Janet Alison Whitaker, Baroness Whitaker (born 20 February 1936) is a British politician with the Labour Party. Born Janet Alison Stewart, she is the daughter of Alan Harrison Stewart and Ella Stewart (née Saunders). She was educated at

Nottingham High School for Girls Nottingham Girls' High School is an independent selective day school for girls aged 4–18, situated just north of Nottingham city centre. The school was founded in 1875 and forms part of the Girls' Day School Trust. History Nottingham Girls' ...

, Girton College, Cambridge in the United Kingdom and at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the United States. In 1964 she married Benjamin Whitaker (1934–2014) a barrister, author and human rights activist, who served a single term as Labour Party MP for

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

from 1966 to 1970. Whitaker began her career in publishing. She was a Commissioning Editor with the English publishing house Andre Deutsch LTD from 1961 until 1968. From 1974 to 1996 she was with the Employment Department Group. She was then employed by the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

as a consultant for the Commission for Racial Equality (1996–98). She was then with Independent Television Commission (ITC) starting in 1999, serving as the Deputy Chair from 2001 to 2003. During that time, she was a consultant to the Committee of Reference for

Friends Provident Friends’ Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Based in Bradford, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century Insurance ...

insurance company from 1999 to 1998. In June 1999, she was included in

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's new list of

working peers In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

in recognition of a career in publishing and in the civil service. She was created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

on 5 August 1999 taking the title Baroness Whitaker, ''of Beeston in the

County of Nottingham Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The tradition ...

shire''. She is Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma and President of

Friends, Families and Travellers Friends, Families and Travellers is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It campaigns against discrimination against Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in the UK. Actions The group has accused Channel 4's 2010–2015 series ''Big Fat Gypsy We ...

and of the Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers Whitaker joined the House of Lords on 5 August 1999. Since then she has sat on committees including Home Affairs, Human Rights, and Intergovernmental Organisations. Her focus within the UK is East Sussex and Nottingham. She was an International Development Liaison Peer from 1999 to 2007 and served as Vice-Chair of the UK Parliamentary Labour Party International Development Committee. She chaired the Design in Public Procurement Inquiry (2009) and the Design Education Inquiry (2011). Whitaker lists her political interests as architecture and design, international development and race relations. Whitaker supports

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

in the House of Lords. Contributions include amending Bills to specify obligations to observe good design in housing and planning, to widen scope beyond classic religion to include belief and values; Bills so amended include the Communications Bill, Asylum Bill, Charities Bill 2005, Equality Bill, Education and Inspections Bill, Housing and Planning bill. She is a Patron of

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious be ...

, and a member of the Advisory Board for the British Institute of Human Rights. Whitaker was co-opted to the Virtual advisory panel of the

United Nations Association – UK The United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) is an independent policy authority on the United Nations in the United Kingdom and a UK-wide grassroots membership organization. Programme of work UNA-UK's policy work can be split into three main ...

, the independent policy authority on the UN in the UK. and is a member of the All‐Party Parliamentary Group on the United Nations (UN APPG) from the House of Lords. Whitaker was a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

from 1984 until 2001. She was a member of the

Employment Tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, red ...

from 1995 to 2000. From 1996 to 1999 she served on the Camden Racial Equality Council, first as Deputy Chair and then as Chair. Currently, she is president of the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...

Society.

Professional, educational, and humanitarian affiliations

*British Institute of Human Rights: Advisory Board, 2005– *

: member, 1995–2000 * Immigration Complaints Audit Committee: 1998–99 *

One World Trust The One World Trust is a charitable organization that promotes education and research into changes required in global governance to achieve the eradication of poverty, injustice, environmental degradation and war. It develops recommendations o ...

: Vice-President and former Trustee * Overseas Development Institute: Council Member, 2003– * Royal Institute of British Architects: Fellow *

Society: President *

Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

: Non-executive Director, 1997–2001 * Transparency International (UK): former member of the Advisory Council, 2001–20?? *

UNICEF UK UNICEF UK, also known as the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF, is one of 36 UNICEF national committees based in industrialised countries. The national committees raise funds for the organisation's worldwide emergency and development work. In 20 ...

(United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF): Trustee *

: member of Virtual advisory panel, member of the Lords' All‐Party Parliamentary Group * Working Men's College Corporation: Chair of the Board 1999–2002,

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Governor, Fellow of the College, and Sponsor/Patron

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Janet, Baroness Whitaker 1936 births Living people Labour Party (UK) life peers British humanists Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge People educated at Nottingham Girls' High School Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II