Thank you very much. The subject is whether allowing Assembly Members to job-share would lead to the creation of a gender-balanced Assembly and one that is more representative of the population as a whole. I’m very pleased to lead this debate this afternoon. Jane Hutt and Julie Morgan are eager to contribute too, and I look forward to hearing their contributions.

A few weeks ago, I led a short debate in this Chamber about the need to improve gender equality and representation among minority groups at this Assembly. I do believe that having more women—indeed, an equal number of women—in posts where decisions are made is important as we strive to be a nation of equality, to be the kind of feminist nation that others have talked about that we need to create here in Wales. In the previous debate, I talked about research undertaken that shows that issues that are important in women’s daily lives and issues that should be focused on, in terms of creating equality, are far more likely to be raised in discussions led by women. Striving towards equal representation in public life, therefore, helps to improve women’s lives in general. And that’s not the only element that demands our attention—nowhere near. I’m not trying to say that, and I am fully aware of the wide range of work that needs to be done. That’s why I would like to see a national action plan on gender quality. But it is one element, and one that we as elected Members can influence if we wish to do so.

In the previous debate, I talked about the work of the expert panel on Assembly electoral reform, and the report 'A Parliament that Works for Wales', which was published in December 2017. I believe that adopting all of the recommendations in that report would help to create a more equal and diverse Assembly, and that efforts should continue to seek consensus around the report’s findings. In the previous debate, I drew attention to a recommendation relating to requiring political parties to introduce quotas to have an equal number of candidates. Today, I want to draw attention to another one of the panel’s recommendations, which was also part of the work of considering how to improve diversity at the Assembly. According to the report: