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.
About the Group
While in recent years we have seen a change in the way that UK businesses work to increase the number of women recruited into the workforce, women still face financial hardship and barriers when it comes to employment. The issue is not just about getting women into work but ensuring retention of female employees by rapidly improving workplace systems and infrastructures to enable women to thrive. We aim to take an intersectional approach to women in the workplace, enabling all women to succeed and be valued in their chosen area of work.
This year, the APPG will explore the intersection of AI and technology with women’s participation in the workforce, a critical and timely theme given the government's focus on tech and AI as drivers of growth and innovation.
So let’s take a glance at the current situation:
As of April 2024, the UK gender pay gap among full-time employees stood at 7.0%, a slight decrease from 7.5% in April 2023. This means that, on average, women earned 93% of what men earned per hour. Over the past decade, this gap has narrowed by approximately 25%.
Recent studies suggest that progress toward closing the gender pay gap is slow. A 2025 report projects that, at the current rate, pay equality may not be achieved until 2065. Additionally, research by the Office for National Statistics suggests that the percentage of women employed in tech in the UK declined by 3,000 between the first and second quarters of 2023. Projections suggest that, without significant intervention, it could take 283 years to achieve gender parity in the tech workforce.
These statistics highlight the need to act now, showing the ever more important work of this APPG.
Ultimately, only by addressing the challenges and costs faced can we help ensure women don’t get penalised financially further and can pave the way for women in the workplace to be treated as valued employees.
We welcome all to our discussions to advocate for this positive change.
Officers
Co Chair: Catherine Fookes MP
Catherine Fookes has served as the Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire since the 2024 General Election.
She was educated at Middlesex Polytechnic and the University of Bath. Before entering politics, she worked in the advocacy and charity sector, including in roles at ActionAid, Sustain, and the Organic Trade Board. She also served as CEO of the Women's Equality Network Wales (WEN Wales). During her time as CEO of WEN Wales between 2017 to 2023, Fookes lead the Diverse5050 campaign, which resulted in the Welsh Government committing to legally binding gender quotas, making Wales the first UK nation to do so. She also secured Welsh Government support for incorporating the UN’s CEDAW convention into Welsh law to protect women’s rights.
Fookes began her political career in 2022 when she won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council. She later resigned from her role in 2023 after being selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Monmouthshire. Shortly following her election to Parliament, she was appointed to the Women and Equalities Select Committee. Fookes is also Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women and Work.
Co Chair: Baroness Brady
Baroness Brady was appointed to the House of Lords as a Conservative life peer in 2014. Her work spans across business, sports, and media, and she is known for her advocacy of women in leadership roles.
Baroness Brady is the Vice-Chair of West Ham United F.C., and an aide to Lord Sugar on BBC’s The Apprentice. At age 23, she was appointed Managing Director of Birmingham City F.C. becoming the first woman to hold such a post in the top flight of English football.
Baroness Brady has long advocated for women in business. She encourages successful women to mentor and support other women to help them progress in their careers. She believes in creating opportunities for women to develop the confidence to aim for leadership roles and emphasizes the importance of diversifying boards by including female entrepreneurs. Baroness Brady also famously stated that companies without women on their boards should explain why to shareholders.
Prior to being appointed to the House of Lords, Baroness Brady was a Government Business Ambassador between 2013 to 2016.
A full list of APPG Members can be found here.
Information on all the group’s officers can be found here.
Contact the Group
Connect provide the Secretariat to the Group on behalf of the Group sponsors. For information on Connect’s clients, please visit the PRCA Register.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the APPG, please contact us on 0207 592 9592 or email at womenandworkappg@connectpa.co.uk.
This is not an official website [or Feed] pf parliament. It has not been approved by either House. APPGs are informal groups of Parliamentarians with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed are those of the group.
Upcoming events:
Entrepreneurship and Investment: breaking barriers for female founders
Date: Tuesday 17 June
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Venue: Meeting Room M, Portcullis House, Westminster
This session will focus on the barriers women face pursuing entrepreneurialism. While female entrepreneurship in the UK continues to grow, conditions for women seeking investment are reportedly getting worse, not better. Addressing this inequity requires increased visibility, better data, and policy that supports inclusive investment practices.
Making industry work for women
Date: Tuesday 8 July
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Venue: Meeting Room M, Portcullis House, Westminster
This session will focus on how more inclusive environments in non-office workspaces can be created for women, particularly in industries like construction and infrastructure, where women often face significant challenges, including lack of access to sanitary products, inadequate facilities for menstruation, and the absence of private spaces for breastfeeding or expressing milk. Women working in construction and other site-based industries frequently encounter barriers that are rarely addressed, impacting their health and wellbeing and their ability to stay in these vital sectors. It is essential that this is addressed to ensure that women can fully participate in the industry.
Women in the Public Eye
Date: Monday 15 September
Time: 14:00 - 15:00
Venue: Jubilee Room, Parliament
This session will explore the growing dangers faced by women in public-facing roles, notably politicians. It will examine the rise of misogyny, the impact of media scrutiny, and the safety threats that women encounter, as seen in the 2024 General Election campaign. Digital platforms, media narratives, and hostile online communities contribution to gendered abuse and the urgent need for stronger protections will be explored along with policy solutions, platform accountability, and support mechanisms to safeguard women in the public eye.
We will also be holding the following session with Assystem as an offshoot of the APPG’s work to mark International Women in Engineering Day:
Engineering the Future: Women Leading STEM
Date: Monday 23 June
Time: 14:00 - 17:00
Venue: The Institute of Mechanical Engineers, One Birdcage Walk, Westminster, SW1H 9JJ (Manufacturing Room)
This event will bring together a distinguished group of industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to advance the national conversation on gender equality in STEM by addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing women and girls in the sector, including breaking down stereotypes that discourage girls from pursuing physics and mathematics at A-Level and supporting women’s career progression into STEM leadership roles, particularly within the nuclear industry.
Register to attend here.
Past events:
Empowering women in STEM: skills for the future
Date: Tuesday 6 May
This session focussed on empowering women in STEM to develop their skills for the future, exploring why women remain underrepresented in many technical fields, particularly in engineering, computing, and AI.
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Group Sponsors
The Group is supported by a range of organisations across the business world who help fund the running of the Group via its secretariat, Connect.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the Group please contact:
womenandworkappg@connectpa.co.uk.
