It’s probably fair to say that we don’t tend to think of women having much political or public influence in Middle Eastern or Islamic countries.

When crises hit, vulnerable groups are disproportionately impacted. Over the past few years of Covid and economic stress, we’ve seen the effects on women and girls and how gender equality has been rolled back by a generation around the world.

International Women in Engineering Day, brought to you by Women’s Engineering Society will celebrate its 9th year in 2022. Figures as of June 2021 show that 16.5% of engineers are women.

• 3 in 5 of us would hire female plumbers, carpenters, electricians and builders to work in our homes


• Only 1% of tradespeople working in UK construction industry are female


• North American campaign group, Tradeswomen Building Bridges attend special event in Parliament to share secrets of their success

Sooner or later, every woman entrepreneur pitching for investment will encounter a similar experience.

Every one of us has experienced the excitement of finding the right job. Reading through the advertisement, knowing it’s tailor made for you, excited to get stuck in and show off your skills. But then you see there’s no salary listed. Some people see that as a challenge; a chance to head to the negotiating table and ask for what they want. But for others, it means they end up receiving less than they are worth, and deserve.

In Ukraine, International Women’s Day is usually a public holiday, an opportunity to mark the unique role women play in the culture of the whole nation. This year will be very different. Thousands of Ukrainian women, their children and family members are forced to flee their homeland, fearing for their lives, as the country faces brutal attack from a mindless dictator.

Last week, a photograph of the CEO luncheon at the Munich Security Conference was widely ridiculed as it showed a large room packed with exclusively white men of a certain age. With countless reports showing the benefits of diversity in decision making, it was no wonder that this group of leaders seemed absurdly out of touch.

The saying: ‘if you want a job done, give it to a busy woman’ holds particularly true in a year in which we have all faced a great many challenges – and nowhere more so than in the world of Westminster.

The key to continually improving society is just that - continuous improvement. By its very definition, it is the ongoing betterment of our society. The only sustainable way we can ensure progress doesn’t stop, or even worse recede, is to pass on our successes to others to help them overtake us.

I’m delighted that The House magazine’s Women in Westminster: The 100 is back for a third year; and we continue to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of women over the past twelve months in public life, by recognising one hundred women who have inspired in their sector in the world of Westminster. You can view this year's list now at www.womeninwestminster.co.uk.

Cases of sexual harassment and rape involving serving soldiers will continue to be heard in the military courts, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed following an inquiry into how women are treated in the armed forces.

The House magazine’s Women in Westminster: The 100, is back for a third year, and nominations are now open at www.womeninwestminster.co.uk.

Much was made of the 50-50 gender split in Boris Johnson’s top team following the recent cabinet reshuffle, with Liz Truss’s promotion to Foreign Secretary alongside Priti Patel as Home Secretary meaning that two of the four most significant roles in government are now held by women.

The UK government must ensure there is a global commitment to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees and give concrete support for gender equality and women and girls’ leadership.

I hope that our new Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, will prioritise education for Afghan children. Thanks to her work as Minister for Women and Equalities, she knows better than most the central importance of a quality education to girls’ empowerment.

Half-hearted legislation to subject gun license applicants to a social media check will remain ineffective unless misogynistic motivations behind the violence are acknowledged.

If ever passed, a law introducing buffer zones would set a dangerous and unjust precedent for restrictions on other opinions that may challenge the perceived status quo at any given time.

Babies from minority ethnic or socioeconomically deprived backgrounds continue to be at significantly greater risk of perinatal death than their white or less deprived peers.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) been criticised for rejecting Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy’s request for a locum to cover her maternity leave.

Making misogyny a hate crime would cement a new mindset into future generations of men and boys that every day, casual sexism and misogyny is unacceptable.

The Rape Review didn’t come close to meeting the scale of the challenge in the criminal justice system. We need a tangible, urgent plan to address what has effectively become the decriminalisation of rape in this country.

Peer-on-peer sexual abuse was rife when the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee reported five years ago. Fast forward, Ofsted are only now giving it the attention it deserves.