Minister for Women and Equality
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The minister for women and equalities is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom which leads the
Government Equalities Office The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is the unit of the British government with responsibility for social equality. The office has lead responsibility for gender equality within the UK government, together with a responsibility to provide advic ...
. This is an independent department within the wider
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
that has responsibility for addressing all forms of discrimination, with particular emphasis on
gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empi ...
. Prior to April 2019, the minister was based at the Home Office, DFID and
DfE The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department f ...
. Its counterpart in the shadow cabinet is the
shadow secretary of state for women and equalities The Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (previously Shadow Minister for Women, Shadow Minister for Women and Equality, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities) is a position in the United Kingdom's Official Opposition, and sits in ...
. The minister is deputised by two parliamentary under-secretaries of state; the parliamentary under-secretary of state for women and the parliamentary under-secretary of state for equalities. The position was formerly known as; "Minister for Women", "Minister for Women and Equality", and "Minister for Equalities".


History

The position of Minister for 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 The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
and a Cabinet committee, which were continued under the leadership of the new minister. 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 a new department, the
Government Equalities Office The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is the unit of the British government with responsibility for social equality. The office has lead responsibility for gender equality within the UK government, together with a responsibility to provide advic ...
, was created to support the minister. When
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
became prime minister, he renamed the position to "Minister for Women and Equalities" 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). Justine Greening replaced Nicky Morgan as both Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities when Theresa May was appointed Prime Minister on 13 July 2016. Morgan initially held the title of Minister for Women after the resignation of Maria Miller in April 2014, in conjunction with being Financial Secretary to the Treasury, whilst the Equalities brief was given to Sajid Javid who had replaced Miller as Secretary of State for Culture. While the Women and Equalities briefs were recombined in July 2014, the responsibility for marriage equality was assigned to Nick Boles, who held the title of Minister of State for Skills, Enterprise and Equalities and had a base in both the Education and Business departments. Both splits in responsibilities were due to Nicky Morgan having voted against the legalisation of gay marriage.
Lord Northbourne Baron Northbourne, of Betteshanger in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1884 for Sir Walter James, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Kingston upon Hull in the House of Commons as a Con ...
called for the creation of a minister to concentrate on issues specific to men. Instead Prime Minister Liz Truss decided to make the Minister for Equalities value both men and woman equally stating that it was “dehumanising” to be “treated as a woman”, calling for everyone to be seen as “individual humans” instead. The two most recent female Prime Ministers, Theresa May and Liz Truss, served in this position.


List of ministers


See also

*
Government Equalities Office The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is the unit of the British government with responsibility for social equality. The office has lead responsibility for gender equality within the UK government, together with a responsibility to provide advic ...
* Women and Equalities Committee *
Minister for Gender Equality (Sweden) The Minister for Gender Equality (Swedish: ''Jämställdhetsministern'') is a cabinet minister within the Swedish Government and appointed by the Prime Minister of Sweden. The minister is responsible for issues regarding gender equality, popular ...


External links


Ministers in the Labour Governments: 1997–2010


References

{{authority control Women and Equality Women and Equality Gender equality ministries Women in the United Kingdom 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom 1997 establishments in the United Kingdom Government Equalities Office