International Women’s Day

Baroness Gill Excerpts

Friday 6th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gill (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a great honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Brown, and take part in this International Women’s Day debate, especially on this special day, when so many of our newly ennobled women made their brilliant maiden speeches. We have heard of their remarkable achievements. They are inspiring additions to your Lordships’ House.

Today’s debate marks a milestone for Sikh women across all areas of British life. There has been much to celebrate since I was first elected in 1999, notably the first five Sikh-heritage female MPs elected in 2024 in the other place, and I was honoured recently to join these Benches, too. We now have Sikh Labour women across both Houses.

Women of Sikh heritage are in every field of life, from leading King’s Counsels, judges, professionals, academics and creatives to achievers of amazing feats, such as “Polar Preet” walking across Antarctica. We have much to be proud of.

Nevertheless, there are many concerns in our society for Sikh women. A recent report by Sikh Women’s Aid highlighted that two-thirds of respondents experienced domestic abuse, although—a little differently—in the extended family context, the perpetrators can also be other women.

More worryingly, there have been several incidents of racially motivated rape targeted at Sikh women. That has heightened insecurity among the community. This development needs urgent action by local law officers.

In addressing these challenges, the House has regularly raised concerns about online misogyny—in this debate, many of your Lordships have made reference to it, recognising that women who stand up or speak out are more likely to suffer from extreme levels of abuse and threats of violence.

As we progress with accelerated speed toward artificial intelligence becoming part of our everyday lives, I fear for how this will affect ordinary women’s lives. Whether it is automated human resources or assessments about opening a bank account, it is likely that an algorithm will be deciding. We should all be concerned, because the vast majority of those writing the codes and algorithms are likely to be men.

I had the opportunity to work in the tech sector, albeit a decade or so ago. I was staggered—as we have already heard—that so few women work in the sector, not just in the UK but worldwide. Of course, there are always high-flying household names in the US, but they are the exception as opposed to the rule. Most of the women in the senior jobs I came across were in generic areas, such as HR, communications or public policy—as I was.

I beg noble Lords’ indulgence as I share some statistics. Last December, in its report, BCS Gender Diversity in the Tech Sector Report, the British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute for IT, noted:

“There were 441,000 female IT specialists in the UK … 22% of all IT specialists in the UK”.


If we had equality between the sexes, there would have been at least 1 million.

The report also noted that women earn 12% less than their male counterparts and are more likely to be part-time. However, for me, a shocking statistic was that only 0.6% of employees in this growing sector are Black women. The women who are in this sector are more likely to be unemployed and less likely to be self-employed, and only one in 20 is an IT engineer. The figures are a little better if you are a project or programme manager, although not in all cases: in manufacturing, only 11% of IT employees are women.

What really disappoints me is that the representation of women in senior executive roles has not changed since I was there. It is a truly shameful record that does not inspire confidence in the projected AI-dominated future. I welcome the statement made by the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Lloyd of Effra, at the start of this debate—I am hugely encouraged by her emphasis on addressing concerns in the tech sector—but I emphasise that the one point the Government must address is greater participation of BAME women in STEM learning.

I acknowledge the challenges around the safety of and opportunities for women and girls, but it is vital that, today, we recognise the success and value that all women and girls across the country bring to British society.