“We can work together for a more inclusive world for women”: Jane Hutt MS addresses gender equality at USW event

Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt MS, visited the University of South Wales this week to discuss the progress towards gender equality in Wales.

The Women’s History Month event, hosted by USW’s Centre for Gender Studies in Wales, marked 29 years since the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing in 1995. The conference is recognised as a worldwide watershed in mainstreaming gender equality across the globe.

It was also at this event that Hillary Clinton made her famous declaration that “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.”

The Platform for Action that was agreed at the conference is the most progressive blueprint event for advancing women’s rights across the world. Few people know, however, that a delegation of women from Wales made a significant contribution to the conference, and used the Platform for Action to ensure that progress towards gender equality was built into the constitution of the National Assembly for Wales, established in 1999.

Members of the UN-affiliated Wales Assembly of Women (WAW), who travelled to Beijing in 1995, attended the USW event to explore the significance of the conference, the Platform for Action and the work of the WAW to secure its implementation in Wales.

Dr Rachel Lock-Lewis, Senior Lecturer in History at USW, presented her research into the WAW and its achievements, following historical milestones such as the establishment of the Working Women’s Charter in 1974 – a landmark list which demanded equality in pay, opportunities, working conditions and legal rights for women.

Jane Hutt gave a keynote speech at the event, where she discussed how far women’s rights in Wales have come since the 1995 conference.

She said: “We cannot underestimate the significance of the conference – it was an important turning point in the global agenda for gender equality.

“Since then, we in Wales have made great strides towards achieving gender equality, but there is still so much work to do. The Welsh Government’s ‘Advancing Gender Equality in Wales plan’, published in 2020, sets out our priorities for the short and medium term, and looks to set long term commitments for the future. This plan continues to develop and is a key part of policy development within Welsh Government.

“Gender inequality has been a persistent issue which, although it has been addressed in a number of ways, has been stubbornly slow in moving forward. Wales aims to have a feminist Welsh Government, and this plan is a first step in achieving the long-term vision of true gender equality across the whole country. It is my intention that this key piece of work will make a difference to the lives of women and girls in Wales.”

A tireless campaigner for women’s rights, Jane became the first National Co-ordinator of Welsh Women’s Aid in 1978, and went on to become Director of Chwarae Teg, the charity promoting gender equality in Wales. She was first elected to the Assembly in 1999, and has served as Minister in a number of areas, including Health and Social Services; Assembly Business; Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills; Finance; and most recently, Social Justice, as well as being Chief Whip.