Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department’s work to ensure that women are not held back in the workplace.

Every woman in the UK must have the support needed to fulfil her potential. This government is making this a reality by shining light on inequality through gender pay gap reporting, Returners programmes, Shared Parental Leave and flexible working.

We have invested £4 million in our two gender equality research programmes, the Workplace and Gender Equality Research Programme (WAGE) and the Gender and Behavioural Insights Programme (GABI), which are providing employers with the evidence they need about what works to create a more equal workplace.

The gender pay gap nationally is the lowest on record at 17.9%, but there is a way to go and we are committed to supporting this change.