Fawcett comments on cabinet reshuffle and appointment of Alan Sugar to Government
Following the loss of four of the most senior women in British politics this week, Fawcett is watching closely to ensure that women are represented in Brown’s cabinet reshuffle.
Commenting on the reshuffle, Fawcett‘s Director Dr Katherine Rake OBE said:
“Having lost two senior women from Cabinet, eyes are on Mr Brown today to ensure that he does not backslide on women’s representation. We await with anticipation the full results of the reshuffle to find out what the balance will look like for Brown.
“In the meantime, his appointment of Sir Alan Sugar as the new ‘enterprise tsar’ gives grave cause for concern. Sugar has made outspoken comments which have set the women’s rights agenda back. He claims that maternity laws give women ‘too much’ entitlement and wants to break with equality practice by asking women whether they are planning to get married and have children at interview. Finding ways of effectively supporting women’s enterprise should be a key part of the UK’s exit from recession and there are questions as to
whether Sugar is the man to do that.”
