The Women and Work All Party Parliamentary Group

2020 Theme

In 2020 the Women and Work APPG’s theme will be women’s wellbeing in the workplace. Throughout our work, the APPG has recognised that wellbeing is so much more than physical health alone. We have seen a change in the way UK businesses are approaching this issue. Whereas historically, there was a focus on the physical and psychological health of employees, there is now a greater understanding that wellbeing is multi-faceted and interlinked. In 2020, the APPG will take a holistic approach to women’s wellbeing: recognising the different factors which impact an employee’s happiness, health and safety in the workplace. This will include discussion around issues such as financial security, mental health and menstrual wellbeing. It is clear that this is an issue that employers should be increasingly concerned about as ultimately, ensuring that employers support women’s wellbeing will help improve recruitment, retention and overall employee satisfaction.

Previous work

In 2019 the APPG examined inclusivity and intersectionality in the workplace and how a better understanding of the concept can help to support a more inclusive workplace for all women, regardless of their individual characteristics. The report and employer toolkit can be found here.

In 2018 the APPG looked at How to Recruit Women for the 21^st Century, examining proposals to improve female recruitment across the employment and labour market, and has published a report on the topic.

In 2017 the APPG conducted an inquiry looking at how the Government’s Industrial Strategy could help to deliver gender balance within the UK economy, and published its second report, Making the Industrial Strategy Work for Women.

The APPG’s first annual report, Women Returners, summarises the findings of the Group’s 2016 programme of activity. The recommendations helped to shape policy with the introduction of £5m funding for returnships in the Spring Budget.

The Women and Work APPG provides a forum to constructively examine and debate the role that policy makers can play to deliver gender balance within the economy. It also allows Members of Parliament and interested stakeholders to examine the responsibilities of employers and explore what more is required from the private, public and third sectors to deliver the Government’s ambitions for women and work.

Group chairs

Co-Chair
Jess Phillips MP Labour, Birmingham Yardley

jessphillips.net
@jessphillips

Jess Phillips has been the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley since 2015. She has committed her life to improving the lives of others, especially the most vulnerable, and spent five years working for Women’s Aid supporting and defending women. Jess became a councillor in 2012 through the Labour Future Candidates Programme. In this role she worked tirelessly to support residents, with her work being recognised when she became Birmingham’s first ever Victims Champion.

Co-Chair
Laura Farris MP Conservative, Newbury

Laurafarris.org.uk
@Laura__Farris

Laura Farris has been the Conservative MP for Newbury since December 2019. Before her election, she worked as a barrister, specialising in employment, commercial and public law. In 2019 she was appointed Counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, where she worked in particular on the issue of disability in the workplace and in education. Throughout her legal and political career, Laura has been an advocate for fairer employment practices for all. She is a former political journalist who has worked in Washington, New York and London.

Information on all the group’s officers can be found here.