Liz Truss has won the leadership race to be elected as the UK’s Prime Minister. She is only the third woman to ever hold the post, following in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher in 1975 and Theresa May in 2016. While it is important for women’s representation in politics, will it be a win for women’s rights?
She’s not got off to the best start. The PM has chosen not to appoint a minister for women, choosing to appoint Nadhim Zahawi to the role of minister for equalities instead,
Although a spokesperson confirmed that Zahawi’s role also “covers women” women have reacted with dismay at Truss’s decision arguing that the removal of the word “women” from the title of a ministerial role – and the job given to a man means to erase women from the equalities agenda.”
Caroline Nokes, the Conservative chair of the women and equalities select committee, has described this decision as “disappointing,” adding: “Liz Truss spoke a great deal about how she knew what a woman was during the course of the leadership campaign; we heard the word woman used an awful lot. So it’s disappointing that it then gets dropped from the job title.”
The role given to Zahawi has been called “ women and equalities”, or separated into two ministerial roles, for more than a decade. Zahawi is not the first man to hold the brief, but he is the first man to also have responsibility for both aspects of it.
Women say that removal of the word “women” from the equalities role is less surprising than it may at first appear. Truss had actually been Minister for Women and Equalities since 2019 and while in the post, she often ignored invitations to attend the women and equalities select committee, and rarely used social media to talk about her role. In 2021 even the Women and Equalities Committee accused her of treating this role as a “side hustle.” So for many, scrapping of the word woman from the role confirmed that women were “always an afterthought for the Tories.”
Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, also reacted with outrage to the decision. “Women make up over half of the population; we are still paid less than men, face horrific levels of gender-based violence, do the bulk of unpaid care, and have been hit hardest by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis,” she said. “It’s simply unacceptable that with this backdrop of disadvantage, women’s representation is being downgraded within Truss’s cabinet.”
Where does Liz Truss stand on women’s issues?
During her time as Minister for Women and Equalities, rape convictions plummeted to the lowest number yet. In response, Truss said: “Through increased police training, new offences, faster processes for rape victims and our Domestic Abuse Register, we will ensure victims are protected, and crimes are prevented in the first place.” Women’s charity Refuge have urged her to do more.
Earlier this year, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service called out Truss for ignoring their demands to publicly denounce the overruling of Roe v. Wade in the USA. BPAS said that both Truss and rival candidate Rishi demonstrated a “pattern of abstention when it comes to the issue of abortion.”
Truss has consistently voted in favour of same-sex marriages, however there have been concerns surrounding her attitude towards the trans community. During the TalkTV leadership hustings on 25 August, when asked if “trans women are women”, Truss responding saying no.
Truss has not explicitly outlined how she will support women during the crisis, but has promised to enact £30bn worth of tax cuts within weeks of taking office.
During a campaign appearance, Truss said, “The tax cuts I’m talking about will be delivered on day one because we have an immediate issue that families are struggling with the cost of fuel, with the cost of food.”
Sources: Guardian, Indepedent, Cosmopolitan, Glamour Magazine