Women in science and technology on Lords agenda

Debate

Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour), government spokesperson for equalities, put forward the debate.

This is a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.      

Members speaking  

Members speaking in the debate included: 

• Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green), founder and former chair of Green Party Women
• Baroness Goudie (Labour), adviser to the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
• Baroness Greenfield (Crossbench), neuroscientist and emeritus professor of pharmacology at Oxford University
• Baroness Hazarika (Labour), trustee of the Fawcett Society
• Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho (Crossbench), patron of iamtheCODE, a charity providing coding training for young girls from marginalised communities across Africa
• Baroness Moyo (Non-affiliated), economist
• Baroness Rafferty (Labour), nurse
• Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative), shadow minister for women and equalities.

Opening the debate, Baroness Smith of Malvern said:

'The theme of International Women’s Day this year is “Accelerate Action” because, right now, the pace of change just is not fast enough.

'The government are determined to deliver for women through our plan for change, where women are central to all of the government’s missions: from halving violence against women and girls to kick-starting economic growth, fixing the NHS and breaking down the barriers to opportunity.'

Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho said:

'I have now worked in or around the technology sector for over 30 years, and I have seen no change in the relationship between the sector and women or in the numbers of women. In fact, I have seen a degradation, not just in culture but in the absolute numbers.

'I had never used the words diversity, equality and inclusion, or DEI, in my life until the last two months, yet I find myself defending the very notion of equality to journalists, people I work with and companions in the sector and outside it.'

Baroness Stedman-Scott added:

'The acceptance I have felt throughout my career is thanks to the contribution of women throughout history who stood up for themselves and fought for women’s rights. It is thanks to them, quite literally, that we are here today.'

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour), Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, responded on behalf of the government:

'Without Mary Somerville, the 19th-century queen of science, we may not have discovered the planet Neptune. Without Karen Spärck Jones’s work in computational linguistics, we would not have the tech that underpins search engines. Without Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell, we would not have uncovered the existence of radio pulsars, a by-product of exploding stars that allows us to test some of the most fundamental ideas of physics.

'Increasing diversity across all sectors, including science and tech, continues to be a priority for this Government. It is a priority reflected in legislation and which we will continue to uphold.'

Catch up

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Watch on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript. 

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• Find out more about the issues the debate covers in the House of Lords Library briefing   
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Image: House of Lords / Roger Harris