5. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice: International Women’s Day

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:40 pm on 8 March 2022.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 4:40, 8 March 2022

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.