The theme for International Women’s Day in Wales this year is ‘creating an equal future’ and we’re proud to support the Women’s Equality Network Wales in delivering four International Women’s Day events across Wales. Deputy Llywydd, the Welsh Government stands committed to enhancing the lives and opportunities of girls and women across Wales, creating an equal future for them. We must recognise, however, that despite all of the progress that has been made, girls and women still face barriers and inequality. Creating an equal future chimes well with the Welsh Government’s aims and commitments. From tackling poverty and delivering a more diverse pool of decision makers in public life to lessening the pay gap and tackling violence and abuse, our equality objectives ensure that action is focused on the areas that disproportionately affect women and the other protected groups.

The evidence tells us that lone parents are more likely to be women and as those with childcare and other caring responsibilities, women within these groups can find themselves in poverty and access to training or work can be really difficult. We know that employment provides the most sustainable route out of poverty, and that’s why tackling the barriers to employment is a key priority for this Government. Programmes such as Lift and Communities for Work are making an important difference by providing bespoke and targeted support for those furthest away from the workplace. I’m pleased to say that, up to the end of January, 55 per cent of participants engaged on Communities for Work programmes have been women. Affordable, available and accessible childcare can be a major barrier to women accessing training and employment. This is why we’ve committed to offering working parents 30 hours a week of free early education and childcare for three to four-year-olds for a 48-week period. As well as providing support into employment, we also must build women’s confidence and skills so that they can make further headway in a wide range of sectors, and achieve positions of influence.

We recently accepted all of the recommendations within the ‘Talented Women for a Successful Wales’ report, which aims to tackle the critical shortage of women in STEM roles in Wales, and work is already under way to take this forward.

The Welsh Government as an employer has pledged its commitment to the 50/50 by 2020 campaign, alongside other organisations and employers in all sectors in Wales, and signing up to the campaign demonstrates employers’ public commitment to working towards equal gender representation in decision-making and influencing roles here in Wales.

We’re also working hard to encourage and support women and other under-represented groups to come forward for public appointments. Diversity of representation brings divert of thought—fresh ideas, new perspectives and a better understanding of our communities. We are committed to addressing gender pay inequalities, and we have robust duties in place for the public sector in Wales so that we don’t just report on the pay gap, but that we also to take action on the underlying causes too, including the different distribution of men and women between grades, occupations, working patterns and contract types. It’s not good enough that women are concentrated in sectors and occupations that are often associated with low pay, and often low hours and casual or zero-hours contracts. Our society is still based on gender-biased norms, so we must continue to challenge gender stereotypes and encourage girls and women into non-traditional, better paid careers.

Llywydd, our Agile Nation 2 project, run in partnership with Chwarae Teg and jointly funded by the EU, supports 2,207 women and works with 500 employers to promote female career advancement and to reduce the gender pay gap. The project is focusing on nine key sectors of the Welsh economy, including advanced manufacturing, life sciences, health and energy.

As I’ve said, we must recognise the importance of men playing their part in working for gender equality. We all have a part to play. Without men as committed allies and supportive partners in this quest led by women, genuine change will not happen. The positive impacts of gender equality are good for all of us—our families and society as a whole.

We must also stand together against domestic abuse and other types of violence against women, which can have devastating and long-term consequences. Our Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 is a landmark piece of legislation. It is intended to provide a strategic focus on these issues to prevent violence wherever possible, and to provide effective support for victims. But the key is to change the attitudes and get the message across that violent behaviour is not acceptable in any circumstances, and will not be tolerated in our society.

This is a day to celebrate the achievements of women, Llywydd. In the National Assembly, we have a female Llywydd and a female Deputy Llywydd. Within Welsh Government, the Permanent Secretary, the chief scientific officer and the chief veterinary officer are all women. The four commissioners in Wales for future generations, older people, children and the Welsh language are all women. What great models they all are, Llywydd. I’m sure their achievements serve to highlight the talent that we have here in Wales, and we will encourage other women to put themselves forward for those top jobs. Llywydd, we’re not complacent. There is much more to be done before we can claim that we’ve created an equal future, but Wales has much to be proud of and we stand committed to supporting women and girls to aspire and achieve here in Wales and across the globe. Diolch.