The founder of an influential parenting charity has said that the free childcare expansion promised by Government could leave parents “really disappointed” if they do not see a significant fall in their childcare costs.

The government taskforce responsible for tackling disparities in maternity care only met twice in 2023, despite its terms of reference saying it would meet every two months.

This year, women effectively worked for free for the first two months of the year because of the gender pay gap.

It is an incredible honour to return, once again, for the fifth iteration of The House magazine’s Women in Westminster.

For the first two decades of my life I was immersed in the family dairy farm where I grew up.

Labour MP and committee chair Diana Johnson has said “completely inappropriate” behaviour in the “male-dominated” fire and rescue services requires urgent investigation, as an inquiry is due to begin in Parliament this week.

Attacks on social media are one of the main challenges facing women who are looking to stand for Parliament, Labour and Conservative MPs have warned.

Every year, a small number of pregnant women are sentenced to custody. Surprisingly it was only in 2021 that official figures on the number of pregnant women in prison were gathered and published.

MPs will get the chance to vote on decriminalising abortion in England and Wales, with a Labour MP expected to table an amendment this week.

There are more women chairing select committees than ever before. Natasa Pantelic meets and profiles some of the women in the hot seat. All photos by Jessica Taylor / UK Parliament

Women’s health issues have not always been centre stage when it comes to policy discussions. However, following last year’s launch of the Government’s Women’s Health Strategy, they now rightly have found a place on the agenda. But how can we move from strategy to delivery that makes a difference on the ground? Part of the solution could be found in an important new report, ‘Informed, heard, empowered: placing women at the heart of reproductive health policy’, launched by Bayer UK.

Hologic UK's Tim Simpson and Sarah Smith provide a framework for putting women’s needs at the heart of healthcare services.

Two years ago, I chaired the Defence Select Committee’s inquiry into the lived experiences of service women and female veterans. We did not know at that time what a seminal piece of work this would be.

When Jo Tanner founded the Women’s Parliamentary Football Club, she could not have anticipated its impact. Six years on, Sophie Church discovers how it has helped to bridge divides, forge friendships, and been a great source of fun

The sentencing of a woman for procuring an abortion at a late stage in her pregnancy has provoked significant reaction. For some the focus has been the advanced nature of her pregnancy. For others, the length of the sentence that has been handed down. Some of us are horrified by both.

From AI chatbots such as Chat GPT to the rapid expansion of TikTok, followed by fines for data breaches and bans from government devices, this is a time of huge flux in artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies. Particularly exciting for me is the emerging area of “fem-tech”.

The potential implications and dangers of artificial intelligence have burst onto our front pages and dominated the news cycle over the past month, as experts warn of the possible far-reaching impact of the technology on our lives, jobs and wellbeing.

A new scheme to hire more female data and software engineers is due to be launched in Parliament.

Conservative chair of the women and equalities committee Caroline Nokes has renewed her call for clearly defined processes to tackle issues around sexual harassment in Parliament, expressing frustration that there are currently “no effective measures” in place.

Giving birth can be the happiest moment of many women’s lives, and the happiest moment for their partners as well.

In the second of a series of articles following the publication of Hologic’s report into Heavy Menstrual Bleeding, ‘The right patients, the right setting, the right clinicians’, Sarah Smith reflects on how we can better give women the space to talk about, and receive treatment for, challenging menstrual health conditions.

Exclusive: New polling by Savanta for PoliticsHome has revealed that 55 per cent of women surveyed have little or no trust at all in the police’s ability to keep women safe.

International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of women – whether social, economic, political or cultural.

It is a tremendous privilege to be back this year for The House magazine's fourth instalment of Women in Westminster: The 100; celebrating the outstanding achievements of women around Westminster, who have demonstrated over the past year that they are not only influential in their own field but have the talent and platform to inspire the next generation to make a difference