Over 60 organisations from across the women and girls, criminal justice, mental health, and youth work sectors have backed our call for a Secretary of State for Women and Girls in the next Cabinet.

Here, we explain what that means, and why creating this position would improve how government works.

The Cabinet is a team of senior members of government, chosen by the Prime Minister to lead on particular areas of work.

This includes a number of ‘Secretaries of State’. The Secretaries of State are appointed to run a particular area, or department, of government. In the last Cabinet, we had a Secretary of State for:

• Foreign, Commonwealth an Affairs
• The Home Office (policing and security)
• Defence
• Justice
• Science, Innovation and Technology
• Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (formerly Housing, Communities and Local Government)
• Health and Social Care
• Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Business and Trade
• Energy Security and Net Zero
• Work and Pensions
• Education
• Transport
• Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Northern Ireland
• Scotland
• Wales

Each week whilst Parliament is sitting, the Cabinet members meet with the Prime Minister to discuss the most important issues of government.

As you can see from the list above, there is a dedicated Secretary of State for the areas of work the government considers most important.

Each Secretary of State is responsible for running their specific department. They act a bit like a CEO of that department, choosing their own teams of Ministers to run underneath them and be responsible for sub-areas of work.

It is their job to make sure their department is working well and to be responsible for the policy decisions their department makes.

Issues relating to the lives of women and girls cut across every area of government.

However, in 1997, the role of Minister for Women was first created as a dedicated role. Since 2007, the role has either been called ‘Minister for Women and Equality’, ‘Minister for Women and Equalities’, or ‘Minister for Equalities’.

This Minister leads the Government Equalities Office, the unit of British government responsible for gender equality, as well as other forms of social equality.

Since its creation, Minister for Women/Equalities has never been a standalone role. It has always been held by a Secretary of State also responsible for another Cabinet brief – for example, in the last Cabinet, Kemi Badenoch was the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, as well as Minister for Women and Equalities.

This means the most senior politician responsible for women and girls effectively has two jobs. Secretaries of State are more senior roles, and take up a lot of time. Secretary of State duties will inevitably need to be prioritized above work as Minister for Women, because they hold responsibility for an entire department.

This means the needs of women and girls are not getting the attention they deserve.

A Secretary of State is the most senior politician reporting to the Prime Minister on the ways specific issues are affecting people's lives.

Women and girls, especially with multiple unmet needs, do not live single-issue lives. Across almost every government department – policing, health, housing, justice, education, and work – their needs are being failed, and often because the way these public services aren’t designed in joined-up ways.

An informed Secretary of State for Women and Girls in Cabinet could revolutionise the way government works, breaking down barriers between departments and advocating for informed, gender-responsive policy across all areas of government.

We need a standalone Secretary of State for Women and Girls because:

1. Women and girls need and deserve a representative in government that isn’t having their time and energy diluted by other commitments.
   
2. This needs to be at Secretary of State level, so that they can report directly to the Prime Minister, and drive change across every government department also represented at Cabinet.
   
3. The Government Equalities Office would be afforded the full status of a government department, giving it increased power to make policy change on behalf of women and girls.

That's why we're #CallingSOS, and demanding a standalone Secretary of State for Women and Girls in the next Cabinet. Find out more by reading our manifesto, and policy recommendations.