Right Honourable Baroness Verma of Leicester

Baroness Verma joined the House of Lords in June 2006 as a Conservative member, and has held several key Ministerial positions since, having an active advisory role in U.K. Government policy formation and development.

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A Party Whip, from 2006 to 2012, firstly in Opposition and then in Government from 2010, the Baroness was also The Lords’ Spokesperson for the Development of Education, Health and Welfare & Pensions, whilst in Opposition, and subsequently, when in Government, the Lords’ Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, International Development and the Government Equalities Office.

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More recently, from 2012 to 2015 Baroness Verma has sat as the Minister for the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and from 2015 to 2016 as the Minister for the Department of International Development.

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Currently, she is the Chair of the Lords European External Affairs Committee and a Member of the Lords EU Select Committee.

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Acknowledged globally as an advocate of diversity and inclusion, Baroness Verma is involved in numerous influential international initiatives to create more inclusive working environments and societies at large. One such initiative was her appointment, by former Prime Minster David Cameron, as the U.K. Government’s Global Champion to tackle violence against women and girls overseas, working alongside foreign Governments and NGOs. Another, was her creation of the POWERful Women movement, in 2013, to address the imbalance of gender representation across the U.K. energy sector in middle and senior management positions.