Equality Issues relating to women

Despite nearly 30 years of equality legislation and some notable progress, women in the still face occupational segregation, inequalities in pay and pensions, and are under-represented in positions of power and decision making:

• In 2006 in Scotland, the full-time gender pay gap is 14% and the part-time gender pay gap 12%.
• In 2005, 33.1% of managers are women, including 14.4% of Directors.
• At current rates of progress, it will take another 200 years (40 elections) to achieve an equal number of women in the UK Parliament.
• Statistics show that 75% of working women are still found in just 5 occupational groups – cleaning, catering, caring, cashiering and clerical.

The Equal Opportunities Commission has a vision to see:

• Women and men valued equally. Pay and pensions are equal, and the benefits system treats everyone fairly.
• Fair treatment, not discrimination. Women and men get fair treatment at work and in all walks of life, regardless of their sex.
• Caring roles shared. Women and men share responsibility for work at home. Society and employers support people who look after their children or relatives and go out to work, making it possible to balance both and enjoy life.
• Equal choice, not stereotypes. When women and men choose jobs, educational subjects and how to spend their leisure time, there are no stereotypes about 'traditional' roles.
• Different lives, equal services. We all get services that are equally useful for our different lives. From childcare to pensions, transport to training, services and products meet women's needs as well as men's.
• Equal power. Women – in their full diversity – are as likely as men to be in positions of power, taking decisions in government, business and their communities.
• Women safe from violence. Violence against women is unacceptable, and women feel safe in and out sid e their homes. The justice system is fair to women who have experienced violence.

The legislation:

Gender equality in the is applied through the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.  A new Gender Equality Duty will apply to public bodies in 2007.  Further details on legislation can be found on the Equal Opportunities Commission website below.

Equalities E-Bulletin

A good way to keep abreast of many of the current issues is to subscribe to the Equalities e-bulletin, issued by Highland Council and the Highlands & Islands Equality Forum (HIEF). The section on gender inequalities is sent to all Women@Work members in the W@W E-bulletin. To subscribe to the entire Equalities bulletin, or to look at previous editions, see the HIEF website.   

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Working towards Equality

There is much work that is needed, but a number of government, public sector and private groups are working towards more equality:

In Europe

The European Commission is committed to eliminating inequalities and promoting gender equality in the EU, through legislation, gender mainstreaming (integrating equality in all its policies). There is a Community Framework Strategy on gender equality which provides an integrated approach encompassing legislation, mainstreaming and positive actions. The Strategy is supported by an action programme. which provides financial support with 3 main objectives awareness raising – analysis and evaluation and capacity building.

In the UK

CEHR Women & Equality Unit

Government legislation on equality issues is a reserved issue, dealt with by the Westminsterparliament. The Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) includes the Women & Equality Unit, which has a comprehensive website describing its remit and activities.

Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)

The EOC is an independent, non-departmental public body, focussing on gender issues throughout the . It is funded primarily by the government. Although independent from the government, it is responsible to the cabinet minister with responsibility for women and equality and to the deputy minister for women and equality in the Department for Trade and Industry. The EOC website has a wealth of information, downloadable publications and statistics. There is also a section on the website concerned with Scottish matters. 

The EOC publishes a yearly booklet Facts about Women & Men in Scotland, providing statistics to monitor progress.

The Equalities Review

The Equalities Review is jointly sponsored by the Equality Minister and the Minister for the Cabinet Office. It will report to the Prime Minister by the summer of 2006, and will:

• investigate the social, economic, cultural and other factors that limit or deny people the opportunity to make the best of their abilities
• provide an understanding of the long term and underlying causes of disadvantage that need to be addressed by public policy
• make practical recommendations on key policy priorities for: the Government and public sector; employers and trade unions; civic society and the voluntary sector
• inform both the modernisation of equality legislation, towards a Single Equality Act; and the development of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

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In Scotland

Scottish Executive

The Scottish Executive is committed to equality in all its legislation, and has its own Equality Unit. Information about the unit can be found on the Scottish Executive Website. It supports a number of initiatives working towards equal rights for women, including the Women@Work Project.

Fair Play Consortium

A consortium which brings together the expertise, strengths and information resources of equality bodies and economic development agencies. The website contains a number of downloadable documents.

Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) Women’s committee

The STUC Women’s Committee works to promote the women’s agenda and tackle gender discrimination. A priority this year is closing the gender gap.

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In the  Highlands

Each council has obligations to meet the government Equal Opportunities legislation. 

Highland Council

Equal Opportunities Officer: Rosemary MacKinnon

Equal Opportunities Policy

Argyll and Bute Council

Equal Opportunities Officer: Jennifer Swanson

 

Highlands and Islands Equality Forum

A project to raise awareness of equality issues in the Highlands & Islands offering advice, information and training. It publishes a newsletter, monthly e-bulletin (with Highland Council), and offers road shows to business and groups explaining equality issues.

Highland Well-being Alliance

Working to confront domestic abuse. It has published the Domestic Abuse Strategy and in June 2008 ran a public consultation. A list of some resources for women confronting domestic abuse are included in the Document Library.

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Resources

The following documents on other websites are particularly useful:

Women@Work commission report: Shaping a Fairer Future

Report published in February 2006, containing a number of recommendations on how to close the gender pay and opportunities gap.

Scottish Executive High Level Summary of Equality Statistics: Key Trends for Scotland 2006 provides a range of statistics relating to population, business, employment, transport, education, tourism, children, crime, housing, and welfare - something for everyone. The statistics can also be viewed looking at gender, age, disability, ethnic groups or religion. The statistics extracted by gender can be found in the W@W Document Library in the Reports section.

What has the Government ahieved for women?

Publication (2007) of Communities and Local Government unit.

The EOC has the following documents about Scotland available for downloading from their website (all in pdf format)

30 years of the Sex Discrimination Act and EOC in Scotland (445kB)
Booklet containing testimonies of how the Sex Discrimination Act has effected the lives of people in and a time line of key events in the past 30 years

Gender health and the new public duty in Scotland (136kB)
Briefing paper on gender, health and the new public duty in , written for EOC Scotland by Rona Fitzgerald

Women in the legal profession in Scotland - full report (836kB)
Final Report of research commissioned by the EOC Scotland and the Law Society of Scotland into women in the legal profession in , launched on 9 November 2005

Women in the legal profession in Scotland - Executive Summary (168kB)
Executive Summary of research commissioned by the EOC Scotland and the Law Society of Scotland into women in the legal profession in , launched on 9 November 2005

EOC DRC and CRE joint position paper on public sector duties (90kB)
3 Commissions in joint position paper on public sector duties, published 8 November 2005

Educating for Sex Equality: Tackling Gaps and Traps and Stereotypes (54kB)
The EOC Scotland has produced this resource pack for use in Secondary Schools. The pack can be used in all sorts of subject areas from PSE and Citizenship to English, Modern Studies, History and Drama.

Jobs for the boys and the girls: promoting a smart, successful and equal Scotland (1MB)
The final report of the Scottish component of the EOC's general formal investigation into occupational segregation.

Identifying barriers to change in the Scottish Modern Apprenticeship programme (808kB)
This is the research report from phase two of the EOC's investigation into gender segregation and Modern Apprenticeships in

Equal Pay Guide for Women

The Scottish Women's Convention has published an Equal Pay Guide for Women in 2007. This is available to download from their website or hard copies can be requested.

Enforcing the Gender Equality Duty. A Toolkit for Individuals in Scotland. (pdf file)

Another useful document from the Scottish Women's Convention, issued in 2007.

In addition, some documents and reports dealing with equality issues are in the Document Library of this website:

Shaping a Fairer Future

Report from Women and Work Commission, February 2006.

Muslim Women Talk.

A report from AMINA, of the experiences of Muslim women in Scotland since the July London bombings.

Pregnancy Discrimination at Work

A summary of the new DTI Pregnancy Discrimination at Work guidelines which were published on 1 October 2006.