Hansard

I take the opportunity to celebrate some of the most influential and inspiring women who I know and call friends. In my role in the Parliament as shadow minister for public health and women’s health, I particularly want to mention some trailblazing women who work in healthcare.

First is Dr Eimear O’Connell. Eimear is leading the way for women in dentistry. She was the first woman president of the Association of Dental Implantology, and she works hard to promote women in dentistry in Scotland, England and Wales. She was also the first female dentist in the UK to gain her implant diploma from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. She is a warm and reassuring dentist who builds excellent, long-term relationships with her patients—I should know, as I have been one of those since 2006.

In 2014, Eimear won a UK business award from Software of Excellence, as well as winning best overall practice in Scotland. In 2015, her practice won the award for best patient care.

I also acknowledge that her positivity has helped me in more ways than through dentistry. When things have been tough, Eimear found quiet and discreet ways to support me through them.

In 2019, the BBC selected 100 influential women from around the world, asking:

“what would the future look like if it were driven by women?”

The list of 100 women featured globally recognised names, including climate change activist Greta Thunberg and footballer Megan Rapinoe, but I was absolutely thrilled to see my friend Dr Sarah Martins Da Silva on that list. Sarah is a consultant gynaecologist and honorary senior lecturer in reproductive medicine at NHS Tayside and the University of Dundee. In 2019, Dr Da Silva featured in a BBC documentary on fertility issues and in vitro fertilisation.

What makes Sarah’s approach to fertility different is that her work is running a translational research programme that is focused around male infertility, sperm biology and drug discovery. Why is it so important to recognise and note that on international women’s day? I cannot express it better than Sarah did, when she said:

“I hope that we can harness science, technology, investment and innovation in male reproductive health to redress global inequalities and the current burden of fertility”

that women face.

I met both of those fabulous women while studying at the University of Edinburgh. However, it was not science and healthcare that brought us together; it was sport. We all met through Edinburgh University Women’s Hockey Club. Sadly, sport is never given the focus that it deserves in the chamber despite the positive impact that it has on many lives. For me, it has provided unconditional friends for life.

The leadership shown by women in elite sport should also be recognised. As a child, I was a huge fan of Martina Navratilova—we did not have as many channels on the television, right enough. Navratilova is one of the best female tennis players in history. She is the only player to be ranked number 1 in singles and doubles for over 200 weeks. She won 18 grand slam singles titles, a record 31 major women’s doubles titles and 10 major mixed doubles titles. She is also one of only three women to achieve a career grand slam in women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles, which consists of every senior grand slam title.

However, Navratilova’s achievements did not stop on the tennis court. She came out as bisexual in 1981 and has been an activist for gay rights, along with animal rights and underprivileged children. In 2000, she was the recipient of the national equality award from the Human Rights Campaign, the US’s largest gay and lesbian activist and lobbying group.

Closer to home, Sharron Davies set a record by swimming for the British national team at the age of 11. At age 13, Davies was selected to represent Great Britain at the 1976 summer Olympics in Montreal. In the 1980 Olympics, Davies took the silver medal in the 400m individual medley behind East German Petra Schneider, who later admitted that her victory was drug enhanced. By the time she retired in 1994, Davies had been a British champion on 22 occasions and broken 200 British swimming records and five world masters records.

Davies continues to highlight the need to protect the credibility of fair sport for biological females. The reason that Davies is so vocal on that issue is that she spent 20 years racing testosterone-fuelled East Germans who cheated a generation out of their rightful medals and she does not want that to happen again.

Like Martina Navratilova, many women find that their voices, views and opinions are being cancelled. For all that they have achieved in their chosen sport and for all that they continue to accomplish, they have earned the right to be listened to.

International women’s day is celebrated annually on 8 March to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women and I am delighted to have taken part in the debate and raised all the amazing achievements of women across different fields and across the world.