HC Deb 02 December 1985 vol 88 cc17-9W
Mr. Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has had any meetings with the Equal Opportunities Commission to discuss the implementation of those parts of the conclusions of the Nairobi conference on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women relevant to his Department; and if he has any future plans for such meetings.

Mr. Butcher

I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Mr. Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he s taking to implement those parts of the conclusions of the United Nations Nairobi conference on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women which apply to his Department; what resources he has allocated to this; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Butcher

My Department is already working to encourage and facilitate the participation of women in areas of industry where women have not played a significant role in the past.

Specific schemes include WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) Year 1984, a women's working group to ensure that women take a full and active part in the Industry Year Initiative, arid the recently announced national work shadowing project which is giving many girls the opportunity to experience industrial management at the highest levels. My Department has supported a number of other projects including:

  1. i A grant to the National Electronics Council to promote activities including publicity to encourage schoolgirls to consider a career in electronics.
  2. ii £9,000 for the Sheffield local education authority information technology project to produce computer software to appeal equally to boys and girls.
  3. iii The Cambridge women's resource centre in receiving £22,000 towards the purchase of computer software.

Mr. Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for implementing paragraph 58 of the conclusions of the Nairobi conference on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women, on the collection of statistics on the situation of women.

Mr. Butcher

The statistics collected by my Department do not in general lend themselves to being categorised by gender. Relevant statistics on the employment of women are, however, collected by the Department of Employment. I would therefore refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Paymaster General to a question from the Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Ms. Short) today.

Mr. Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will establish a special office within his Department to monitor periodically and accelerate the process towards the equitable representation of women along the lines proposed in paragraph 88 of the Nairobi United Nations conference on forward looking strategies for the advancement of women.

Mr. Butcher

My Department has embarked upon a nationally agreed programme of action for the development of employment opportunities for women. This applies to the employment of women within the Department and the nomination of suitably qualified women for public appointments for which it is responsible.