9. Short Debate: Assembly Member job-sharing: Would allowing Assembly Members to job share lead to the creation of a gender-balanced Assembly and one that is more representative of the population as a whole?

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:37 pm on 13 June 2018.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 6:37, 13 June 2018

Right. I'm really delighted to say a few words in support of Siân Gwenllian in this debate. It took me back to a book that I wrote, Making Opportunities—A Guide for Women and Employers, when I was director of Chwarae Teg. Believe it or not, this was 26 years ago that I wrote and published this book, and there are chapters on everything we need to know and that we're still trying to do in terms of trying to make Wales a more representative place—chapters on recruitment and retention, childcare. There are interesting points, of course, throughout this book about how we can make Wales more representative in terms of our workplace, and I'll just read from the chapter on job sharing: 

'Job sharing is being seen as a major attraction in the recruitment and retention of women employees, particularly for those who are having or have had a job or career break. It is also being used by male employees as a way of combining work and home responsibilities, and diversifying job experiences.'

So, I can perhaps hand that to the remuneration board as they look at the practicalities. But I think what is important is that we now take this forward. You've done a great deal of work to explain how we could address this, and I think it's a good example of how we can respond to the expert panel, and I fully support your debate and your intentions today.