LONDON — Conservative rising star Kemi Badenoch faced a stormy U.K. House of Commons committee session Wednesday as she defended the government’s move to reject a cross-party call for help for women going through menopause.
In an occasionally stormy hearing at the House of Commons’ women and equalities committee, Badenoch, who serves as equalities minister and business secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government, traded blows with committee members and cited “philosophical” differences over their recommendations.
As part of 12 ideas to reform support for women going through menopause, the committee called for a pilot of menopause leave policy in workplaces and urged ministers to consult on making menopause a protected characteristic under equalities law — a move that would make it illegal to discriminate against anyone on that basis.
But the government outright rejected both of these proposals and five of the committee’s recommendations in total, although it last year unveiled a wide-ranging women’s health strategy. Conservative MP and committee Chair Caroline Nokes has already accused the government of making “glacial progress” on menopause support.
Hitting back at criticism from opposition Labour MP Carolyn Harris, Badenoch said Wednesday that the calls for a pilot on menopause leave were being made from “a left-wing perspective.”
“I am speaking from a center-right perspective,” she said. “I do not think that creating another pilot on more leave is what is going to help women who have the menopause.”
Harris shot back: “I think your commitment to women has been displayed quite adequately this afternoon.”
Popular with the Conservative grassroots, Badenoch has been unafraid to weigh in on thorny cultural issues — even before she took on the equalities brief in October last year.
Badenoch told the same committee Wednesday that ministers remain committed to introducing long-awaited legislation curbing conversion therapy — the widely-discredited practice of trying to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity — and said a bill is currently being drafted.
“This isn’t virtue-signaling, fly-by-night legislation that will create problems,“ she said by way of explanation for the delay, which has been criticized by LGBTQ+ campaigners.
