This week, I presented my Bill to Parliament to require all school uniforms to be gender neutral. 

Yesterday in Parliament, I put forward a bill to improve mental health care for new mothers.

Today is International Women’s Day. Are you doing anything special today? I know some people are attending panel discussions, presentations or exhibitions.

Last year was a year of celebration for women in politics. In February, we marked the centenary of the first UK women being given the right to vote in elections, and in November we celebrated the one-hundred-year anniversary of some women being given the right to stand for election to Parliament.

For over 100 years International Women’s Day has offered us the opportunity to celebrate the contributions made by women many countries.

Over the last two years the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have driven a welcome shift in society’s approach to gender equality.

There is much more to do to address inequality

As a society we have made great strides in the battle for equality, but there is more to do. This year’s theme Balancing for Better urges us all to demand better gender balance at all levels – be it in Parliament, the boardroom or our education system.

This year we also celebrate two Liberal Democrat initiatives on women’s rights – my colleague Wera Hobhouse has succeeded in creating a new criminal offence to outlaw upskirting, with the bill about to become law. And Jo Swinson has fought tirelessly for the introduction of proxy voting for MPs on parental leave, and won the campaign.

Yet there is much more to do.

Our own society is still too unequal, and around the world violations of women’s human rights occur on a shocking scale.

It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure each International Women’s Day represents a stepping stone to a better future for women and girls around the world.