18 February 2008
Harriett Baldwin this week joined dozens of other female Conservative Parliamentary candidates to welcome a new report launched by Theresa May and the Conservative Women's Policy Group.

'Women in the World Today' is a new, wide-ranging report which will provide a new foundation for Conservative policy on women's issues.

The report outlines our priorities for women in the UK, and stresses that a new approach is urgently needed to address the different issues women face.

Speaking at the launch, Theresa, the Shadow Minister for Women, said, "Labour has failed to recognise the diversity and complexity of the issues that confront women in the world today. Their 'one size fits all' approach has failed to deliver results."

Theresa stressed the need to recognise the opportunities and challenges facing women and work out where we can act to help.

And she said, "Women shouldn't be thought of as a single monolithic bloc but as 30 million individuals who should be given a real choice over their own lives."

Harriett Baldwin added, "There is so much to welcome in this report. It is shocking that polygamy, forced marriages and female genital mutilation are widely practiced in Britain today. The laws exist to outlaw this, but they are not enforced. Although great strides have been made by women in Britain in the 90 years since they got the vote, there is still a 17.2% pay gap. Female pensioners are much more likely to live in poverty. One in four British women will suffer domestic violence in their lifetime. I am deeply committed to tackling these issues as an MP."

 

Photo: Harriett Baldwin with Theresa May at the lauch of 'Women in the World Today'