women in london

“Rendering the Equality Act virtually toothless undermines every speech Coalition ministers ever gave endorsing the notion of a fairer Britain.”

The Fawcett Society has today (30th September 2010) warned that the Coalition’s failure to implement the Equalities Act 2010 in full risks not just endorsing but widening the gender pay gap in the current and foreseeable economic climate. (1)

The government has stated that is now “reviewing” several sections of the Act that was passed by parliament in April 2010, and so it will not be implemented in full on October 1st as was originally planned.

All of the sections under review were opposed by the Conservatives in opposition but supported by the Liberal Democrats.

Among these is the provisions that would give government the power to require big business – private sector companies with over 250 employees – to establish whether they have a pay gap between men and women, and publish their findings if they do not make enough voluntary progress in the next three years.

Ceri Goddard, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society, said:

“40 years after the Dagenham machinists first striked for equal pay, women working in Dagenham earn an average 30 per cent less than men and nationally the gap between the average man and women’s pay is a staggering 16.4 per cent. (2)

“It’s ironic that the film charting their struggle hits cinemas the same day that the key equal pay measures in the Equality Act 2010 are being held back by government. Rowing back on the requirement for big business to publish and take action on any differences in pay between men and women employees – so to conduct gender pay audits – is tantamount to endorsing the shocking gender pay gap. (3)

“All our research and experience shows that gender pay audits are key to shrinking the persistent gap in pay between women and men – its utterly nonsensical to suggest we can tackle pay differences between men and women if we can’t see where they are – more transparency is key. While banning secrecy clauses will go some way to creating a more transparent discussion around pay, it’s not nearly enough to ensure real progress. Done right, conducting a pay audit is a simple and inexpensive process that can happen alongside annual accounts.

Ceri went on to express the Fawcett Society’s concerns with the Coalition’s plans for the Equality Act as a whole.

“The Equalities Act 2010 is a litmus test of the government’s commitment to fairness. Failing to implement it in full sends out a clear signal that creating a more equal society is a low priority for the Coalition.

“Alongside concerns around measures to combat the pay gap, we are also worried that government plans to review the mechanism that allows those who may face ‘double discrimination’ – black women for example – to bring just the one claim means making it harder for some of those most at risk of discrimination to defend themselves. (4)

“Scrapping the Positive Action clause that would allow organisations to better address under-representation of people with protected characteristics would also be a backwards step – especially at a time of rising unemployment. (5)

“People at risk of discrimination face even tougher times than the rest during periods of financial unrest; watering down equality law during a recession weakens what little protection some of the most marginalised in our society have.

“Rendering the Equality Act virtually toothless undermines every speech Coalition ministers ever gave endorsing the notion of a fairer Britain. The Act isn’t perfect, but the government seems determined to implement it in name only.”

“Following an emergency budget that is seeing over 70 per cent of public spending cuts being borne by women this adds insult to injury, and joints the increasing battery of anti equality measures emanating from the coalition that is far outweighing its positive actions”

1. More information on the Equalities Act 2010 can be found at: http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_bill.aspx
2. For more information on the national average pay gap please see http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
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   The Dagenham & Rainham constituency has a gender pay gap of 32.2 per cent (women’s mean, full-time gross hourly pay/men’s mean, full-time gross hourly pay), see below for details:
   Full-time, mean, gross hourly pay
   All employees: £16.46
   Male employees: £18.22
   Female employees: £12.35

   (Source: Office for National Statistics, 2009 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Analysis by Place of work by Parliamentary Constituency (2009), available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE-2009/2009_work_pc.pdf)

3. Gender pay gap information is dealt with at Section 78 of the Equality Act 2010. Applying only to private sector firms that employ more than 250 employees, Section 78 gives employers a ‘grace period’ up to April 2013 during which they can voluntarily publish details on their gender pay gap, before giving government powers to enforce this requirement if sufficient progress on reporting has not been made by 2013.
4. Section 14 of The Equality Act 2010 deals with ‘combined discrimination’ to protect people who experience discrimination because of a combination of two characteristics. This would mean, for example, that a black woman who is discriminated against because her employer has particular stereotyped attitudes towards black women – as opposed to black men or white women – could bring a single claim for combined race and sex discrimination. At the moment, people may only bring separate discrimination claims relating to one protected characteristic; such as their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
5. Part 11 ( Advancement of Equality), Chapter 2 of the Equality Act considers Positive Action. This will allow organisations to address under-representation of people with protected characteristics if they choose. For example if a company had identified two candidates for the same position with exactly the same skills and experience it will allow the company to choose a candidate on the basis that this would allow them to redress an imbalance or under representation of particular group, if they choose. The provisions signal a political gesture and will to recognise and address the underrepresentation of groups with protected characteristics in employment and in public life.
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   Fawcett is also concerned that Government proposals, currently out for consultation, to water down the specific equality duties placed on public bodies under that will be required under the new Equality Act. As it stands, this requires that public authorities assess how their policies impact on equality between women and men and other protected ground, the coalition propose making this requirement a ‘should’ rather than a ‘must’.