Labour MP Anneliese Dodds joins Maidenhead event marking International Women's Day

The Government’s former minister for women and equalities joined a dinner hosted by the Maidenhead Constituency Labour Party to mark International Women’s Day (IWD).

The event on Thursday, March 5, brought together activists, community leaders and members at the United Reformed Church in West Street to discuss this year’s IWD theme ‘Give to Gain’.

The evening featured a panel of speakers, which included Labour MP for Oxford East, Anneliese Dodds, Donna Stimson, founder of the Green Skills Library, and Professor Shireen Kanji, a representative of the Women’s Budget Group (a feminist think tank focusing on the economy).

Professor Kanji is an inequalities researcher at Brunel University London where she leads the Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour research group.

Ms Dodds reflected on the role that ‘strong women’ including her grandmothers and political mentors have played in her life.

She also spoke of the Government’s work to ‘address inequality in the economy’, through the Employment Rights Act.

During the event, Donna Stimson shared a vision of ‘joyful sustainability’ and said that the traditional economy of ‘take-make-dispose’, needs to be replaced by a ‘circular model of give-use-regenerate’.

Following this, Professor Kanji spoke of ‘persistent inequalities women face today’.

Jill Heales, Maidenhead Labour Party’s women’s officer, said: “It was an honour to host such a powerhouse of speakers. International Women's Day is a time for celebration, but also for critical reflection.

“Hearing Professor Kanji discuss the ongoing inequalities women face in the home and workplace reminds us why our political mission for equality is so urgent.

“We are hopeful that the Labour Government’s Employment Rights Act will deliver the biggest boost in workers’ rights in a generation, while also delivering more equality for Maidenhead’s working mothers and women.”