Politicians must unite when it matters for International Women’s Day

Sioned Williams writes about International Women’s Day

Politicians must unite when it matters for International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day you’ll have no doubt seen social media posts celebrating the day or simply using the day as a way of promoting a product.

However, there’s a more serious side to the day, and that’s to highlight gender based inequality.

With women bearing a larger share of caring responsibilities, spending a higher proportion of their lives in poor health and experiencing higher rates of economic inactivity, gender inequality is real, and it negatively impacts women all across Wales.

In a debate in the Senedd for International Women’s Day, I called on my fellow Senedd members to not only unite to support women's rights in their speeches, but to unite in action when it matters.

At the forefront of my mind was the women born in the 1950s who have been denied pension justice. When I hosted a public meeting with Pension Justice for Swansea Women last year, I heard how 15,000 women in the Swansea area had been affected.

These women, many of whom were given as little as one year’s notice of up to a 6 year increase to their State Pension Age, and some of whom had already accepted redundancy from their work thinking their pension was about to kick in, have recently been told that they would not be compensated for this injustice.

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.”

But it’s not enough to just get women into government, it’s really important that those in power speak up for their sisters.

It’s not enough for our politicians to support International Women’s Day with warm words alone, they must actively counter policies that further entrench gender based inequality.