English: Thank you very much, Llywydd. It's a pleasure to bring this debate forward today. I will be inviting Jane Hutt, Joyce Watson, Suzy Davies and Julie Morgan to participate in this debate. I'd like to thank them for their contributions. A century since women were given the vote, is Wales a truly equal nation? I will be presenting evidence to demonstrate that Wales is a long way short of being equal in terms of gender. I will argue that we need to give priority to the efforts to reach equality, and I will also be proposing one practical step that our Parliament can take to lead the way. In 1918, women got the vote for the first time, but bear in mind that it was only women over 30 years of age who owned land who were allowed to vote. However, all men over the age of 21 in 1918 were allowed to vote. It's difficult to believe why one would want one set of rules for men and another for women, belittling half the population. Therefore, bearing in mind the centenary, it's worth noting that equality in terms of voting wasn't achieved until 1928. In celebrating the work of the suffragettes, it's clear that we are a very long way from being an equal nation in terms of gender. Women only need look at the gender pay gap, the statistic in terms of domestic violence and abuse, the culture of sexual harassment, and the small percentage of women in senior posts in public life. Let's start by looking at the gender pay gap. The gap between men and women in Wales is around 15 per cent, increasing to 25 per cent in certain parts of the country. Noting the average salaries of men and women shows the disparity between the jobs done by men, mainly on top of the pyramid, and the jobs done by women, which tend to be lower down the employment pyramid. One significant step forward is that major employers in the private sector and the voluntary sector do have to publish information about salaries on a gender basis. Only 6 per cent have done so to date, and by the closing date in April, perhaps we will have a more comprehensive picture. But, already, companies such as the BBC, EasyJet and Virgin have demonstrated that there are large gaps in existence. That is one sign that we are a long way off achieving equality. We will turn now to violence against women and domestic abuse. According to the official figures, one in four women in England and Wales - 27 per cent - will suffer domestic abuse during their lifetimes - a figure that is twice as much as the figure for men - 13 per cent - and the figure represents some 350,000 women in Wales. A study by the National Union of Students demonstrates that 68 per cent of women on a university or college campus have experienced sexual harassment, and one in seven has suffered a violent sexual assault. The continuum of violence and harassment relates to broader cultural patterns of inequality, and maintaining and reproducing an unequal power relationship is at the heart of all of this. Solving this requires a wider cultural and social solution. The recent coverage of sexual harassment in light of the Weinstein scandal has opened the floodgates, with women at last starting to discuss their experiences publicly. My generation has been guilty of sweeping certain types of abuse under the carpet. We need a national conversation about these issues as a matter of urgency in order to explain what harassment is and why it's not acceptable.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Mae'n bleser gen i ddod â'r ddadl yma gerbron heddiw. Mi fyddaf i yn gwahodd Jane Hutt, Joyce Watson, Suzy Davies a Julie Morgan i gymryd rhan hefyd. Diolch iddyn nhw rhag blaen am eu cyfraniadau. Canrif ers i ferched gael y bleidlais, a ydy Cymru yn wlad gydradd? Mi fyddaf i yn cyflwyno tystiolaeth i ddangos bod Cymru ymhell, bell o fod yn gydradd o ran rhywedd. Mi fyddaf i yn dadlau bod angen rhoi blaenoriaeth i'r ymdrechion i gyrraedd at gyfartaledd, ac mi fyddaf i hefyd yn cynnig un ffordd ymarferol ynglŷn â sut y gall ein Senedd ni yng Nghymru arwain y ffordd. Yn 1918, fe gafodd merched y bleidlais am y tro cyntaf, ond cofiwch chi, dim ond merched dros 30 a oedd efo ychydig bach o dir. Serch hynny, roedd pob dyn yn 1918 dros 21 oed yn cael pleidleisio. Anodd credu pam y byddai unrhyw un eisiau un set o reolau i ddynion a set arall i ferched, gan fychanu hanner y boblogaeth. Felly, wrth gofio'r canmlwyddiant, mae'n werth nodi nad oedd cydraddoldeb o ran pleidleisio tan 1928, mewn gwirionedd. Wrth ddathlu gwaith y syffrajéts, mae'n amlwg ein bod ni bell, bell o fod yn wlad gydradd o ran rhywedd. Nid oes ond angen edrych ar y bwlch cyflogau rhwng dynion a menywod, yr ystadegau ynglŷn â thrais a chamdriniaeth ddomestig yn erbyn menywod, y diwylliant o aflonyddu rhywiol, a'r ganran fechan o ferched sydd mewn swyddi uchel yn y byd cyhoeddus. Fe wnawn ni ddechrau drwy edrych ar y bwlch cyflog. Mae'r bwlch cyflog rhwng dynion a merched yng Nghymru tua 15 y cant, yn codi i 25 y cant mewn rhannau o'r wlad. Mae nodi cyfartaledd cyflogau dynion a merched yn dangos yr anghydbwysedd rhwng y swyddi mae dynion yn eu gwneud, gan amlaf ar dop y pyramid, a'r swyddi mae'r merched yn eu gwneud, sy'n tueddu i fod yn is i lawr y pyramid cyflogau. Un cam sylweddol ymlaen ydy bod rhaid i gyflogwyr mawr yn y sector preifat a gwirfoddol gyhoeddi gwybodaeth am gyflogau ar sail rhywedd. Dim ond 6 y cant o gyflogwyr sydd wedi cyhoeddi eu manylion hyd yma, ac erbyn y dyddiad cau yn Ebrill, efallai y cawn ni ddarlun gwell. Ond eisoes, mae cwmnïau fel y BBC, EasyJet a Virgin wedi dangos bod bylchau mawr yn bodoli, a dyna i chi un arwydd ein bod ni'n bell o gyrraedd cydraddoldeb. Fe drown ni at drais yn erbyn merched a chamdriniaeth yn y cartref. Yn ôl y ffigurau swyddogol, mae un o bob pedair merch yng Nghymru a Lloegr - 27 y cant - yn dioddef o gamdriniaeth ddomestig yn ystod eu hoes - ffigur sydd dros ddwywaith cymaint ag ydyw i ddynion - 13 y cant - ac mae'r ffigur yn cynrychioli tua 350,000 o ferched yng Nghymru. Mae astudiaeth gan Undeb Cenedlaethol y Myfyrwyr yn dangos bod 68 y cant o ferched ar gampws coleg neu brifysgol wedi profi aflonyddu rhywiol, ac un o bob saith wedi dioddef ymosodiad rhywiol treisgar. Mae'r continwwm o drais ac aflonyddu merched yn ymwneud â phatrymau ehangach diwylliannol o anghydraddoldeb rhywedd, ac yn ganolog i'r cyfan mae cynnal ac atgynhyrchu perthynas o bŵer anghyfartal. Mae datrys y broblem yn gorfod cynnwys datrysiad diwylliannol cymdeithasol ehangach. Mae'r sylw diweddar i aflonyddu rhywiol yn sgil sgandal Weinstein wedi agor y llifddorau, gyda merched o'r diwedd yn dechrau trafod eu profiadau yn gyhoeddus. Mae fy nghenhedlaeth i wedi bod yn euog o ysgubo rhai mathau o aflonyddu o dan y carped. Rydym angen sgwrs genedlaethol amdano ar frys er mwyn egluro beth ydy aflonyddu a pham nad ydy o'n dderbyniol.