Dawn Butler: We’ll tackle the gender pay gap and fund women’s services

Part of a LabourList series on International Women’s Day 2018.

International Women’s Day is an occasion to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It’s a day to appreciate how far we have come in the fight for equality, while also recognising how far we still have to go.

Today we remember the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Women like the incredible Jayaben Desai and the Grunwick women in my constituency, who inspired so many with their campaign to improve working conditions through trade union representation in factories in Brent. They showed us the power of people of colour in the Labour movement fighting for the rights of women.

It is also a time to learn about the hidden history of women who did so much and are so little acknowledged, such as the suffragette Sarah Parker Remond, an African-American lecturer and an abolitionist and the only documented woman of colour who signed the first petition of woman suffrage in 1866.

I am so proud to be celebrating this International Women’s Day as shadow women and equalities minister.

My determination to create a more equal society is rooted in my own first-hand experiences of sexism and racism, including in Westminster. Once I was told by another MP in a lift in Parliament that “this lift really isn’t for cleaners”.

It was a great honour to become the first ever black female government minister to speak in the House of Commons in 2009. As a working-class African-Caribbean woman, it is important for me to use my experiences to smooth the road for those coming after me.

Some women in power can be aggressive towards other women and hinder, rather than help, other women on their journey. I firmly believe that when women are on the ladder of success, we should lay the foundations for an escalator, making the journey of women coming behind us faster, smoother and easier.

We recently marked 100 years since some women gained the right to vote. The hard work and sacrifice of brave women fighting for equal rights is an inspiration, and demonstrates what we can achieve when we work together. But there is so much more to do to overcome the barriers to women’s equality.

More women now sit in Parliament than ever before and more women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds have been elected. The Labour Party has more female MPs than all the other parties combined, we have a gender balanced shadow cabinet, and it’s the first in British history to have half of the great shadow offices of state held by women.

Labour has always been the party of equality and the next Labour government will take the next vital steps towards equality for women.

Labour will end the Tories’ failed austerity agenda, which has seen 86 per cent of Tory cuts fall on the shoulders of women.

Specialist support services are a lifeline for women and girls escaping domestic violence. But the government’s proposed reforms threaten women’s refuges’ last bit of secure funding – housing benefit. Labour will develop a sustainable form of funding for women’s refuge services.

And to ensure women are not held back, we will take action where this government has failed to do so and tackle the gender pay gap here in the UK. Under Labour’s new plans, we will require all large private and public companies, with over 250 employees, to prove their gender equality practices or face further auditing and fines.

Employers that meet the criteria will obtain government certification and will be considered for government procurement contracts.

In my eyes, every woman has something phenomenal about her. In order to achieve full equality, every woman must have the opportunity to fulfil that potential without facing barriers or discrimination. Labour is committed to tackling these structural barriers and creating a society that truly works for the many, not the few.

So as we celebrate International Women’s Day, I urge everyone to come together and ensure that we take the next steps towards full equality for women.

Dawn Butler is shadow women and equalities minister and MP for Brent Central.