Celebrating International Women’s Day
Today we’re celebrating all women on International Women’s Day. Conservatives are totally committed to gender parity across the board in our society.
We champion women in all aspects of British life. Spurring them on to greatness in our companies and politics. Protecting them from abuse. And cracking down on those who harm our precious women.
We are steadfast in our determination to ensure equality of opportunity for all – so everyone can reach their full potential. We want women to succeed.
We are taking many actions to drive this agenda for women forward.
Removing barriers which hold women back:
Driving record high female employment. With over 2 million more women in work since 2010.
Getting more women on to our top company boards. With 40% of FTSE 350 leadership roles held by women – we met this target 3 years early. And last year, the number of women on boards in FTSE companies increased by 3%.
Supporting women into work with 30 hours of free childcare a week for children aged between 9 months and 4 years. That’s worth £6,500 a year per child from 2025. So women can return to employment after having children.
Cracking down on violence against women and girls:
Making violence against women and girls a crime police must treat as a national threat. We’ve also launched the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. Backed by serious funding of £530 million across the Plan and Strategy. We’re rooting this cancer of mistreatment out.
Putting in practical measures like street lighting so women and girls feel safer at night. Committing £125 million through the Safer Street Fund and Safety of Women at Night Fund to enhance safety.
Getting victims of rape the support and respect they deserve. Including setting up the UK’s first government-funded 24/7 support service for victims of this vile crime. It is operated by Rape Crisis England and Wales who have more than 3 decades’ experience of supporting people with this trauma.
Delivering the Online Safety Act, to shield people from harmful online content. This includes a new offence of intentionally sharing an intimate image without consent. And stopping blackmail by threats to share an intimate image. We’re also banning cyberflashing.
We are resolute in our determination to stamp out these appalling crimes.
Looking after women’s health
Giving women going through the menopause access to cheaper Hormone Replacement Therapy. More than 500,000 women in England have saved hundreds of pounds on prescription charges for this therapy.
Introducing baby loss certificates for women who experienced a loss of pregnancy before 24 weeks, supporting women in this fundamentally upsetting predicament.
Protecting women:
Overhauling the law to protect women from domestic killers. We’re introducing longer sentences for partners who murder following the end of a relationship. And ensuring that a history of coercive and controlling behaviour is recognised as a mitigating factor when abused victims kill their tormentors. Also, ex-partners who lash out at the end of their relationship will face longer than ever behind bars.
Introducing the Domestic Abuse Act. Strengthening protection and improving support for victims. Family courts will support women during trials. Ending the so-called “rough sex” defence. And building out the law by widening the definition of coercive and controlling behaviour, making non-fatal strangulation an offence, and expanding “revenge porn” laws.
We’re also guaranteeing single-sex spaces, so women and girls feel safe wherever they are. All new non-domestic public and private buildings will have to have single-sex toilets. And transgender offenders who have committed sex or violence crimes or retain male genitalia will not serve their sentence in a women’s prison unless explicitly approved.
And our Conservative women are leading the way:
Conservatives have a fantastic track record on championing our wonderful women:
- We’re the only British political party to elect a female Prime Minister. And we’ve done it 3 times!
- At the 2019 General Election, more female Conservative MPs were elected than ever before – all 87 of them!
- We voluntarily share our gender statistics for our candidates as we work to improve female representation in Parliament.
- As a Party, we publish our gender pay statistics. And continually review gender diversity to achieve equality across our organisation. CCHQ’s median gender pay gap is 3.8% – significantly below the national average of 8.3%, as of 2022.