International Women’s Day

Baroness Lloyd of Effra Excerpts

Friday 6th March 2026 Lords Chamber

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[Baroness Lloyd of Effra]

That this House takes note of International Women’s Day.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Baroness Lloyd of Effra) (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to open today’s International Women’s Day debate on behalf of the Government. As noble Lords will know, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Give to gain”. This day is about celebrating the power of solidarity and camaraderie; it is about adhering to the words proclaimed by Millicent Fawcett—the same words inscribed on her statue in Parliament Square just a stone’s throw away from here:

“Courage calls to courage everywhere”.


This day is about recognising that when women thrive, we all rise. I believe that is true of this place. Both Chambers are of very different composition to the ones I knew in the 1990s when I first started working in Westminster. Back then, around 10% of the seats in the other place were held by women; last year, that figure stood at roughly 40%. We have seen a similarly positive trend in this House: female membership has steadily risen from below 10% in the early 1990s to over 30% today. I am looking forward to hearing the maiden speeches today from my noble friends Lady Linforth, Lady MacLeod of Camusdarach, Lady Martin of Brockley, Lady Nargund and Lady Paul of Shepherd’s Bush. I am proud to serve in a Government where the positions of Chancellor, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary are all occupied by brilliant women, as are the Secretaries of State for Wales, science and culture. Our representation has changed for the better.

Our economy has changed for the better, too. Top British companies are leading the way for gender equality in boardrooms. Women occupied over 43% of roles on FTSE 350 executive boards as of last year. Our society has also changed for the better. The UK ranks fourth in the global gender gap index. That is all cause for celebration and optimism, but noble Lords will know that there is still more to do.

That extends to the places where economic power lies today and the industries that are at the forefront of tomorrow’s economy. We have much more to do to further women’s rights and opportunities in the UK and around the world, which is why this Government are working to prioritise women’s health by working with the women’s health ambassador to deliver our 10-year health plan. At work, we are putting in stronger protections for pregnant women and new mothers and tackling maternity inequality. We are also improving the system of parental leave, and making flexible working more easily available through our plan to make work pay. Through the Employment Rights Act we are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish an action plan alongside their gender pay gap reporting. We are tackling violence against women and girls, with a focus on education and prevention, pursuing perpetrators and supporting victims through our landmark strategy.

I would like to take a moment to reflect on the achievements of Jill Saward as we mark 40 years since her harrowing attack in 1986. I pay tribute to a woman whose courage shifted the national conversation surrounding sexual violence. She transformed the horrific trauma she endured into a catalyst for systemic change. She became a pioneering voice, helping to dismantle the long-standing taboos around sexual violence that silenced countless victims, and she campaigned for essential reforms to our justice system that were so desperately required. We owe her, and the many who continue her vital work, a debt of profound gratitude, and our commitment is to continue to tackle violence against women and girls.

However, if noble Lords permit, I will use my remaining time to speak about some of the initiatives my ministerial portfolio covers: initiatives to strengthen the roles of women in the workplace, in our economy and in our society. I will start with digital inclusion and the tech sector. We know that the UK’s tech sector is a massive growth driver. We are one of only three countries in the world to have had a tech sector valued at over $1 trillion. But it is not working for all; not everyone can access its opportunities. Only 29% of UK tech employees are women.

One of the groups I work closely with in my role is the cyber security industry, which has a workforce of 143,000 people and only 17% are women. Worse still, every year we lose an estimated £2 billion to £3.5 billion in economic activity because women leave the tech sector or change jobs due to barriers that should not exist. We have our work cut out for us because, at the current pace, it will take 283 years before women make up an equal share of the tech workforce. We want to right this wrong, and our ambition is clear: we want to unlock the full potential of Britain’s tech sector. Why? Because diverse teams do not just create more equitable workplaces; they deliver better outcomes. Different perspectives drive breakthrough solutions and help technology serve all communities, not just some.

To deliver on our ambitions, we are backing initiatives such as Code First Girls and CAPSLOCK, which specialise in helping women to access cyber and tech roles. We also have the TechFirst programme, with £187 million of investment to strengthen our domestic tech skills pipeline. This is about recruiting and supporting high-potential individuals from across the UK, starting in schools through to university, then research and employment. At its core, TechFirst is about giving people access to brilliant tech jobs—the jobs of the future—with the programme acting as a significant driver to support women and girls.

We are keen to play our part with industry. This is not about government going it alone; it is about businesses stepping up, which is why I am glad that IBM took over from the Government on delivering the annual CyberFirst Girls Competition. Last year’s competition reached more than 10,000 girls between the ages of 12 and 13 across 500 secondary schools in the UK. It is a fantastic example of industry leading from the front.

We have set up the new Women in Tech Taskforce. Its mission is to dismantle barriers to education, training and career progression. It will deliver practical solutions for government and industry to implement together, shaping policy that levels the playing field, and it will help us to reverse those economic losses I mentioned a moment ago, which stem from women leaving the tech sector due to barriers that should not exist.

We are also taking action to fix the finance gap for women-led businesses. One of the ways we are doing this at DBT is through the Invest in Women Taskforce. This is about backing women-led businesses, ensuring they are front and centre of this Government’s growth mission. The Invest in Women Taskforce funding pool is the largest of any kind in the world, at an impressive £635 million of institutional capital, all grown since this Government came into office. This Government are putting our money where our mouths are, with £130 million invested by the British Business Bank.

This is not the only way we are supporting female entrepreneurship. The British Business Bank, which backs the taskforce, also runs a number of its own empowering initiatives. The bank’s £400 million Investor Pathways Capital programme is an example. It is reducing barriers to entry for new and emerging fund managers. We know that women are twice as likely to back women-led businesses than men, which is why 50% of this capital is ring-fenced for female fund managers. The bank’s diverse angel syndicate initiative also encourages a wide group of investors to back early-stage businesses. The figures from the programme’s pilot were impressive: 185 new angel investors were engaged, and 176 of them were female. This is a strong example of the British Business Bank channelling investment to women-led small businesses with big ambitions.

When those founders succeed, our economy and our country succeed, which is why the Government are shining a bright light on successful female founders at every possible opportunity. The Department for Business and Trade’s Venture Capital Unit runs an annual initiative, Wave, which does exactly that. It spotlights 10 innovative female-led businesses from across the UK and runs a programme of pitch days and workshops with them.

In sum, it is right that on this International Women’s Day we look back on what has been achieved, and that we acknowledge how attitudes have changed. In Britain we have the most gender-balanced Government in our nation’s history. But with that honour comes a responsibility; the onus is on us to drive further progress. I am looking forward to the debate that will follow. I have one final ask of this House: please help us champion the initiatives I have spoken about today. Help us inspire more women and girls to go as far in life as their talent and ambitions will take them. Let us give so all can gain.