportunity

• My Lords, this legislation is intended to encourage women from a wide range of backgrounds and I share my Noble friend, Baroness Uddin’s particular concern about the representation of black and Asian women.
• This legislation then is just a part of our package of measures to build an inclusive society and increase opportunity for all. For example, last year the Government introduced the Race Relations Amendment Act, the most radical piece of race relations legislation in 25 years. This Government has also set up the Disability Rights Commission which is a major step forward in helping to secure civil rights for disabled people.

• We recognise too the important role that public bodies and public appointments play and we are taking action to improve the fairness of representation on these.

[Differences that women bring]

• My Lords, I think we will all benefit from the increased representation of women, not least because of the experiences that they bring with them and the interests that they have.
• They are, in effect, able to bring a different perspective to policy debates.
• I know only too well as a wife and mother of two primary school-age boys the everyday challenges of trying to juggle work and home life (especially towards the end of the summer term!).
• And it is those experiences that women bring to political life that will enhance and enrich all our lives.
• On a practical level, there are many examples of issues pursued by women ministers and backbench members of this house and another place. Let me give just 2 examples tonight:
• Deborah Shipley, a member of another place, brought forward a private members bill in the last Parliament which is now the Protection of Children Act 1999, and which requires a list to be kept of people considered unsuitable to work with children.
• And Baroness Gardner of Parkes brought forward a Private Peers Bill to provide for the licensing and regulation of private hire vehicles in London, which is now the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 and which helps provide greater security and reassurance for women travelling alone.
• My Lords, if women are excluded from the political process – for whatever reasons – it seems to me that we are less likely to get a full range of needs and interests addressed.

• I welcome the comments from my noble friend Baroness Gibson and the support of the trades unions.

• I am also delighted that our proposals have attracted support from a range of women’s organisations, including members of the Women’s National Commission, which is so ably chaired by my Noble friend, Baroness Crawley. I look forward to involving all these organisations further as our work on this legislation progresses.
• The Government is keen to maintain the momentum behind this legislation. We have made our commitment clear. The issue is not whether we legislate but how. Concerns about timing - we recognise the importance of introducing this legislation as soon as possible. However, we also wish to ensure that it is fair and carefully considered, and to this end we are working hard on the detail now.

[Other countries]

• My Lords, my noble friend Baroness Gould explained that other countries have already increased women’s representation.
• [For instance, in Sweden 43% of the national parliament are now women; in Norway that figure rises to 48%. In Germany, 31% ].

• But I can of course assure the Noble Lord, Lord Lester and my other noble Lords that the government intends that any measures introduced to promote equality of opportunity between men and women will be compliant with the United Kingdom’s international obligations both in respect of EU law and human rights legislation.
• I know there is a wealth of knowledge and expertise within this House on some of these very difficult issues, which the Government is very keen to draw upon. I look forward to the contributions of many of my noble Lords in developing this legislation, both within the chamber and outside.

Conclusion

• My Lords, I want to finish by thanking you all for the courtesy you have shown me and the patience with which you have listened to what I have to say this evening.

• The Government is confident that, without being prescriptive in any way, the proposed legislation will usher in a more equal society, allowing greater representation of women in parliament.
• And I hope, my Lords, that you will feel able to support this.