Reeves tells summit she has always felt she has ‘something to prove’ as a woman

The Chancellor has always felt like she had “something to prove” as a woman, she told a conference.

Rachel Reeves said she is determined to try to improve the lives of women through her work in Government and wants to see more men take the paternity leave they are entitled to.

Speaking at the Women in Work Summit in London on Thursday, the Chancellor admitted to having felt that she always had something to prove for herself and all women.

She told the summit host, journalist and presenter Mariella Frostrup, that while there has been “huge progress”, there is “a lot more to do” to have proper equality between men and women.

“I’ve always worked in quite male-dominated environments, whether it was at the Bank of England or then in financial services,” she said.

“And I guess I have always felt, to be honest, that I’ve got something to prove, not just for me, but for women and also as a woman from an ordinary background.

“I went to my local state school, people did not assume that girls like me would go on to do things like this.”

When she entered Government, Ms Reeves, who is the first female chancellor of the exchequer, spoke about how there should be no ceiling on young women and girls’ ambition.

Ms Reeves told the summit that there is still too much conscious and unconscious bias in hiring decisions, with companies not wanting to take on women because they can take maternity leave, while men can only take a shorter period.

Asked by Ms Frostrup whether she would like to see the leave split 50/50, she said: “I would absolutely like to see more men taking the leave they’re entitled to.

“There are a lot of workplaces that have more generous provisions, but the men still don’t take it, and I think that is a societal thing as well, where they feel ‘it will hold back my career’.

“Well, yeah, that’s what’s been happening to women for years.”

She said: “When I think about what I’m trying to do and who I’m trying to improve the lives of in this job, it’s the women I’m going to meet tomorrow in my constituency who are balancing a couple of minimum-wage jobs with kids in a council house that’s struggling to make ends meet.

“I’m putting more money in families’ pockets, and that does mean in women’s pockets.”