More than a dozen leading British businesswomen have signed a joint letter welcoming Labour’s Rachel Reeves’ bid to become the first woman to become chancellor of the exchequer, saying she would bring a fresh perspective to economic policy-making.
The culmination of years of work by Mr Reeves and Keir Starmer to win the support of business and the City, a range of chief executives and founders said they had all met with the shadow chancellor and “appreciated her open approach to business and her commitment to a real plan to grow the economy”.
This follows a letter signed by 121 business leaders published in The Times last month, shortly after the election result was announced, which supported Labour’s economic plans and said it was “time for change” in central government.
The next day, Reeves addressed a business audience and said that if elected, Labour would lead the most “pro-growth” Treasury in British history and that by balancing the needs of workers with the interests of businesses, the party would “return to the political centre”.
The latest letter has been signed by 13 senior businesswomen, all in their personal capacity rather than on behalf of their companies, including Jo Whitfield, chief executive of retail chain Matalan, and Nicola Mendelsohn, head of the global business group at Meta, the technology multinational that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Other signatories include First Bus managing director Janet Bell, Faith Birch, chief executive for the UK, Middle East and Asia at public relations group FGS Global, Eileen Hayes, chairperson and owner of Hays Travel, and Karen Blackett, former UK boss of advertising firm WPP.
The letter states that throughout their lives, the signatories have “witnessed the incredible progress made by women in business, politics and society at large.”
It adds: “But there are glaring gaps in the area of ​​economic policy-making, where there is still no woman Governor of the Bank of England or Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. Sadly, the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer has been held for over 800 years and has always been male.”
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“It’s not for a lack of talent. From Margaret Thatcher to Barbara Castle, Harriet Harman to Theresa May, we have seen incredibly talented women of all political leanings take on leadership roles. The progress in women’s representation in Parliament is a significant achievement and one we should all be proud of. But we must not become complacent.”
The exclusion of women from economic roles “raises difficult questions for our nation’s politics,” the letter said.
“We’ve seen it in business and we know the same is true in politics and economics. Women’s under-representation in economic decision-making has consequences. From flexible working arrangements to childcare arrangements to the undervalued jobs that women disproportionately carry out to support economic activity, we have made only slow progress in recent decades.”
“This election is a chance for change. As business leaders, we had the opportunity to meet with Rachel Reeves to discuss her economic plans. We value her openness to business and her commitment to a real plan for economic growth.”
“No matter who wins this election, we should not ignore the opportunity to make real, tangible progress.”
