The next item is the statement by the Minister for Social Justice on International Women’s Day. I call the Minister, Jane Hutt. 

Thank you very much, good afternoon.

Today we mark International Women’s Day. Today is an opportunity to pay tribute to the women who came before us and the women who stand on the shoulders of these giants, continuing the fight for equality and social justice—women including the formidable Betty Campbell MBE, Wales's first black headteacher, co-creator of Black History Month and champion of multiculturalism in Wales. I know that you all share my pride that Cardiff is now home to Betty Campbell’s statue, a fitting homage to her legacy. Thanks to the work of Monumental Welsh Women, Mountain Ash will soon also have a memorial dedicated to the exceptional Elaine Morgan.

As we reflect on the contribution of women in Wales, we must, of course, consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We're all aware of the wide-scale harm it caused to our health, social and economic well-being, and women have been at the centre of this. Globally, women have led the health response to COVID-19, making up almost 70 per cent of the healthcare workforce. And at the same time, women have shouldered much of the burden at home, carrying out up to 10 times more care work than men. Women have also faced a high risk of job and income loss, and increased risk of violence and abuse. The pandemic has revealed society’s dependence on work that is disproportionately done by women, as unpaid carers and as employees within care, social work and hospitality. But the pandemic has also highlighted the brilliance of women’s contribution to the scientific and clinical response. As we move out of this crisis and into another on cost of living, it's crucial that we place far stronger value on this work, which is central to our economy and our communities. Our 'Advancing Gender Equality in Wales' plan provides the framework through which we will address the changing landscape for women in Wales, and our programme for government prioritises implementation of key aspects of this plan.

We will fund childcare for more parents in education and training and on the edge of work, and the childcare offer gives parents, in particular women, more choice and greater ability to have both a family and a career. This is strengthened in our co-operation agreement. The Welsh Government will work in social partnership to eliminate the pay gap for gender, ethnicity and disability by 2050. This is a vital step towards a society that enables people to fulfil their potential, no matter their gender, background or circumstances. Deputy Llywydd, an equality evidence unit will be implemented within Welsh Government this year, alongside race disparity and disability disparity evidence units. And collectively, these will improve data on underserved and disadvantaged groups, as well as considering evidence from an intersectional perspective.

The Welsh Government has always been clear about its ambition to end violence against women and girls, building on our groundbreaking legislation. We will strengthen our strategic focus on violence against women in the street and workplace, as well as the home, in order to make Wales the safest place in Europe to be a woman. We've recently consulted on our proposals, and I look forward to publishing our final strategy early in the summer term. Each of these priorities demonstrates the importance of an intersectional approach to gender equality. As we challenge systemic inequality, we must be sure to challenge this for every woman, and we must acknowledge and understand that equality of outcome requires differing and sensitive approaches.

A theme of International Women’s Day this year is 'break the bias'. Thirty years since Chwarae Teg was launched, it's a timely reminder of our collective responsibility to challenge gender stereotypes and the deliberate or unconscious bias affecting women here and across the world. No woman can be left behind. We will work with and for black, Asian and minority ethnic women, disabled women, women who are lesbian, bisexual and trans, women in poverty, older women, girls and others to deliver equality and social justice. We will do this with expert stakeholders, including Women Connect First, WEN Wales, BAWSO and many others, to engage communities across Wales, building upon relationships and trust, developed over decades.

We must also ensure that this Senedd houses a growing group of diverse women, to work for everybody’s benefit. The same goes for every council and every board in Wales. The Welsh Government is proud to part fund the Equal Power Equal Voice mentoring scheme. The scheme provides opportunities to diverse communities across Wales to explore leadership roles in public life in Wales, and the scheme is already delivering—mentees have become MPs, councillors and key public appointees. I hope that, one day soon, we will be sat alongside graduates of the programme.

No single idea will address the root causes of inequality. Systemic cultural change is required and there must be collective responsibility in how we rethink our society and how we reset our ambitions for opportunity and equality of outcome. We will embed gender budgeting in our decision-making processes to drive cultural change around social justice and sustainability, and, in doing so, we will acknowledge the potential challenges for women as we cope with the effects of climate change. Through our mainstreaming equality pilot, we will ensure a zero-carbon future includes and values women and provides new and innovative opportunities for skills, education and work, ensuring a just transition to a green economy. It is crucial that all players—partners, activists and politicians—stand ready to work in partnership, to turn the dial and make real, meaningful and swift progress to achieve the change we all want to see, a gender-equal Wales.

I began my statement today by acknowledging pioneers of equality in Wales, and I want to end by paying tribute to the women of Ukraine, who, with their families, are on all our minds today. I wish my words could undo the horror they're living through. I'm in awe of their strength, as I'm sure we all are today, and their resilience, and we send them our solidarity in these awful days. Diolch.

Minister, thank you so much for your statement. I must say, I really did appreciate everything you said. International Women's Day is a moment to recognise past achievements, I 100 per cent agree with you when you said that, and to look at the future challenges is also vital for each and every single one of us.

As a proud Welsh woman, I'm delighted to be sitting amongst so many hard-working and dedicated women in this Parliament here in Wales on a weekly basis. As much as today is about celebration, it's also a time to reflect on progress made in tackling gender inequality here in Wales and to take action to create a fairer and more just nation. We do this having had to respond and adapt to the challenges of the pandemic. Women have been on the front line in the fight against COVID-19, whether it's front-line workers in the health service, the ladies serving us in our supermarkets, or indeed those who work in the care sector, and I'm proud to say that women have played a leading role in the development of the vaccines that are playing such a vital role in our lives returning back to normal.

One consequence of this pandemic has been that employers have been made aware of the benefits of more flexible working, which is certainly a positive. The proportion of women working part time has reduced by about 3 per cent as a result of more flexible working and better childcare provision. However, it is worrying that the gender pay gap has increased from 11.8 per cent to 12.3 per cent. Sadly, this is not the full story. Regional disparities mean the gap can be as low as 1.9 per cent in Conwy but as high as 25 per cent in Torfaen. Can I ask, Minister, how you intend to address the widening gender pay gap that exists at present here in Wales? Too many women remain concentrated in lower paid occupations. We must break the perception that some careers are for boys and others are for girls. What action is being taken, Minister, to raise the aspirations of girls and young women to ensure that more are studying maths, engineering, technology and science, to raise their potential earning levels and provide the vaccine discoverers of the future here in Wales?

There will never be complete equality until women themselves help to make the laws, and I know you are working tirelessly to achieve that and do that, but we really need to see more. Women remain under-represented in public life in Wales, with only 29 per cent of local councillors being female and women making up less than half of public appointments in 2020. More needs to be done to not just break, but smash this glass ceiling. I would ask you, Minister, what more can be done to increase the representation of women in public life.

Recent high-profile cases have also once more brought about attention to the issues of violence, abuse and harassment that too many women face here in 2022. Cases of domestic abuse and violence against women are on the rise, exacerbated by the stresses of lockdown. It takes great courage to come forward and report incidents of domestic abuse, and I commend all those women who speak up for those causes and work in that field. I hope the Welsh Government's forthcoming strategy will focus on recognising the signs of such abuse on the victims and their children by public and private bodies so that appropriate action can be taken. The exploitation of women through human trafficking, modern slavery, forced marriage and female genital mutilation are more widely recognised now than ever before, which is certainly progress. I would urge you, Minister, to please redouble your efforts and do all you can to stamp out these scandalous and illegal abuses that take place today. 

To conclude, women cannot achieve equality without the creation of opportunity. It cannot be right that the potential of half of our population should be stifled and suppressed. If we are to succeed in creating a more equal and a just Wales, then International Women's Day cannot solely simply be for one day. It has to govern our actions, each and every single day, to ensure the equal rights of all women and girls across Wales. Thank you very much.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

Diolch yn fawr, Natasha, and it's so great that you are with us here today and that we can share so much in terms of celebrating progress, but also acknowledging the huge challenges that lie ahead for women. I do want to pay tribute and thank Joyce Watson for bringing us together tonight—the women of this Senedd, this Welsh Parliament—as we are going to meet together across parties. And also to not only share where we want to go forward together—women representatives in this Senedd—but also listen to the inspiring words of Lucy Kassa, who's joining us today, an Ethiopian independent journalist.

I think it's crucial that we just do acknowledge the importance of the gender pay gap, which you referred to. It's actually so important that questions have come to my colleague the Minister for Economy, Vaughan Gething, about his employability skills plan, very much relating question after question about 'Will this help address the gender pay gap?' Because this is about committing ourselves to pursue economic and social justice, and tackling pay inequality is an essential component of this. And, of course, the pay gap isn't just limited to gender. That's why I think the equality evidence units that we're setting up are going to be crucially important to look at disability and race pay gaps as well—part of our national milestones for the well-being of future generations. It's a shared endeavour, and we'll achieve this through our social partnership approach, through working in social partnership, because that, actually, provides us with the opportunity to engage with employers, trade unions and the workforce to persuade them also of the benefits and the positive outcome of tackling the gender pay gaps and pay gaps of all dimensions.

I think it's important to also acknowledge the way in which the annual 'State of the Nation' report mentioned earlier on by the leader of Plaid Cymru, published by Chwarae Teg just a few weeks ago—. It did actually recognise that there is the gender pay gap that we need to address, and mainstreaming it across all Government responsibilities, which will start making the difference. But we need to engage with our social partners to do this.

Yes, it is crucial that we now drive forward our commitment while we do have strong support across this Chamber for our violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence strategy. You know we're developing our next five-year strategy. We extended consultation times to engage directly with children and young people and victims and survivor groups, and we're strengthening and expanding the violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence strategy.

But I think it is also important that we look at—and we've expressed this in the Chamber, and from our male colleagues as well—tackling male violence and the misogyny and gender inequality that lie behind it, and how we have to break the cycle and address the root causes of VAWDASV. This must start with boys and young men, if future generations are to be offered an opportunity to break this cycle. We recognise also that all perpetrators, regardless of their gender, must be held to account for their actions and also support our campaign, CallOutOnly, helping people identify behaviours, particularly now as we widen that to street harassment as well, and looking at how we can address not just street harassment, workplace harassment and general harassment of women and girls.

Can I say, just in terms of smashing the glass ceiling, how wonderful it was to hear today the news that Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is going to be our new chair of Sport Wales? I think that's a tremendous public appointment of Tanni, who grew up in Cardiff, in Wales, and is globally known. But she's coming back to Wales to be chair and such a fantastic role model. I met with her recently and she's very inspired by the work that we're doing on our disability taskforce about the impact of the pandemic on disabled people. But we have to make sure that we reflect Wales in running Wales, and that is in terms of our public appointments, and indeed across all our political parties in Wales. Thank you.

I thank the Minister for her statement and would like to associate myself and my party with her tribute to the women of Ukraine. 

My grandmother had to give up her job when she was married. My mother started out her career as a teacher on less pay than her male counterparts. I worked part-time for over a decade because I couldn't find suitable childcare. According to the World Economic Forum, none of us will see gender parity in our lifetimes, nor likely will many of our children. There is urgent work to do, and Chwarae Teg's 'State of the Nation 2022' report, published last month, shows clearly that Wales has a lot of work to do.

Yesterday evening I took part in a discussion organised by the Senedd and chaired by Jenny Rathbone about the provision of childcare in Wales—or should I say the inequality caused by the lack of it. I am very glad, of course, that the expansion of free childcare is part of the Government's co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, but we know that this must really just be a first step.

In a round-table discussion with Chwarae Teg last week, it was noted that, when looking at gender inequality data and assessing its root causes, it almost always comes back to the burden of caring responsibilities falling disproportionately on women. Their report found that, out of women who were economically inactive, 24.1 per cent of the time this was due to family caring responsibilities. The figure for men was only 5.8 per cent. No matter what policies we put in place across the economy, or what quotas we implement in public life, we have to create a society where women are able to take up the opportunities that are before them. Given this, could the Welsh Government please outline what further provisions are in place for these women who are economically inactive as they are having to care for family at home, especially as the current childcare offer is not available to those who are out of work?

To truly achieve gender equality in Wales, we have to focus on the most marginalised women first—the women in society who face the greatest barriers and are the most disadvantaged. The compound effect, as you've said in your statement, of the intersection between gender inequality and other socioeconomic inequalities in Wales is clear. According to the 'State of the Nation' report, in Wales, in 2021, 78.4 per cent of men were economically active as compared to 70.3 per cent of white women who were in employment. But only 56 per cent of ethnic minority women were in employment.

In politics and public life, diversity is crucial, as this is where decisions that affect day-to-day life are taken. Without intersectional women's representation, we will not have a diverse range of voices in the room that allows for different issues and perspectives to be discussed and heard. Women, as we know, are already under-represented in public life. While 43 per cent of the elected representatives in this Senedd are women, this is still a drop from where we ended the last Senedd term, and we have a higher proportion of women here than we do among Welsh MPs, for example, and only 29 per cent of Welsh councillors are women.

In local government, we really need to see significantly more women elected in this coming election in May, and ensure this translates into higher numbers of women in local government cabinets and as leaders. Part of this is ensuring that working practices work for women; maintaining the virtual element to meetings and keeping to flexible and family-friendly working hours can help. So, what is the Welsh Government doing to ensure an improvement in that 29 per cent rate for the election of female councillors in the upcoming election in May?

Women from ethnic minority backgrounds, working-class backgrounds, low incomes and women with disabilities are proportionally less represented in areas where they will have their voices heard or receive the highest pay. In Wales in 2021, less than 5 per cent of public appointments in 2020-21 were from black, Asian or ethnic minority backgrounds, and less than 5 per cent were people with disabilities.

There is positive work being done in Wales, and I congratulate Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson on her appointment. I welcome also the creation of the equality evidence unit alongside the race and disability disparity units, which will undoubtedly help us to see what is going wrong. However, more must be done to ensure everyone involved in making decisions about spending and public policy embed intersectional equalities analysis into everything they do. So, how is the Welsh Government ensuring that intersectional and gender equality are being considered during public appointments in Wales, for example? Is there scope for mandating or encouraging the use of quotas, not only in Senedd elections, as is currently committed to in the co-operation agreement, but also public appointments? Would the Welsh Government also consider implementing gender and other equalities training for all those involved in making decisions about spending and public policy, to ensure we are embedding intersectional equalities analysis into everything we do? Diolch.

Diolch, Sioned Williams. I do think it's so important that we reflect on the women we've descended from as well—our mothers and grandmothers. So often we pay attention to perhaps the men we're descended from as well, because they've had achievements, but it's the women we've descended from who are so powerful to us. And we have a responsibility to them as well as to our future generations.

It's crucially important that we tackle gender pay, and if you look at areas of concern relating to gender pay, it widened slightly in Wales this year. And women also—this point about childcare—remain four times more likely to cite childcare as the reason for being economically inactive. But also, intersectionally, representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic people and disabled people—among public appointments, we're making some changes, but it still remains low, and we need to look at the under-representation of women among business leaders, managers, directors. 

I think some questions came up about women in STEM earlier on this afternoon. If we look at current surveys, they indicate that only 11 per cent of the UK's engineering workforce is female, and we've got the lowest percentage of women engineering professionals in Europe. So, I think the Not Just for Boys work that Chwarae Teg has undertaken is crucially important as well. It's very gender segregated, we know, the labour market. I visited a day nursery in my constituency a couple of weeks ago. They've never recruited a young man to work in the day nursery, and it's an all-female workforce in childcare, and very much so in social care as well. It's great we've got the real living wage, because that's going to help address women's pay disparities as well, and we need the real living wage as a crucial route towards tackling the gender pay gap, and then progress in the labour market.

I think it is very important that we look at the most marginalised and those with protected characteristics. That's why I focused on the intersectional approach in my statement, but poverty rates have increased—cost of living, pandemic, inequalities have increased, and of course now—. And we know that, actually, single parents are still at greatest risk of living in poverty. I think the issues that we raised last year about the fact that the cut to universal credit, that £20 cut—it directly impacted on women and their families on lowest pay. I think we need to recognise that unpaid care work, harassment, abuse and violence all have to be addressed. 

I would like to just say, as we move to the local government elections, it's really important that we have more women candidates. I'm sure all political parties are seeking this for the local government elections. I'm very proud that we now have women leaders across our political parties anyway representing local government, who are absolutely at the sharp end of everything that we're doing in delivering in terms of policy. And I was very pleased to meet with all of the cabinet members who are responsible for equality recently and, of course, Rebecca Evans, the Minister for local government, has shared with me the ways in which we take forward the budget improvement plan, looking at gender budgeting as well as helping to tackle the pay gap, but also looking at ways in which we can ensure that more women are represented, and also see that as an intersectional approach and core as well. 

So, we have a long way to go, but I think I was very pleased to see the First Minister's tweet on International Women's Day today that he was very proud of the fact that he had more women in the Cabinet than men, and I think sometimes people must say, 'Oh, there are some women running Wales here', and we've got women Chairs of committees across the Senedd, our Llywydd. This is where we have to stand up together and hopefully—. I've mentioned the equal voice initiative. We really must ensure that we inspire and enable our young women to succeed us in this place. Diolch.

Usually, I'd reflect on—. I'd like to reflect on this year's International Women's Day theme, which is 'break the bias', and I'm delighted that the Welsh Government is helping to break the bias in healthcare, with today's announcement of endometriosis specialist nurses. It's a serious, life-changing condition affecting one in 10 women, and it deserves to be treated and resourced as such.

But, today, like women around the world, I'm haunted by the situation in and spilling out of Ukraine. More than 1 million Ukrainians have already fled the country, mostly women and children. This International Women's Day, the UK Government should do the right thing and put in place simple, fast, safe and legal routes for sanctuary in the UK, like other European nations. Frankly, the current visa situation shames our country.

But, in terms of what we in Wales can do, I know women and women's groups across Wales are furiously organising community appeals. They'll be the first in line to welcome refugees when they arrive, as they welcomed Syrians and others in recent years. So, on that, can you update us on your meeting last week with the Minister for Finance and Local Government and the WLGA regarding preparations to accommodate refugees from Ukraine?

Diolch yn fawr, Joyce Watson, and can I just thank Joyce for being such a lead champion for women in Wales? Before you become a Senedd Member, it's been your adult life commitment.

But it is important to focus on the theme, 'breaking the bias', in terms of International Women's Day, and I have responded to many points about breaking the bias already, but I just want to acknowledge as well that women's health—. Everything that we do in Welsh Government has a bearing on women's lives, and health and well-being are crucially important, so it is good to see progress being made through the women's health implementation group, set up by the former health Minister, to look at issues around endometriosis and to see that we now have this recruitment of a network of specialist endometriosis nurses in each health board, developing those national pathways, because it is a crucial issue for women's lives in terms of their economic activity and every aspect of their lives.

Just in terms of an update, because we know, in terms of the women and children, the refugees, who are now escaping the horror in Ukraine, that it will be mainly women and children who we want to welcome to Wales as a nation of sanctuary, so we have asked and called consistently, as the First Minister has said today in contributions this afternoon, for that fast, simple legal route to enable us—the welcoming that's coming from families, but also from local authorities. 

So, Rebecca Evans, the Minister for Finance and Local Government, and I met with all leaders last week. What we saw was a strength of committed, compassionate leadership at that meeting. We were also joined by the Wales Strategic Migration Partnership, by the Interfaith Council for Wales, by refugee support agencies as well. So, what they have already done since that meeting last week is met as—. Housing is crucial, obviously, so the cabinet members for housing across Wales have met. They've met with our housing officials. They're looking at different levels of co-ordination that they need to offer, in terms of taking up the many offers from people who want to provide space in their own homes, but also recognising that this will also need temporary accommodation, hotels and temporary accommodation, very much building on the experience from the Afghan evacuation, the team Wales approach. But the Welsh Local Government Association themselves are very frustrated by the lack of progress in terms of routes into Wales and have also, as the First Minister said, been calling for a way in which we can have a bespoke community response here in Wales. So, it is going to be today, as we think of the women and girls of Ukraine. Some also are fighting in Ukraine. I know that Mick Antoniw and Adam Price, when they visited Ukraine, they met women who were at the front line, as well as women and children who have left and want to be reunited with their menfolk when this appalling war is over.

So, thank you, Joyce, for bringing this important point to this International Women's Day statement today.

Good afternoon, Minister. I, like many in this Chamber, including my colleague Joyce, just want to focus on the situation in Ukraine. I don't know about people here, but I just can't think of anything at the moment apart from that tragic situation. And just one issue to raise, and that's around trafficking. On 6 March, reports emerged that sex traffickers were targeting single women and young children along Ukraine's border, and a social policy charity cautioned that desperate refugees are at risk of falling into the hands of human traffickers. Police and aid workers in Poland have now issued a warning about sex traffickers, indicating the ordeals for those forced to free their homes are far from over.

I welcome the fact that, again, Wales is ready to play its part in providing sanctuary to those who need it, but I wonder if I could ask the Welsh Government to write to the UK Government to ensure that the trafficking of women and children fleeing Ukraine is firmly on their radar. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds. And this is just another aspect that you've brought to the attention of the Chamber again today—Siambr heddiw. It's really important that we—. I'm very happy to write that letter today, and, actually, I think probably it's a letter that we would all want to share across this Chamber, and as we meet tonight, women meeting tonight, I think we can probably agree a few things that we might want to agree on and take forward. But I certainly will commit myself now to write that letter. Because we know that there are on the borders and in the countries where people are being welcomed—particularly women and children—they're having the most amazing welcome in those countries bordering Ukraine. We know that Poland, Hungary, Belarus—not Belarus—Poland, Hungary, Moldova, they're also all giving such a welcome, and also caring for and sheltering so many women and girls and families who are fleeing. But we need to look at this. Unfortunately, the trafficking—the charities that are there highlighted this—it needs to be addressed. Thank you, Jane.

Thank you, Minister for bringing forward the statement today. And in marking International Women's Day, and as outlined by you, Minister, and by colleagues from across the Chamber, it's really important, of course, that we continue celebrating the achievements of women and girls from right across Wales. And on this day as well, as outlined by Sioned Williams, it's important that we acknowledge how far Wales has come with women's rights and that action's being taken to create more equality. But, of course, there is more to be done. And sadly, as we know, the equality that we experience here in Wales is not the case around the world. For example, there are still 10 countries in the world where women are not allowed to vote, and there are countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, where many basic freedoms and protections for women are not currently in place, and we must continue to do our bit in Wales to see this change.

And I approach and wanted to speak briefly today, not just as a Member of the Senedd, but also as a father of three young girls. I clearly have a personal interest in ensuring we continue to protect women's rights and spaces here in Wales. And in light of this, Minister, I wonder how you think the world that my daughters will experience in the future will be different to the world we see today as a result of the actions of the Welsh Government. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Sam Rowlands. It's always very—. It's great when our male colleagues are also speaking up on International Women's Day, and we've had many debates and statements over the last few weeks and months where you have made very powerful contributions across this Chamber. I think it's very important that Wales is also looking outwards. This is why we're a nation of sanctuary and we want to have that welcome to our refugees from Ukraine, which mainly will be women and children. But also, as I said, we have a visit today from Lucy Kassa who—. She's in the gallery, I hope, as we speak. She's an Ethiopian journalist who's reporting on the war in Tigray. She has exposed massacres, sexual violence, man-made starvation and other human rights abuses, and she's going to be joining us tonight. But I'm very pleased that we've actually looked out, with our Wales and Africa programme, for a women's empowerment programme, and we also have BAWSO, who has been awarded funding to—. They're using it to protect girls and young women from gender-based violence through raising awareness on challenges facing girls and women, who have been particularly adversely affected during the pandemic. And BAWSO is working with Kenyan non-governmental organisations, working together. 

Now, our future—. I think you only have to look at the Welsh Youth Parliament, and, I'm sure the Llywydd will agree, at the fantastic young women who are representing young people today. The commitment of the well-being of future generations Act, looking towards our future. We have got to empower our young women, your daughters, our daughters and granddaughters, around the Chamber for the future, but Government still has a responsibility. And that's why I can be, yes, cross-party engaged with these issues today, but we can't just do this by espousing wish lists, we actually have got to do something about the gender pay gap, about childcare. 

And I do want to say—. I wasn't able to fully respond on the childcare issue. That's going to be critically important to your family, and I'm sure it has been to every family in this Chamber, that the childcare offer, which is now expanding to focus on those parents in education and training, will just mean a greater number of families and women will be able to benefit from improved employment prospects, keeping in their jobs and careers to move forward. But I'm absolutely delighted that we're going to expand free childcare to two-year-olds as a result of the co-operation agreement, because that's about tackling poverty and it's about addressing those who are the lowest paid and are the most at risk of exclusion and loss in terms of the labour market. But it is about the well-being of future generations, that we need to look forward. And I think we have to make that connection at every level of policy, including the Net Zero Wales plan and, indeed, most importantly, from the economy Minister, what the aims and objectives are of the employability and skills plan.

Thank you very much, Minister, for the statement, and thank you for the opportunity to discuss this. It's very important that we allocate time to mark International Women's Day here in the Senedd. The theme this year is to 'break the bias'. One area where that bias or the gap exists is with regard to health, with heart attacks specifically. The recent report by the British Heart Foundation about the biological gap says that women are under a huge disadvantage at every stage of the patient pathway when it comes to heart disease. They're less likely to have a diagnosis urgently, less likely to receive the best care and treatment and so on. I know that the Government is putting together a women's health plan at the moment, and I'm very pleased about that, but can I ask for assurance that the Minister will press for a continuation of trying to bridge this gap when it comes to fair treatment for women with heart disease? May I ask her to push to ensure that awareness is increased of the risks associated with heart disease amongst women in particular? When we look at the figures that suggest that, potentially, 8,000 female lives have been lost because of the deficiencies in this field, it is sobering, and that within a period of 10 years. And when we think that perhaps what is at the heart of this is a lack of women entering the cardiology profession, may I have an assurance that women will be encouraged to go into that profession and that that will be a prominent part of the Government's work in this field?

Diolch yn fawr, Rhun ap Iorwerth. It's so important that we look at health inequalities for women and not just in terms of particular conditions in the lifecycle of women, such as what we've already just commented on—endometriosis and the menopause. Last week, I gave a statement on period dignity, and menstrual well-being is now actually in the curriculum, but we have got to look at the other impacts in terms of fair treatment for women across all the range of conditions. And I think it's very valuable that you've drawn attention to heart disease and the risk that women are facing, and clearly, it's something that's been brought to our attention very clearly by those charities and those campaign bodies that recognise this as a key issue for women. So, thank you for that. I'm sure that the Minister for Health and Social Services and, indeed, the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being will have noted this today and we will be reflecting on it in terms of the women's health plan.

Thank you, Minister, for your statement today. I was really pleased to hear mention of the Elaine Morgan statue that will shortly be unveiled in Mountain Ash in my constituency. I'm looking forward to attending, with you, the official unveiling a week Friday, which I know will be a wonderful focal point in the town.

I recall when I was first elected to this place in 2016 that I spoke out about the need for us to have statues of remarkable women in Wales, when, at that time, there were none. The general feeling back then was that this was unrealistic—statues were far too expensive and we should look to other ways to celebrate these lives instead. How far we've come since then. I'm so pleased now that there are two such statues in Wales and that the second of these will be in the Cynon valley, and it's a tribute to a remarkable woman who I had the pleasure of knowing personally. I'd be interested to know about any discussions you may have had with the Minister for education about how the stories of these five monumental Welsh women and others can be integrated into the Curriculum for Wales.

I also note your comments around women, women's work and the pandemic. We know that women form a majority of our retail workforce, so it's concerning that the Association of Convenience Stores have reported that 90 per cent of retail workers have experienced verbal abuse, for example, as tensions have heightened during the pandemic. The cross-party group on small shops will be getting an update on the ShopKind campaign next week, which aims to encourage positive behaviour in stores and acknowledge the important role of shop workers. How is the Welsh Government working with partners to get this message out there that abuse is not part of the job for women working in the retail sector?

Thank you very much, Vikki Howells. I know that Elaine Morgan was very proud of you as well, and would have been very proud that you are a Senedd Member for Cynon Valley. She was an inspiring, pioneering woman and I was very pleased to meet her on many occasions, and many of you will have seen the book that was published last year about her life—an exceptional talent and ability, yet a woman who remained a resident and citizen of the Cynon valley until the day she died.

So, I think that the Betty Campbell statue is very significant. Those of us who were there for the unveiling of this incredible sculpture, which, actually, we put money into, the Welsh Government, and lots of money was raised across private and public sector individuals—. But it is so significant in terms of the legacy that she left of ensuring that we now have black history in the curriculum, mandated statutorily, ensuring that it's in the curriculum. That's what she wanted and she would've been so proud, as her daughters and granddaughters said on the day. But also, that is a place to visit; a bit like the Aneurin Bevan statue in Queen Street, now the Betty Campbell statue is a place for children, schools and young people to visit. In fact, the school who sang at the opening, from just along the way here in Butetown, just state that they're so proud of the fact that they were there and helped to unveil. It has to be part of the curriculum, not just in terms of black history being part of the curriculum now, but also the gender aspect of this in terms of all the women who are going to be now—. The statues will continue to come forth in terms of the Monumental Welsh Women campaign. And it will be included in every aspect of the curriculum. But I think, in terms of equality, I think that's where the new curriculum in terms of the opportunities for ethically informed young people will come through.

But also, you're quite right: just to respond to your issues about women in the pandemic, and particularly the key workers. I've mentioned, in my statement, that about 70 per cent of the healthcare workforce at the front line are women; the same in social care as well. But, actually, we must not forget our retail workers, the key workers on the front line. And, to recognise also that the key workers are those who are often also managing more than one job, in lower paid sectors. And we will, through our social partnership approach, working with the trade unions and employers, acknowledge the role and the importance of key workers. They're also very much on the front line in terms of risk as well. And safety, as we move in our transition plan, we have to—. People, Senedd Members will have seen our transition plan, published on Friday. There are very clear sections on equality in that plan in terms of impacts on women and all those with protected characteristics.

But thank you, Vikki Howells, for drawing attention not only to Elaine Morgan—and we will celebrate next week, that sculpture, when it's unveiled—but also the importance of the key workers, the women who are at the front line in terms of the retail sector as well.

And Cranogwen in Llangrannog will be the third statue, hopefully, to be unveiled in the Monumental Welsh Women campaign. Five statues of five Welsh women.

Finally, Delyth Jewell.

Diolch, Llywydd. Each year, when we mark International Women's Day, countless people question why we need it and when International Men's Day is. And, in case anyone is wondering, yes, there is an International Men's Day; it falls on 19 November. But, Minister, do you agree that the most potent and horrifying manifestation of the necessity of International Women's Day—that is why it is that we do need to mark it—is the constant catalogue of women killed by men? Eight men have been found guilty or confessed to murdering women in Wales in the last year. The youngest victim was a teenager, the eldest was in her 70s. These women were killed because they were women. So, do you agree that we need to mark International Women's Day, and we will keep needing to mark it until we have stopped having to count more dead women?

Diolch yn fawr, Delyth Jewell. You know, I have to say that this is why we've had statements, we've had debates; we've got to keep this on the top of the agenda, not just on International Women's Day. If you look at the femicide census, it's a tragic but necessary piece of data collection. A latest release shows that, on average, one woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK. You know, this is why the—. It's a very comprehensive study of women killed by men in the UK, and it's recorded not just the fact that one woman is killed every three days in the UK, but, actually, as you say, the fact is that it's current and former partners, and it's shown that this is a huge issue in terms of coercive control. And also, the knock-on effects of the pandemic have been quite clear in terms of the issues, and the lockdown restrictions to movement made it more difficult for women to leave abusive men. I've mentioned this in our transition document. People have got to read this, remember and hear it today that this is where we have to take note, and we need to be held to account; I need to be held to account by you in terms of what we need to do.

I think it's important also that we have to do more on the delays in the criminal justice system. That's why we want more control over the criminal justice system, because over a quarter of all known killings in 2020 have not yet gone to trial by the end of 2021 due to delays in the criminal justice system, and it's absolutely imperative that we get that justice for those women and it's obtained quickly. But this is something where we have got to work to deliver on the strengthened violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence strategy, and I'm glad that I'm going to be co-chairing the programme board with Dafydd Llywelyn, the lead police and crime commissioner this year, but with the support of all the PCCs. And also to deliver that strategy, it's vitally important that we have our relationships and sexuality education, which is a key route to ending violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Thank you, Minister.