Which brings us to item 5, a statement by the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip on International Women's Day. Jane Hutt.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I'm pleased to make this statement celebrating International Women’s Day, marking the twentieth anniversary of this Assembly, established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, which also placed duties to have 'due regard to equality of opportunity' in our statute book. Equality is enshrined in the DNA of the Welsh Government through the legislation that underpins our existence.

Equality and human rights are central to the work of the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government and our vision for Wales. We believe in fair treatment of every person, especially those who are most marginalised by socioeconomic factors, prejudice and discrimination. We work towards a more equal Wales and to ensure fairer access to services and support opportunities for all.

Suzy Davies took the Chair.

International Women’s Day provides the opportunity to reflect on achievements that have been made during the past 20 years, including pioneering policies and leading legislation on violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. It also provides the opportunity to take stock of the distance we still have to go to achieve equality in Wales. The World Bank has reported that there are six countries in the world where women enjoy an equal legal footing to men, and Britain is not one of them. We know that this is the case from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Chwarae Teg's 'State of the Nation' report, but we can take, and are taking, steps to put Wales ahead in our four nations, and, indeed, in the world, if we make this a priority of the Welsh Government.

The theme of International Women’s Day this year is Balance for Better. From grass-roots activism to worldwide action, we're entering a period of history where the world expects balance. We notice its absence and celebrate its presence. The Welsh Government now has more women than men in Cabinet, addressing previous gender imbalance. The work of the Welsh Government gender review will contribute to this balance by looking at areas where we can make improvements and become a leader in advancing women's equality to eradicate the stubborn inequalities that still exist. The review is considering the added impact of having another protected characteristic, for example, disability, race or sexuality, has to gender equality. This consideration will enable us to embrace an intersectional approach to policies and priorities. Consultation and workshops steered by Chwarae Teg's expert advisory group have resulted in a vision for Wales to proclaim today: a gender-equal Wales means an equal sharing of power, resources and influence for all women, men and non-binary people. This is a vision where the Government aims to create the conditions for equality of outcome for all. We want a Wales where all women can have economic independence, and paid and unpaid work is valued, diverse women are fairly represented in positions of influence and empowered to play a meaningful role in society, all women are free from discrimination and free to live their lives as they choose, violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence stops, existing power structures that disadvantage women are challenged, and all women, men and non-binary people enjoy equal rights and protections and equality of outcome.

I've begun meeting with Cabinet colleagues to discuss progress on the gender equality review and to identify pathfinder policy areas where there is scope to take early action. Chwarae Teg will continue to consult widely with stakeholders to develop the road map for gender equality in Wales, with events planned throughout the country in the near future.

I have ministerial responsibility for equalities, violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence and public appointments. My responsibilities within the First Minister’s office for crime and justice enable me to progress action with the female offending blueprint to work with the UK Government on the stark findings of the Cardiff University Wales Governance Centre report on sentencing in Wales.

Without a strong vision and principles, it's felt that inequality between genders will not change, and we will carry on as we are. Some have reflected that we have talked about equality of opportunity for some time, and we're still living with entrenched inequality, so a step change is required. For example, the gender pay gap in Wales was 13.6 per cent in 2018. Without a focus on the underlying issues, future generations will continue to be subject to continued inequality. We must focus on equality of outcome to encourage people to look beyond just preventing discrimination, and instead look for ways to advance equality for all. The recommended vision for Wales therefore includes equal sharing of power, resources and influence to ensure the playing field is levelled. This focus on equality of outcome would bring Wales in line with other world leaders for gender equality, such as Sweden and Canada.

Welsh Government officials and I recently met with a Nordic delegation to learn from their best practice and to consider how some of that could be used within the Welsh policy and legal context. I would like this to represent the beginning of a fruitful relationship with other nations who are striving for gender equality.

Following the public announcement of the gender review by the Welsh Government last year and the report on the seminar of human rights and socio-economic duty, which we will commence in Wales, there is, rightly, raised expectation the Welsh Government will improve equality for women. Our vision and principles set out our commitment. There is an expectation of action to bring about that change. To be meaningful, in agreeing the vision and principles, the Welsh Government is recognising the need and desire to be committed to action. 

I'd like to conclude by paying tribute to the women of Wales who fought to secure the vote 100 years ago and continue to organise and campaign for women’s rights in their workplaces, trade unions and communities. Let’s celebrate their achievements, listen to their calls for action, respond to their manifestos and use our agency and leadership to create a fairer and more equal Wales.

Thank you. I ask every speaker today to take account of the fact that we have three quarters of an hour for this statement. There are a number of speakers, and I start with Dawn Bowden.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank you, Deputy Minister, for this important statement and take this opportunity to give a special mention to some events in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney this Friday, International Women's Day? We'll have the great honour of hosting only the second purple plaque in Wales, marking the contribution of remarkable women to Welsh public life. I look forward to seeing you and the Deputy Minister for health, Julie Morgan, there as well. The plaque will be dedicated to Ursula Masson—born, raised and educated in Merthyr Tydfil—who went on to become instrumental in founding the Women's Archive Wales, was a committee member of the south-west group of the Women's History Network and co-edited the journal Llafur of the Welsh People's History Society. It was Ursula, as you know, who put forward the idea of holding a series of Wales women's history roadshows, where people would be invited to bring material relating to social histories of women's lives. Some of those items later became part of the People's Collection Wales.

As if that wasn't enough, Ursula also established the Centre for Gender Studies in Wales department at the University of South Wales, and undertook seminal research for her doctorate on women in Liberal politics in the early part of the century in Wales. I could go on about Ursula, but suffice it to say that she was an inspiration to so many, particularly working-class women, who found new direction and access to education that had never been open to them before. 

Ursula's home town of Merthyr Tydfil has a number of statues to boxers, plaques and memorials to men. Due to the wealth of the ironmasters, we do know a bit about the legacy of the Crawshay and Guest women, but the stories of our remarkable working-class women, like Ursula Masson, are perhaps less well known and celebrated, and certainly not 'balanced for the better', as the theme of International Women's Day is this year. 

So, would you join me, finally, Deputy Minister, in thanking Merthyr Women's Archive Wales member and activist Ceinwen Statter, who has been instrumental in getting the work of Ursula Masson commemorated and recognised in Merthyr Tydfil, culminating this Friday, when we will unveil the purple plaque as a celebration of that remarkable woman's life? 

I'm very pleased to thank Dawn Bowden for that tribute to Ursula Masson and to thank her for all the pioneering work that you've done, Dawn, since you became Assembly Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. Because I know also, last year, during the centenary year, you actually brought to our attention and public attention—and particularly local attention—some of the important historical figures in your constituency.

Certainly, in terms of the opportunity now to celebrate one of Merthyr Tydfil's most distinguished activists, feminists—as she liked to call herself—campaigners, academics and inspirational teachers, I think Ursula Masson, who, actually, was nominated by a whole range of people from across Wales, because of her work with the women's archive—. But, particularly, also I thank Ceinwen for what she has done, because she actually then brought it to our attention. 

I think this also shows that the purple plaque initiative is now building momentum. I have to, just at this point, draw attention, of course, to the first purple plaque, which we unveiled a year ago, which is outside on our Senedd walls. Val Feld, former Assembly Member for Swansea East—obviously, another pioneering champion of equality.

But I think this Friday we will be—. It will be on the Carnegie library, which—. Again, many thanks to Dawn Bowden and all the colleagues and activists in the town who've enabled this to happen, obviously with the local authority's support as well. Julie Morgan and I will be pleased to be there, because we were initiators of the purple plaques initiative, but, indeed, many other women—and it is across this Chamber—have brought this to fruition. So, it's the second purple plaque that we're unveiling on Friday. It's a fantastic way to celebrate International Women's Day on Friday. I think it will raise awareness, not just on Friday but, certainly, in Merthyr and further afield about—. And people will want to then look at the life of Ursula Masson, and I'm sure it will be a key feature for the schools locally in terms of recognising this remarkable woman and her unwavering contribution to our nation. So, we do have more plaques to come, and I think the presence of those plaques on our streets, our public buildings, will be a very simple and significant way of highlighting the outstanding achievements of Welsh women who many people may otherwise not have heard of. And what is most important, and Ceinwen has shown us this, is that you need the local support and champions, with an Assembly Member like Dawn Bowden alongside, and, of course, the volunteers who play their part in the steering group for the purple plaques initiative to take this forward. 

I thank the Deputy Minister for her statement today. It's a great day, International Women's Day, which is not only celebrated here but by the United Nations since 1996. Women have made and continue to make significant contributions in all aspects of life in Wales. Even with greater equality and legislative rights and impressive female role models, women still face challenges today here in Wales, Minister. Many of these are in the workplace. It is a sad fact that the gender pay gap in hourly earnings, excluding overtime, for both full-time and part-time employees in Wales was nearly 15 per cent in 2017. So, can I ask the Deputy Minister what plan does she haves to close the gender pay gap in Wales? I'm concerned that, all too often, career advice tends to guide women to apprenticeships that are paid less than those for men. Can I ask what Welsh Government is doing to ensure gender equality is promoted in the workplace?

It takes tremendous courage to come forward and report incidents and domestic abuse. We must do more to encourage such victims to report abuse and to recognise the signs of domestic violence. Some years ago, the then First Minister gave a positive response to my suggestion that all public sector organisations should have a workplace violence against women policy in place. This would identify and assist employees who are the victims of violence. I wonder if the Deputy Minister can advise if any progress has been made in this regard.

The exploitation of women in and around Wales is becoming far more acknowledged. A breakthrough regarding the way human trafficking is perceived is resulting in more and more exposure of its hidden nature and various guises. Apart from the sexual exploitation of women, there are issues of forced labour, of services slavery, servitude, and even the removal of organs. Female genital mutilation is a scandalous breach of human rights, with potentially life-threatening consequences. I also call on the Minister to assure us that the Welsh Government will remain at the forefront of the campaign against these abuses.

In 1897, Susan Anthony, an American activist, actually said, and this is a wonderful quote:

'There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers.'

Since that time, we have witnessed significant progress toward women's equality and emancipation. Deputy Minister, like life, I believe that peace begins with women—peace in the world. They tend to be the first to form lines of life and calibration across areas of conflict and division around the world. As the world moves towards International Women's Day 2019, on 8 March, it is important for all of us to recognise the contribution of women across all walks of life—women such as Theresa May, Angela Merkel, our Presiding Officer, Margaret Thatcher, Sheikh Hasina, Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Julia Gillard, Golda Meir and Helen Clark. These are only a few I can count who have all broken through the glass ceilings and led their nations in the world. Every woman who ran a country never had a war with their neighbours, or any other nation. Those were the most peaceful times. All created a change, they all have done something out of the box, and they all have been a driver of progress within their work and family life. I believe it is imperative to recognise famous women whom we all know, as well as those women who strive to provide a roof over her family's head, those women who juggle multiple jobs to put food on the table, those women who play the role of mum and dad, and those women who spend their lives taking care of others. I always say the world is a black and white photograph, or a picture—with women, it becomes colourful. For today, for the day of women's day, I would like to say from this side of the Chamber, thank you very much all of you, ladies, around the world.

Thank you very much, Mohammad Asghar. I do also thank you for your support, and the support of the Welsh Conservative group, for International Women's Day, and also for the recognition of the role of women in Wales. I think that was a key point in my statement. And indeed we have been acknowledging, particularly, significant women in Wales who have had an influence. We will on Friday—Ursula Masson, Val Feld. I was asked the question today, and I also talked about one of the first Welsh women Labour MPs, and that was Dorothy Rees, in my constituency. So, I think we all will be honouring and remembering women today.

You mentioned two or three very important points. The gender pay gap. Now, I've already mentioned the fact it's unacceptable we have this gender pay gap, and that is across all sectors. But we do now, through the Equality Act 2010, have the opportunity to monitor the gender pay gap, and also to ensure that we extend that monitoring to companies, not just in terms of the 250, but below. We need to look very carefully at how we are addressing the gender pay gap. We have our robust public sector equality duty, as a result of the Equality Act 2010, and all public sector employers now, as I've said, report annually on their disparities in pay. They are then expected to have plans to address employment or pay differences. But also, looking at issues like the different distribution of men and women between grades, occupations, working patterns, we need a fair work Wales, which we will move towards. I think the socio-economic duty, when we adopt that, will also help us. But we need to ensure that we understand the gender pay gap differences, and address the causes of that.

I think the issue around work, and enabling women to move forward, is addressed by many employers and initiatives now, but the Agile Nation 2, managed and delivered by Chwarae Teg, does aim to promote gender equality, and support career advancement. Of course, that has been supported by European funding, and I think the latest development of the project, women exploring business, well-being integrated support hub, which is coming through LIMITLESS, an initiative that is across five local authorities—. And that project will assist women to progress in employment, women who are so often constrained into the lower paid echelons of the workplace. That's why we have to link this, of course, not only to the real living wage, which we need to adopt, and the socio-economic duty, but also our economic contract. And I am, as I said, having bilateral meetings with all our Ministers; tomorrow, it will be the turn of Ken Skates, the Minister for economy, and we will be talking about women in the workplace, and how we can progress in terms of moving that forward.

Now, you also raise important issues in terms of our national strategy on violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. And part of that strategy, of course—objective 1 of our national strategy—is to increase awareness and challenge attitudes on violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, across the Welsh population. And that, of course, includes tackling slavery. Although it's not a devolved responsibility—many of the levers do rest with the UK Government—we are committed to tackling slavery, and in many ways we are leading the way in the UK. We are the first and only country in the UK to appoint an anti-slavery co-ordinator, appointed in 2011. And I'm sure Joyce Watson, if she doesn't raise this issue again—we pay tribute to the role she has played in that.

And, of course, we're much more aware now of issues relating to sexual harassment, and that has a debilitating and discriminating effect, a harmful effect on women, particularly in the workplace. Public sector organisations are, as I said, subject to the public sector equality duty, and we have the duty and they have the duty to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation. 

Sticking with the theme of Balance for Better, there's a great deal that we all need to do to combat climate change on behalf of our sisters in other countries, which are much more likely to be threatened by climate change, including seeing their communities disappear. We know that the easy wins have been achieved in terms of reducing the amount of coal being used for power generation. We now need to look at the much more challenging issues of reducing vehicle emissions, which means improving public transport and active travel for short journeys.

I want to remind us all that women should be able to space their children to comply with the World Health Organization recommendations that note that women should wait two years before having another child, and this is lacking in so many countries.

I'm sure the Deputy Minister will support the Fairtrade Fortnight request for a living wage for women cocoa farmers in the Côte d’Ivoire, where they currently only get 74p a day, and £1.86 is the amount they need to earn in order to be able to live a decent existence.

Lastly, I just wanted to point out the efforts for peace in Israel-Palestine that are being led by women through an organisation called Women Wage Peace. On Friday, which is International Women's Day, thousands of women from all different communities across Palestine and Israel—Arab, Jewish, Druze, Israeli Palestinians, settlers, as well as women affected by the nation state legislation, which means that Filipino women, for example, who've worked in Israel for many, many years are at threat of deportation, members of Parliament and musicians, will be marching from the museum to Rabin Square erecting a mother's tent in Rabin Square which will stay up until election day on 6 April. Given the really acute situation that is being faced by Palestinians, both on the West Bank and in Gaza, I hope that women will lead the campaign for dialogue, which is the first step to resolution of conflict, which has been going on for far too long in that area.  

I'd like to thank Jenny Rathbone for those important and wider questions, which will be the theme of many events and discussions across the world, in terms of International Women's Day on Friday. I'm particularly interested—. I met my bilaterals in terms of the gender review. I met with the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language earlier on, and we were talking about the prospects of developing pilots around how we can support women through our powers and initiatives that we're supporting, such as Wales for Africa, where there is a huge threat in terms of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, but also recognising that fair trade today was brought to our attention in the canteen when we were able to taste the chocolate, and recognise, remember and learn about those women cocoa farmers. I look forward to holding a spring breakfast in my constituency to which I've invited children from schools who, as part of Fairtrade Fortnight, will be thinking and learning about, particularly, women farmers, and it's important that we play our part. Let's remember that Wales was the first fair trade nation. In fact, this was the first trade nation, which was launched by Rhodri Morgan, our former First Minister, and we have a commitment to that, but women play such a role internationally and, of course, that point has already been made.

This includes the role that women play in the prevention and resolution of conflict. So, it's also interesting to hear about Women Wage Peace and the movements across the world, and we must welcome that and look at the UN resolutions, which are very clear in terms of how we must move that forward. But it is also very important that we look at this in terms of the opportunities we do have with the well-being of future generations legislation. We have got pioneering legislation, we have got the chance to look outwards as well, and with a Cabinet Minister for international relations as well, of course, as our First Minister. But the points that you raise in terms of women's role in terms of peace and resolution of conflict and supporting movements across the world, and particularly, I'm sure, following our visit last week—Women Wage Peace, clearly a great deal to learn from that. 

I thank the Deputy Minister for her statement. She will, of course, remember the hard fight we had to have included in our founding statute the specific responsibility for this institution to have due regard to equality of opportunity in 1998. It's nice to hear her refer to it in her statement, and I would also like to remind us all that that was led by our former colleague Val Feld, who brought many interests together, and I'd like to pay my respects to Val for that today. We have, of course, seen some progress since 1998, but I know the Deputy Minister has acknowledged today that we still have a great deal more to do, and knowing that time is short I just want to briefly raise a couple of specific points, if I may.

First of all, I'd like to ask the Deputy Minister about the provision of services to women survivors of domestic and sexual abuse and their children. Now, I'm sure the Deputy Minister will agree with me that those services—and we know this from research—are best provided by local women-led organisations that are answerable to their service users. We know that these organisations across Wales are losing tenders to provide those services to larger commercial organisations. Often, no children's services are provided in those tenders, and, if they are, they are an add-on, there isn't adequate time. Where they are provided, they're often provided by volunteers—provided on a shoestring. Now, I know the Deputy Minister will agree with me that we will never break the circle of domestic abuse unless we support the children who have witnessed those atrocities in their own homes. Surely, this has to be a priority for the Welsh Government, and can I ask the Deputy Minister today what more she can do, in partnership with local government in Wales, to halt and reverse this trend of local organisations losing out to the big commercial people who are there to make profit, not to look after our children?

The next issue specifically I'd like to raise is the issue of period poverty, and I do welcome the recent Welsh Government investment, but we've seen further evidence again this week that we still have girls missing school because they can't have access to appropriate sanitary products. We still see women and girls using inappropriate things, like having to use socks, having to wash things, and I congratulate the National Union of Students—I'm sure the Minister would agree with me—on the campaign that they've kicked off on these issues this week. I'd specifically like to draw the Deputy Minister's attention to research published by the British Medical Association in Wales this week—last month, rather—showing that no consistent approach is taken across the NHS to the provision of sanitary protection in hospitals for women and girls who are in-patients. There are places—there are some of our hospitals where people cannot even purchase those supplies for themselves, let alone have them provided for free. No health board in Wales has got a specific policy, according to the BMA, on how these services should be provided. So, can I ask the Deputy Minister today, as part of the discussions she's referred to in her statement that she's having with ministerial colleagues, to discuss this matter specifically with the Minister for health to ensure that all women and girls receiving in-patient treatment in all Welsh hospital settings are provided with sanitary products free of charge as a matter of course? We do not expect our patients to bring their own lavatory paper into hospitals; we certainly should not be expecting them to provide their own sanitary products.  

My last specific point is to highlight the plight of the 1950s women whose pension rights were reduced without consultation—referred to as the WASPI women. The UK Government has, of course, now acknowledged that thousands of these women were never contacted about the proposed changes, and that this condemns many of them to poverty towards what they expected to be the end of their working lives. Now, obviously, this isn't a devolved matter, but I'd like to ask the Deputy Minister to agree that the Welsh Government will make further representations to the UK Government in this regard, in the light of the fact that the UK Government has now acknowledged that they did not notify all the women affected. 

And, finally, I'd like to very briefly make a general point relating to the use of language when we discuss this matter. Acting Presiding Officer, if we, as legislators in this Chamber, know anything, we know that words matter; they have very specific meanings. And, if we do not accurately describe a problem, we cannot appropriately address it. When referring to discrimination against women, the Equality Act is clear in its language: it makes sex discrimination unlawful except in certain specific circumstances. Yet, when we discuss these matters, we tend to use a much more imprecise term. We talk, for example—and the Minister has done today—about the 'gender' pay gap when what we mean is the 'sex' pay gap. The Deputy Minister refers in her statement to the Government's own 'gender' equality review, and talk, of course about gender equality is common practice, but it's a practice that needs to be brought to an end. There seems to be some sort of squeamishness about using the legally correct term, which is 'sex', and this matters. It matters because policy reviews and frameworks and policies should correctly reflect the legislative frameworks on which they are based to ensure that they appropriately comply with legislation. It also matters because the use of the term 'gender' could lead to confusion between actions needed to tackle sex discrimination and the important but distinct agenda around protecting and promoting the rights of people who identify as trans.

The Deputy Minister and I are both too old to be squeamish about the use of the word 'sex', and I would like to ask the Minister to undertake a review today of the language the Welsh Government uses with regard to this matter to ensure that, in future, it is fully compliant with the Equality Act. I completely accept that this conflation of the terms 'sex' and 'gender' is common; things that are common are not necessarily correct or useful, and I hope that the Deputy Minister will be able to take a look at this so that we can use the right language when debating these issues in future.

Thank you very much, Helen Mary Jones, and can I say that I think you are one of the key champions who were, at that time, probably working with Val Feld in the Equal Opportunities Commission? I also want to mention the fact that we wouldn't have that due regard to equality of opportunity if it wasn't for Julie Morgan, who was an MP at the time in Westminster, getting it through the Government of Wales Act, and today's the time when we can actually remind ourselves that we're part of history, and, in future, some will remember that there were those women down there in the Senedd who actually played their part to move this forward. But you've made very important points, because, having that due regard, we now have to deliver on it. In terms of the violence against women national strategy and how we are now supporting and funding refuges and Women's Aid groups, I have every sympathy with what you say. And, of course, I know from my local Women's Aid groups, and across Wales, that these are issues that they are struggling with as a result of different commissioning arrangements.

I want you to, hopefully, be reassured about the fact that we've got a sustainable funding group. That's actually chaired by the national advisers that we have: Yasmin Khan, who, I hope that Members—many Members have met our national advisers, appointed as national advisers—and Nazir Afzal as well. They are advising on the development of a sustainable funding model and what is important, of course, in terms of making sure that there are collaborations between third sector groups in this area. So, it's working with them; they're part of the sustainable funding group to take this forward. But I also think it's very important that we do recognise that, at a local level, we do have the Supporting People grant, and we've kept it in Wales, and that's paid to local authorities; that's administered to 22 local authorities, as you know. They are working with regional collaborative committees for advice on planning and commissioning, but that is a crucial way that refuges, particularly, are supported. In fact, looking at the Supporting People grant, which we've all protected it across this Chamber—despite austerity, we've kept it going—over £9 million was spent on domestic abuse services last year in terms of Supporting People. But we take your point in terms of those issues.

Now, your second point, very quickly, well, yes, the health Minister today has announced—which you probably have seen—that there will be free sanitary products offered in every hospital in Wales to all in-patients in the NHS in Wales. It's unacceptable to have patchy provision. As of today, the health Minister, Vaughan Gething, has made this announcement, so there should be no issue. International Women's Day—sometimes it takes something like this to say, 'Right, well let's get on with it; let's grab it.' Certainly, it was the first question I asked when I saw the headline on Sunday, that this was a—. I said, 'Where are we in Wales?' It's happening in Wales. And let's remember also the £1 million that we put into period—. What we're trying to promote is period dignity, and I did have my meeting with Kirsty Williams yesterday to talk about schools, because this is really where we need to develop period dignity, and that also links to a whole range of other issues in schools, which we talked about and which we're addressing. So, that is a key point as well.

Yes, in terms of Women Against State Pension Inequality and the women who have campaigned so hard in terms of the impact of the changes in pension age, and the fact that we've just seen that the High Court has granted permission for judicial review of matters arising from the Government policy of equalisation of women's pension ages, and the impact of those changes on women born in the 1950s—. So, that's as a result of campaigning, which, again, many of us have been involved in; we've had support across this Chamber for this. The case is due to be heard on 24 May, and we must again look at ways in which we can deal with the complaints, because at this stage we have to wait for that, in terms of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, who could deal with complaints from a decision of the independent case examiner. But that is—. We're making some progress, I think.

Just finally, on your point about language, well, I think many of us are learning about language, but we are quite clear: we have legislation—we have the Sex Discrimination Act, we have the Equal Pay Act, we have the Equality Act. And we have to be mindful of the protected characteristics, which, in terms of the Equality Act, have made us much more aware of intersectionality, which, of course, I've mentioned in my statement, in terms of the fact that you can be a woman but you can also have other protected characteristics. So, it isn't just about your sex or your gender; it is about a whole range of other issues. But we take note, and, of course, we'll have due regard to the points that you make in terms of language.

Thank you for your statement, Deputy Minister, updating us on your Government's activities to try to address gender inequality. I join with you in wanting all women to have economic independence, for their paid and unpaid work to be valued, for women to be empowered, and those other excellent objectives you have summarised in your statement. I also share your vision that Wales should be a place where there is equal sharing of power, resources and influence between the genders. But none of these very laudable objectives can be achieved without a top-class education system that not only gives girls the academic and social skills needed to excel in life, but gives them the confidence to take up positions of power and authority and challenge the outdated condescension of some men in their midst.

It takes a lot of strength and confidence to withstand the put-downs, condescension and dismissiveness with which some men treat female colleagues. So, at the same time as giving girls the tools to deal with such caveman behaviour, society needs to get it through to boys that this behaviour is unacceptable. And, whilst I'm on the subject of attitudes to women, I'd like to ask the Deputy Minister where the Welsh Government stands on the anti-woman messages to be found in some forms of pornography. How is the Welsh Government also combating the gender stereotyping of toys by retailers operating in Wales, or the gender stereotyping that is found in teen magazines? The Deputy Minister's quite right to draw attention to the continuing gender pay gap and aim at its elimination. This is a disgrace that has been ongoing for decades, and the pace of progress is positively glacial. But the gender pay gap will never be eradicated here whilst the school system in Wales is failing children. The ones suffering most from these failures are likely to be girls, condemned to low-paid, intermittent and insecure work in adult life, or to playing catch-up in adulthood, because the Welsh Government is being too proud to admit its mistakes or learn from schools that far surpass the state system in terms of academic and other achievements. Everywhere else in the world, it's recognised that education is the key to gender equality. How many times do we see adverts for charity donations saying that girls in the third world just need education to put them onto a level playing field? So, will the Deputy Minister let us know which discussions she has had with the Minister for Education about fixing our shamefully performing education system so that girls can excel as they should?

Just as everyone here will say they want girls to be engaged in education, we would also want women to be involved in politics. Women can stand for public election, that's true, but what happens to them when they're elected? The social media are currently trolling women who are against Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister, which is disgusting and disgraceful. It also exemplifies the treatment too often meted out to women public figures, whether elected or not, simply for expressing their views in an attempt to silence them. Will you ask the First Minister to set an example by making sure that anyone from his own party who has trolled a female elected representative will be thrown out of Welsh Labour for their harassment of women? 

Finally, how can the Government claim that it wants women to be empowered and equal when its own First Minister could not bring himself to agree with people on all sides of the political spectrum, including those in his own party, that rapists should not be given access to any child born out of their rape? The answer is it can't, because if your First Minister, on behalf of your Government, is unwilling to take a stand against such men being given an ongoing means to control and emotionally abuse their victim, then your statement made on behalf of that same Government rings rather hollow. Thank you.

I will respond to some of the positive points that you've made about the importance of International Women's Day. I think it is important that you raise issues about gender stereotypes. In 2018, Welsh Government launched the This is Me campaign, which challenges gender stereotypes in a positive way and encourages conversations about gender and gender inequality, particularly recognising that this can be a cause and consequence of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

We have got to improve women's representation in political and public life and support them in those roles. It's important that we're looking, in the local government and elections (Wales) Bill, at ways in which we can require political party group leaders to promote high standards of conduct among their group members, and local authority standards committees to monitor ways in which women particularly are being treated. I support the Electoral Reform Society's 'New Voices' report, and that has recommendations around social media and developing across all parties a joint code of conduct on intimidatory behaviour. 

I think you have made an important point about education and the role of education and I think it's the new curriculum that will help address this, particularly in relation to relationship and sexuality education across all six areas of learning and experience. 

Finally and briefly, Jack Sargeant.

Diolch, Deputy Deputy Llywydd. I'll keep this very short, but I'm very pleased to hear throughout this statement today references made to the violence against women Bill, the well-being of future generations Act, and also the statement and announcement today by the health Minister with regard to period poverty and free sanitary products. I know that Jenny Rathbone worked closely with dad before his sad death on this issue to see what he could do in the portfolio. 

Deputy Minister, would you agree with me that we need to continue promoting and acting on these pieces of key legislation to truly deliver the equal Wales we all want to see? Also, would you agree with me that this is not just a women's issue, this is everyone's business, and it's pleasing to see men in the Chamber today too? Deputy Llywydd, I'd like to place on record my admiration for the new First Minister of Wales ensuring that the Welsh Government now has more women than men in the Cabinet, addressing the gender imbalance from issues raised in previous Governments within the Senedd.

Finally, I'd like to pay a personal tribute to my mum, actually. She has supported me all my life through all the decisions I have made, and she continues to be there for me and many others, even through the worst hurt of her life after losing dad. Finally, Members of the Chamber, Deputy Llywydd, the future is exciting, but let's make a pledge in this Chamber today to build a better, gender-balanced and kinder one. Thank you.

I think there's very little I need to say in response to Jack Sargeant's very powerful statement. As Jack Sargeant has said, this is everyone's business, and I have to pay tribute to Jack, and how proud your dad would be of you here, and how you have stood up for women, equalities and social justice, but particularly for a kinder politics. That is what we seek to achieve, and I know the First Minister will recognise that this is a very significant contribution that you've made, Jack, on behalf of this Assembly in terms of International Women's Day and what it should mean to us all.

Thank you, Deputy Minister, and apologies to those I was unable to call this afternoon.