The most telling sign inside Number 11 of how male-dominated this role has been is that there's only a urinal in the chancellor's private office toilets.
After centuries of British male chancellors, Rachel Reeves has become the first woman to take on the top job in government followingWidely regarded as the second most important job after the prime minister, the role of the chancellor of the exchequer has lacked a female touch since its creation more than 800 years ago - until now.
Labour's return to power after a 14-year hiatus means that Reeves has been given the coveted keys to Number 11 Downing Street - the official residence of the government's chief financial minister. The fact she is coming to this job not only as a woman, but also a mother, is very important to her, say sources.
Finally, Reeves has repeatedly spoken of her mission to eliminate the gender pay gap "once and for all". More than 50 years on since Labour's Barbara Castle introduced the Equal Pay Act in 1970 - which made it illegal to pay men and women different salaries for the same jobs - the gap currently stands at 14.3% in the UK, according to the TUC.
Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner were pressed on the decision not to scrap the two-child benefit cap by Anushka Asthana The chancellor went on to say that women are "worse off" after 14 years of Tory rule, saying successive governments have falsely believed "we can build a strong economy based on the success of a few people, a few places, and a few industries"."Women bore the brunt of austerity after 2010," she wrote. "Women were worst affected by the economic and social impact of the pandemic.
ITV News Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana, who has spent much time with and interviewed Rachel Reeves in-depth, gives her take on how the chancellor will make her mark:"Rachel Reeves has come forward as a really authoritative figure, which is sometimes particularly hard for women in politics - and particularly so for women on the left because they can be more disruptive than women on the right. Sometimes, in my opinion, they face more sexism as a result.
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