Eastleigh’s first female Member of Parliament and former Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in Parliament, Mims Davies, has this year marked International Women’s Day - which will be celebrated on Friday - by backing the #BalanceforBetter campaign – a balanced world is a better world.
The Eastleigh MP was the 380th woman elected to the House of Commons in 2015, and previously served on the Women and Equalities Select Committee. She is now the Minister for Sport, with responsibility for Youth, Charities and Volunteers.
Commenting ahead of Friday, Eastleigh MP Mims Davies said:
“As the first woman to represent Eastleigh as its Member of Parliament and the 380th woman elected to the House of Commons, I feel incredibly fortunate not only to have been a part of so many events marking 100 years since the first women won the right to vote and stand for election – including bringing Barton Peveril student, Rachael Vowden, to Parliament to celebrate this with MPs and Lords across Parliament – but also to have the opportunity to raise issues that really matter to women, and to support other women to put themselves forward for election.
“Likewise I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to share my experience with local schools throughout my suffrage roadshows and as a mentor to Katie, the owner of Bishopstoke based Kat’s Bakery, through the Lloyds Mentoring Scheme that I set up a with Lloyds Banking Group to connect young women with business leaders & politicians.
“International Woman’s Day is always a great opportunity to look back at the progress that we’ve made, whether that’s a record number of women in work, banning upskirting or tackling FGM, or indeed facing head-on some of the key issues raised with me by women in my constituency such as mesh implants, nevertheless, there will always be more opportunities that need to be seized, and as Eastleigh’s MP I will continue to look to ensure that we do so.”