to Voices — the magazine all about what matters most to women in the UK today.

As the Ministers for Women we have listened and heard what you have to say about the concerns and challenges of everyday life. Now the Government is taking action to help.

This magazine shows the ways we are supporting women in family matters, combining home and work life and making important choices about the way we want to live at different life stages. It’s full of ideas, practical advice and information on the opportunities to make changes for the better.

Of course, no two lives are the same and women’s lives in particular are varied and diverse. What appeals and works well for one may be totally unsuitable and unworkable for another, so there can’t be hard and fast rules. The Government certainly doesn’t want to prescribe. But we do believe that by widening opportunities, improving maternity rights, raising child benefit and extending childcare, as well as introducing universal changes such as the minimum wage, we can make sure all women have genuine choices which suit themselves.

A lot has been done, and we know there is so much more to do, but we are on the road to change for the better, for women everywhere. See for yourself from the following pages.