BASINGSTOKE’S MP has called for a “renewed commitment to women’s equal role in policymaking and policy scrutiny”.

Maria Miller, former Conservative equalities minister, made the call during the opening of the International Women’s Day debate in the House of Commons this week.

Ms Miller said: “As we mark International Women’s Day as parliamentarians, we should, I believe, focus every fibre of our body on how we can strengthen democracies around the world, because democracy is under threat like never before.

“Strong parliamentarians are representative of their people, women playing their proper role in Parliament isn’t an optional extra. It’s essential for our legitimacy. And this year’s theme of breaking the bias couldn’t be more appropriate because there are few democracies around the world where women have an equal role in policymaking and policy scrutiny, including our own.

“27 years on from the 1995 UN Beijing Platform for Action, which demanded worldwide equal participation for women in political decision-making, we have seen slow progress, with just one in four elected representatives around the world being a woman. So, for International Women’s Day 2022, let’s call for a renewed commitment to women’s equal role in policymaking and policy scrutiny to ensure progress in securing women’s roles in democratic institutions.”

The MP for Basingstoke noted that “internationally, both our Parliament and our Government in the UK, actively support women and girls’ rights”, but stressed “it’s also never been more important for our own Parliament to be an exemplar”.

She went on: “In Westminster, there are still twice as many men as there are women elected to this place, demonstrating the challenges even embedded democracies have. I stand here as a Conservative member of Parliament to say there are three men for every one woman in my party, which is the Government party. That has to change.”

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