Dyma erthygl Sioned Williams AS ar gyfer Diwrnod Rhyngwladol y Menywod am pam fod angen i wleidyddion weithredu i sicrhau hynny
Cyhoeddwyd yr erthygl hon yn Glamorgan Gazette ddydd Iau 13 Mawrth 2025 (yn Saesneg).
Women need to be in the room where decisions are made
This International Women’s Day, you might have come across a lot of posts celebrating the day. Some, like the ones that offer discounts on treatments that force women to adhere to unrealistic beauty standards that rewards youth, feel like they’re missing the point.
Another such post that jumped out at me for all the wrong reasons was one from the Welsh Labour account. It showed a picture of the female leader and deputy leader of Welsh Labour - one the First Minister and one an MP – and the post talked about celebrating strong women and uplifting them in Wales and beyond.
It’s very, very important that we say this, but it’s also very, very important that political parties – particularly those in charge – aren’t just uttering warm words.
My mind immediately went to the women born in the 1950s who have been denied pension justice by Labour. They do not feel uplifted. In fact, they feel quite forgotten about.
I also thought about the fact that Labour have also scrapped the Winter Fuel Payment, which overwhelmingly benefitted women.
One of the things that’s often said on International Women’s Day is a quote from the famous American Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.”
When it comes to political decisions, it means we need to get more women to stand in elections, and more women elected to our parliaments.
So, when I saw the post, my mind also went to when Labour Welsh Government scrapped the plans to ensure gender balance in the Senedd.
This is a Bill they’d championed, and that had received backing from the Senedd. Then, ironically enough after we had the first female First Minister, they voted to scrap it.
If Labour in Wales was really serious about “uplifting women”, they’d put their money where their mouth is on these matters. But sure, happy International Women’s Day.