MNHQ here: webchat with MPs Jess Phillips and Flick Drummond

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello,

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Jess Phillips MP and Flick Drummond MP, co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women and Work, on Monday 23 January at 2pm.

Monday sees the release of the APPG’s first annual report, which explores the broad theme of ‘women returners.’ It has considered ‘a range of diverse issues which impact on the ability of women to return to the workplace, particularly after taking maternity leave or fulfilling caring responsibilities.’

Jess Phillips is the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley. Before this, Jess spent five years working for Women’s Aid, and served on Birmingham City Council, where she was appointed Birmingham’s first ever Victims’ Champion. Since being elected to Parliament in 2015, Jess has served on the Women and Equalities Select Committee and the Backbench Business Committee. Last year she authored a guest post on Mumsnet in support of the Reclaim the Internet campaign.

Flick Drummond is the Conservative MP for Portsmouth South. Prior to her election in 2015, she worked as an insurance broker, Ofsted lay school inspector and was a member of the TA Intelligence Corps. Flick now sits on the Women and Equalities Select Committee, where her work has included contributing to the Gender Pay Gap inquiry, in which she called for more flexible working conditions to be offered at the start of employment. Flick cites her own experience of re-entering the jobs market after raising her children as important in giving her a first-hand account of the unique difficulties that women face in the workplace.

So if you'd like to talk to Jess and Flick about women and employment, returning to work, their experience of being women MPs (or just plain MPs), sounding off on Twitter or anything else that takes your fancy, do please join us on Monday. As always, please do keep in mind our webchat guidelines - one question each (follow-ups if there’s time) and please be polite!

Thanks
MNHQ

Hello

Record numbers of girls are presenting at gender clinics and saying that they don't want to be women. I'd like to ask what you think the reason for this is and what you think should be done to help them?

Thank you,

I'm interested in Empress question,

Additionally I would like to ask, as women who campaign for women's rights, how do you define women? Is it based on sex, or do you feel traditionally-classsified-male bodied individuals are also women if they feel that they are?

I'd like to ask Jess, as a member of the Women and Equalities Committee, do you agree with the Committee's recommendation that anyone should be able to self-identify as a woman? Do you agree with the way that women's groups who made representations to the Transgender Inquiry were dismissed by Maria Miller MP as 'purported feminists? Would you be happy with teenage girls sharing showers and changing rooms with male-bodied people who 'identify' as women?

Could you please define what you mean by woman.

Is this person a woman? If you don't think he is (I don't) then you are a transphobic bigot, according to transdoctrine. If you do, then what is a woman, please?

Maria Miller believes he should be allowed to self-define as a woman and go and shower in the same showers as my teenage daughter in a public gym - because he self-defines as a woman. She believes I'm a bigot because I don't agree that men who look like this should be able to simply define as a woman and then go and share spaces where women are vulnerable, like changing rooms and rape crisis centres.

Do you agree with her?

I'd like to ask what if anything will ever be done to bring child care provision out of the dark ages. Unless you're lucky enough to have a nine-to-five or relatives to help it's all but impossible to go back to work

How did you two come to work together on this? I've read that legislatures with more women tend to display higher levels of cross-party cooperation and are more efficient at getting reaching consensus and (ya know) getting stuff done. Do you think that's true?

Nursery childcare is too expensive.
Will there be subsidies for all?
Many women I know just give up work and then can only return to poorly paid employment.

Do you think the move to reclassify women and men along identity lines instead of biological sex has any impact on women in work? For example do we risk losing sex based protections if "men" can also get pregnant and breastfeed? Do we risk losing sight of the causes if the gender pay gap if men identifying as women are included in female pay rates - for example the "highest paid female CEO in America " was a man when appointed to the role. Do you think that male born people should count towards the number of women on boards, in STEM careers, etc?

Do you support the idea of increasing paid paternity leave and making it "use it or lose it basis", so that men can take a longer time off alongside their partners? I don't feel that shared parental leave as it is currently set up works for many people.

Jess, I live in Yardley. The area has become a mess since you took over. The rubbish strewn everywhere, businesses just dumping rubbish in the streets. We've stopped walking and instead take the car because I don't want to subject my child to walking across that stinking mess.
Any chance you could do something about it please?

I think key to encouraging women to return to work and make the most if employment potential is to encourage men to be more involved in child rearing so that "trying to have it it all" isnt seen as a criticism uniquely aimed at working women. What do you think the government should do to encourage greater take up of shared parental leave? What do you think about making paternity leave longer and "use it or lose it" with the aim of having as many men as women taking leave?

Jess,

Could you explain how Maria Miller's report on transgenderism not only failed to address the issue of autogynephilia, but didn't even mention it.

Particularly in the light of Ray Blanchards studies which stated that late transitioning males have an 80-100% chance of having the condition. Which is a male only fetish, women don't have it.

Sorry assassin I didn't RTFT

No questions, but just to say that I think that Jess is fab 👍👍

I'm concerned that gender stereotypes women have worked so hard to break down are being reinforced by people appropriating gender for their own personal gain.

Media, schools, and other key organisations are being disproportionately influenced by a small minority of people with money and a platform into decisions around policy that negatively impact children and families, who are being let down by a lack of adequate support.

Can you offer any reassurance that MPs are not going back the spending of money urgently needed for mental health care on things like puberty blockers for children without proper consultation and consideration of all the factors involved?

Jess, how do you restrain yourself from punching Philip Davies?

We know that academic attainment is a key foundation for later career development and progress. What are your views on the recent parliamentary report into the high level of sexual harrassment that girls are subjected to in schools? What should government and society be doing to address this issue? Also, what problems do you think this behaviour poses for the future workplace when these teenage boys are in the workforce? (As a point of reference, there are many threads on mumsnet where women are trying to support daughters in school who are being subjected to a level of assault or harrassment which would constitute gross misconduct in most workplaces and is illegal too, but schools are minimising it & sweeping it under the carpet.)

Placemarking

Also placemarking

No questions, just to say I think Jess Phillips should make an apology about her comments about Cologne NYE before anything else

As an ex secondary school teacher I have many ex colleagues who are also ex teachers. The majority are female and left teaching due to the insane workload and pressure being incompatible with a family - unless maybe you have huge amounts of family support, or are happy to have your children in wrap around care for 12 hours a day.
I believe this is a similar situation in many areas of the NHS.
As these are two areas of employment that the government has huge control and impact on, can you tell my why the government cannot lead by example in making teaching and healthcare more family friendly?

There are many initiatives that could help - salary to recompense actual hours worked, stronger incentives to accept part time requests, etc.

(For example as a teacher with a 50% timetable between dc1&2 I was working a 45 hour week for a salary of £15k. And due to timetable pressure common in many schools my day off was different depending on whether it was week 1 or week 2 of the timetable - meaning a full weeks childcare was needed.)

Jess, I follow you on Twitter and get quite upset at the level of abuse you get from random men generally but more so from Corbyn supporters. Do you think there is a problem with misogyny in the far left of our party?

Flick, I am one of your constituents and I have two questions.

1 Why did you vote against abolishing the tampon tax?

2 When is something going to be done about the Waverley Road situation? I have to take a detour on the walk to school as I don't feel safe walking my children there even in broad daylight.

I would like to discuss part time work. In theory, it appeals to women returners. But in practice, it is invariably poorly paid and low status. I used to teach full time. Now I'd love a part time job in a school - I have a lot to offer! But all I find are adverts for lunch time supervisors...