Minister for Women and Equalities
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| Minister for Women and Equalities | |
|---|---|
_(St_Edwards_Crown).svg) Arms of Her Majesty's Government | |
 | |
| Government Equalities Office | |
| Style | The Right Honourable |
| Appointer | David Cameron |
| Inaugural holder | Harriet Harman |
| Formation | 28 June 2007 |
| Website | Equalities Office |
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| Politics of the United Kingdom |
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The post of Minister for Women and Equalities is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom with responsibility for addressing all forms of discrimination, with particular emphasis on gender inequality.
History
The position of Minister of Women was created by Tony Blair when he became prime minister as a means of prioritising women's issues across government. Prior to that, there had been an equality unit in the Cabinet Office and a Cabinet committee, which were continued under the leadership under the new minister.[1] When Gordon Brown succeeded Blair, he created the post of Minister for Women and Equality to handle a wider range of equalities issues. The first Minister for Women and, ten years later, the first Minister for Women and Equality was Harriet Harman. On 12 October 2007[2] a new department, the Government Equalities Office was created to support the minister. When David Cameron became prime minister, he gave the position its current name without a change in its responsibilities. Since its creation, the position has always been held by a minister sitting in Cabinet by virtue of another office (i.e., a secretary of state or leader of one of the Houses of Parliament).
Despite calls from people such as Lord Northbourne for a minister to concentrate on issues specific to men, there is no Minister for Men or similar office.[3]
List of Ministers
- For Women
| Term | Cabinet Minister | Junior Minister |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | Harriet Harman | Joan Ruddock |
| 1998–01 | Baroness Jay | Tessa Jowell |
| 2001 | Patricia Hewitt | Baroness Morgan of Huyton |
| 2001–03 | Barbara Roche | |
| 2003–05 | Jacqui Smith | |
| 2005–06 | Tessa Jowell | Meg Munn |
| 2006–07 | Ruth Kelly |
- for Women and Equality
| Term | Cabinet Minister | Minister of State | Parliamentary Secretary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Harriet Harman | Barbara Follett | |
| 2008–10 | Maria Eagle | Michael Foster |
- For Women and Equalities
| Term | Cabinet Minister | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State |
|---|---|---|
| 2010– | Theresa May | Lynne Featherstone |
References
- ^ Abrams, Fran (4 June 1997). "Harman heads team to put women's issues first". The Independent. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ Legal document creating the new department
- ^ Report from March 2004 on calls for a 'minister for men'
| Minister for Women (1997–2007) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Minister for Women and Equality (2007–2010) | ||
| Minister for Women and Equalities (2010–2014) | ||
| Minister for Women (2014) | ||
| Minister for Equalities (2014) | ||
| Minister for Women and Equalities (2014–2022) | ||
| Minister for Equalities (2022) | ||
| Minister for Women and Equalities (2022–present) | ||
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