Government policies on gender inequality

Maria Miller MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities

Lesson Objectives I will get the opportunity to develop my

understanding of Government policies to reduce gender inequalities.

I will get the opportunity to evaluate to what extent gender inequalities have reduced in the UK.

Question

Explain the way each has helped to reduce gender inequality:

- Equal Pay Act 1970

- Sex Discrimination Act 1975

- Equality and Human Rights Commission

- Gender Equality Duty

- The Gender Equality Act 2010.

Long-Standing Legislation to Reduce Gender Inequalities

• Equal Pay Act 1970 (and amendments)

Made it illegal to pay women less than men for the same/equivalent job.

• Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (and amendments)

Made it illegal to discriminate against women in terms of employment and promotion (and other areas including training and harassment).

• Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) 1975

Introduced at the same time as Sex Discrimination to provide support to women in achieving gender equality. In 2006, EOC was incorporated into the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

The job of Equality and Human Rights Commission (est. 2006) is to promote human rights and to create a fairer Britain. The EHRC do this by providing advice and guidance, by working to improve legislation and by promoting human rights issues. Equality and Human Rights Commission was formed with the merger of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and Disability Rights Commission.

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The Gender Equality Duty 2006

The Gender Equality Duty (GED) requires gender to be considered by all public bodies when deciding policy.

The duty requires more than simply the equal treatment for men and women. Public bodies must promote and take action to bring about gender equality, which involves:

• looking at issues for men and women

• understanding why inequalities exist and how to overcome them

• creating effective service provision for all, so that everyone can access services that meet their needs

The Gender Equality Act 2010

The Gender Equality Act (2010) aims to force employers to reveal how much male staff are paid compared with their female colleagues, in an effort to close the gender pay gap. However, the Con./Lib Dem Govt. are not happy with this aspect of the former Labour Government’s legislation and have made the practice voluntary instead.

The Equality Act also aims to tackle discrimination against a range of disadvantaged groups including the elderly, disabled people and those from lower social classes.

Success of UK Government Policies to Reduce Gender Inequalities

Evidence to support view that gender inequalities have been reduced

1. According to a report in 2009 by the University of Cambridge, there are more women than men in high status professions including medicine and the law.

2. More women are in employment than ever before. In 2008, there was almost as many women working as men, around 13.6m.

3. The ‘pay gap’ is falling and is at its lowest ever for full-time employees. The Equality Act, which is likely to become Law in 2010, should further reduce the pay gap.

4. There are many successful women in UK society including Elish Angiolini, the Lord Advocate, Scotland top law officer; Michelle Mone, Co-owner MJM International and Justine Curran, Chief Constable, Tayside Police (pic above).

Evidence to reject view that gender inequalities have not been reduced

1. A study by the Uni. of Manchester in 2007 claimed that although Labour Government’s had done a great deal to promote gender inequality the reforms introduced had largely failed.

2. Although nearly as many women work as men, around half of women are in part-time employment compared to only one in six men.

3. The UK ‘pay gap’ is falling but only slowly. Women receive around 12% less for hourly paid workers. For part-time workers the pay gap is about 40% less. These figures are one of the highest in Europe.

4. The ‘Sex and Power Report’ claimed a ‘glass ceiling’ exists with 5,600 less women in top jobs than there should be.

Success of UK Government Policies to Reduce Gender Inequalities

Questions

1. What evidence is there that the UK Government has been successful in achieving gender equality. Make three points.

2. What evidence is there that the UK Government has been unsuccessful in achieving gender equality. Make three points.

3. Do you think the UK Government has done enough to promote gender equality? Give reasons for your answer.

UK Social Issues Textbook

Page 91 - 94

1. Complete task 1 on page 95

2. Copy factfile on page 75.

3. Read and take notes on page 80.

4. Copy table on page 85.

5. Copy the four reasons why BME are more likely to live in poverty on page 85.