Baroness Mary Goudie

Member, House of Lords
United Kingdom

Baroness Goudie has been a Member of the House of Lords since 1998 when she was appointed a life peer. As a senior member of the House of Lords, she served on a number of Committees.

She is Chair of the Women Leaders’ Council to Fight Human Trafficking at the United Nations.  She launched the global initiative to fight human trafficking in March 2007 and continues to lead this campaign. Baroness Goudie is involved with the G8 and G20 promoting the role of women and children in the global economy. She is an expert in both global issues and corporate social responsibility.

She has continued to work tirelessly on legislation in the House of Lords. In the last Parliament she was very active in pushing through one of the government’s major reform: The Equality Bill. She is vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Equality Group

Since 2000, she has been a patron of the Community Foundation of Northern Ireland which benefits numerous charities, especially those focused on assisting women and children.  She led the campaign to increase the endowment fund with funding from the British government, foundations and individuals. In 2007 she launched the Patrons fund to ensure sustainability and is leading this new campaign.

In Scotland, Baroness Goudie has served on the governing Board of Napier University where she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree in 1999 and she was a member of the Board of the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow. She has been included in the “List of Most Important Women in Scotland” published by the leading Scottish newspapers.

Baroness Goudie was campaign manager to Rt Hon Lord Hattersley who became deputy leader of the Labour Party. She continues to campaign and raise funds for the Labour Party.

In 1971, Baroness Goudie became the youngest woman elected to the London Borough of Brent Council. During her time on the Borough Council she worked to advance the Campaign for a Housing Aid Centre and a Law Centre and she helped found a Housing Association for the Borough.

She is actively engaged in numerous philanthropic organisations including her role as a member of the Executive and Board of Directors of Vital Voices Global Partnership. In this role she has been involved in training community and business leaders and parliamentarians on both social and political issues around the world. In addition she has been very active in raising funds for Vital Voices’ projects. She is also a trustee of Share Gift. Furthermore she is a member of the 30% Club steering committee to influence chairman into bringing more women onto UK corporate boards.

In recognition of her work Baroness Goudie was awarded the 2010 GlobalPower Award by the Center for Women Policy Studies.

Recently Baroness Goudie has set up her own Blog site, which deals with her social and charitable interests and concerns and the work she undertakes in these areas. This can be accessed at www.baronessgoudie.com
Baroness Mary Goudie has been described as possessing a powerful combination of qualities. She has earned an impressive reputation for advancing a variety of Parliamentary and Constitutional issues while being an enthusiastic and energetic person who has amassed an enviable collection of influential contacts around the globe who regard her as a valued and trusted friend.

She is married with two sons and resides in London and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.