The Labour MP for Hove Peter Kyle found himself on first name terms with a government minister in the House of Commons today (Thursday 14 April).
Mr Kyle asked the Women’s Minister Caroline Dinenage what the Conservative government could do to increase the number of women in top jobs.
As the minister started her reply, she was heckled by her boss, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.
Here’s how the exchange was recorded in Hansard – the official record of what is said in Parliament.
Peter Kyle: “The private sector has made great progress in gender equality in recent years, but there is still a big problem.
“Research by Simon Fanshawe has proved that there are more men called Andrew, David and John in senior positions in FTSE 100 companies than there are women.
“What more can the government do to incentivise good practice and better gender equality in the FTSE 100?”
(Interruption.)
Caroline Dinenage: “The answer is not to change the names of the men, as someone has suggested.”
Nicky Morgan: “More Carolines!”
Caroline Dinenage: “Yes, more Carolines. The honourable member for Hove (Peter Kyle) is absolutely right, which is why the government have done more than ever before to encourage FTSE 100 companies to address that issue.
“There are now no all-male boards in the FTSE 100.
“The next stage is to look at the executive pipeline and to make sure that we are encouraging women at every stage so that we have more women on boards than ever before.”
