GENDER IN THE UK
Do we have equal opportunities?
This presentation looks at
•
•
•
Evidence of gender inequalities
Reasons for gender inequalities
Legislation on gender inequalities
GENDER STEREOTYPING
Some claim that there is a “pink collar” ghetto of low paid occupations revolving
around the caring professions.
Women are stereotyped as carers and men as “breadwinners”.
Those who break these stereotypes, be it men who take caring responsibilities
for children, or women in traditionally “male” jobs, often encounter social
isolation or sexist “banter”.
THE PAY GAP
“At the current rate, it will take at least
another two decades to close the pay gap.
Women who work full time will earn on
average £330,000 less than a man over their
working lives – that’s the price of a family
home. It’s amazing that we still think this
is something that a decent society can live with”
Trevor Phillips, Chair of Equality and
Human Rights Commission
SEX AND POWER REPORT 2011
Women with top jobs in the private sector (UK)
2010/11
Directors of leading
companies
2007/8
2006
Sports organisations
2005
National arts companies
2004
Editors of national
newspapers
2003
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
The report concludes that at the current rate of progress it will take women
•
•
30 years to achieve an equal number of senior police officers
70 to achieve an equal number of top company directors
40.00%
THE GLASS CEILING
Girls and young women are outperforming males at all
educational levels.
They are moving into an expanding range of occupations,
and building successful careers. The gender pay gap is
narrowing.
But for many this all comes to an abrupt halt when
childcare comes into the working week.
Mary Gregory, Oxford University
The glass ceiling is one of the reasons for
gender inequality. A study in 2008 by the Royal
Economic Society found that professional and
managerial women who became mothers moved
down the job ladder after returning from having a
child. 2/3 took clerical or lower skilled jobs.
73% of women managers believe
there are barriers preventing them
from progressing to top levels – the
glass ceiling
Source: Ambition and gender at work, Institute of Leadership &
Management, 2011
17% of women believe that
raising or caring for children
has presented barriers to
career development, compared
to 7% of men
Source: Ambition and gender at work, Institute of
Leadership & Management, 2011
DON’T GO OUT ALONE
Recent years has seen a marked increase in sexual attacks on women. 450 rapes were reported in
2011/12 in Strathclyde alone. Strathclyde Police has urged women enjoying a night out in Glasgow city
centre to stay with their friends, especially if they are drinking alcohol.
In response to the increase in violence and ill-judged comments by a police officer, some 200 people
marched in Glasgow’s first ever “Slut Walk” in protest at the belief that rape victims "ask for it“.
Scotland has been criticised for having one of Europe's lowest conviction rates. The Scottish
Government has passed the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act in an attempt to improve rape conviction
rates.
SEXISM AND THE CITY: FAWCETT’S
CAMPAIGN
Straight jacketed: women are disadvantaged
by outdated job structures and attitudes.
Excluded from power: only 11% of FTSE 100
company directors are women.
X chromosome discrimination: every year 30,000
women lose their jobs because they are pregnant.
Impoverishment: two-thirds of low paid workers
are women.
Sexual exploitation: Visiting lap dance clubs has
become an increasing way of entertaining
business clients.
Money gap: Women working full-time earn 17%
less than men.
Nearly 40 years on from the outlawing of discrimination
against women in the workplace – sexism in the City remains
rife. A leading City lawyer is in line for a record £13 million
compensation payout.
Fawcett’s Solutions?
Government:
Extend the right to work flexibly to all
End the opt-out of the EU Working Time Directive
Make pay audits compulsory
License lapdance clubs as Sex Encounter Establishments
Business:
Pay all employees a living wage
Don't fund the sex industry
Implement and promote flexible working for all at every level
Challenge cultures that discriminate against and stereotype women
THE EQUALITY ACT 2010
The Equality Act replaces the Equal Pay Act, the
Sex Discrimination Act and other gender equal
opportunities acts:
Gender is a “protected characteristic.”
Discrimination; when "someone is treated less
favourably than another person because of a
protected characteristic” remains very illegal.
Understanding the 2010 Equality Act
The Equality and Human Rights Commission
Trevor Phillips, chair of EHRC
The EHRC is trying to take a more “holistic” approach to issues of inequality involving gender,
race, age, disability and sexual orientation.
It feels the old “single issue” equal opportunities approach meant some disadvantaged groups
could improve better than others, perhaps even pitted discriminated groups against one another.
The EHRC hopes to “mainstream” equalities law in organisations across the range of
discriminations.
POSITIVE ACTION ON RACE OR
GENDER
Employers are now able to take “positive action” in order to minimise disadvantage by
people who share a protected characteristic e.g. gender or race. This could be to reduce
their under-representation relating to particular activities or their particular needs.
It means targeting assistance to people, not giving them a job just because of their
gender or race. But, if an employer has two candidates of equal merit, it can choose one
on the basis of their protected characteristic in order to create a more representative
workforce.
HAS THE 2010 EQUALITY ACT GONE TOO FAR?
Is the new, tougher, legislation necessary to overcome inequalities or has “political correctness
gone too far”?
The Equality Act contains two new (and controversial) features
Transparency in earnings
The government says transparency is essential in tackling
discrimination, so it is banning secrecy clauses in contracts that
prevent employees from talking about how much they earn.
This does not mean that people will be required to disclose their pay
details, but they can compare pay and benefits if they so choose.
Positive discrimination
Employers will be able to take into account the make-up of their
workforce when choosing between two equally qualified candidates.
If a particular group is under-represented the employer can take this
into account when deciding who to employ.
They will also be able to "fast-track" or select recruits from underrepresented groups, as long as they are equally suitable - but they
will not be allowed to promote people purely on the basis of their
race or gender.
WORK OF “EQUAL VALUE”
It is not just women in professional jobs who face inequalities. Women are overwhelmingly
concentrated in low paid jobs.
Under the Equalities Act, a claim for equal pay may be made by either a woman or a man claiming
equal pay with one or more “comparators” of the other sex.
£20,341,152 was paid to underpaid women workers in Scotland in 2006/2007 and £3,088,163 in
2010/2011.
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING: LAW
Elish Angiolini was
the Lord
Advocate,
Scotland top law
officer until May
2011
Morag McLintock
is head of the
Procurator Fiscal
service for the
Borders.
Baroness Kennedy
of The Shaws, QC
FRSA, She is a
barrister,
broadcaster and
Labour member of
the House of
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING:
BUSINESS
“It’s easy to let life’s
obstacles stand in
the way of your
success, instead of
seeing
every experience as
something to learn
from.”
Michelle Mone
Co-owner MJM
International
Michelle Mone: Take it on
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING:
BUSINESS
“More well-qualified women are
now coming up through the ranks.
We will therefore see a radical
change over the next generation as
those who previously had limited
opportunities and exposure in the
business arena can now make the
next step on the career ladder.”
Nosheena Mobarik, Chair, CBI
Scotland (from September 2011)
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING: THE
POLICE
Justine Curran is Chief Constable of
Tayside Police.
Women now account for more than
one in four (26.8%) of the entire
police workforce.
N.B. Scotland’s eight police forces
will merge into one in April 2013.
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING:
TRANSPORT
“I took on this role because
I am driven to succeed. I am
my own worst critic and have
always worked in a
male-dominated environment
so I don't know any different.”
Mary Grant,
Former Managing Director,
First Scotrail
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING:
POLITICS
Nicola Sturgeon and Fiona
Hyslop are in the Scottish
Cabinet.
Caroline Lucas is the
Green Party’s first MP.
But Caroline Flint resigned
from the Gordon Brown UK
Cabinet in 2009 claiming
used female members as
“window dressing”.
A REPRESENTATIVE PARLIAMENT?
Theresa May, Home Secretary
Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat, East Dunbartonshire.
Just 21.5% of MPs are female. The number of Labour women has fallen from 94 to below 80 – about 30% of Labour
MPs. The number of Conservative women has risen from 18 to about 48 – about 16% of Conservative MPs. The
number of Liberal Democrat women has fallen from 9 to 7 – about 13% of Liberal Democrat MPs. The number of
SNP MPs stayed the same, 1, 16.7%.
IS THE FUTURE FEMALE?
THEWORLD
WORLDOF
OFWORK
WORKIS
ISCHANGING
THE
CHANGING….
• It’s about brain power rather than muscle power
• More and more companies are seeing the benefits
of flexible working
• More of us now work from home
These changes mean that women can take time off
work to raise young children and not jeopardise their
career the way they did in the past.