Esther McVey

We know that children living in a household with someone in work do better in school, have better educational attainment, and are more likely to have a job later in life than children growing up in a home where no one works.

I guess, as a young girl growing up in Liverpool in the '80s, when unemployment was high, my ideal job would have been to have been Minister for Employment to see, can you solve these problems? Can you get people into work?

I always thought, as I was growing up, that I'd be married with children. That hasn't happened.

When I was growing up, my parents put money into food, utility bills, and the mortgage.

When I became minister for employment, that was my ideal job because it meant I was able to reflect on what I saw growing up and actually try to change it.

Growing up with a bold feminist in my mother, I witnessed her march magnificently from mini to maxi, fashions so obviously linked to powerful statements of female progression, equality and recognition. I knew no other than freedom of expression in all the forms it came in; art, theatre, fashion, literature and music.

One of my best friends was the first U.K. female fighter pilot.

Lifelong learning is becoming commonplace, with people studying at different times when they see the benefits of doing so.

Sometimes, for girls, it's about building confidence and giving them a can-do attitude. It's seeing role models, people like yourselves, doing those jobs and achieving them, just to say, 'I can do that.'

I, for one, want to make sure we give every young person the chance to find the fuel for their confidence, something that will power their ambition.

People shouldn't have to lose their accents to get a fair crack at the whip at a job or move up within a sector or industry.

What I like to see is people like Beyonce. Here is a woman who is bling-a-ding. Not only does she look like that and act like that - I've seen her perform, and I was blown away - but she is at the top of her profession.