Maria was first elected as MP for Basingstoke in the 2005 General Election. Prior to this, Maria worked for 20 years in marketing, including board level experience. Maria was appointed Minister for Disabled People at the Department for Work and Pensions in May 2010, and in 2012 was promoted to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Minister for Women and Equalities. In June 2015 Maria was then elected as Chair of the newly established Women and Equalities Select Committee, overseeing significant reports into the prevalence of sexual harassment against women and girls across a range of settings. In addition to her role as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Parliament, Maria is Co-Chair of the APPG UN Women, Chair of Conservative Women in Parliament, and Vice-Chair of the APPG on Digital Regulation and Responsibility. Maria is also a Director and Trustee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Patron of HCUK and serves on the Board of Governors for the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. Maria campaigns on a range of issues relating to women’s equality, including for a 50:50 parliament, the elimination of violence against women and girls, and has been particularly interested in scrutinising the harms that the online world increasingly poses not only to women and girls, but also to the health of democracies.