Our vision for equality is not an optional extra, but central to a modernising government, thus helping us to deliver core objectives. We need to embed equality in how we think about all our policies, from the reform of public services, welfare to work, tackling social exclusion, the creation of a thriving economy and a more democratic society.
We want to make a difference to people’s lives on the ground – for all to have protection against discrimination in their working lives; a chance to work where they are able to do so, but in a way which allows them to balance their home and working lives; and for all to be able to participate in their local communities and the wider society.
That’s why I am delighted to have taken over responsibility for women and equality issues in the Cabinet Office, taking forward the work that Sally Morgan began and working closely with Patricia Hewitt, the Cabinet’s Minister for Women. These areas lock well into the other parts of my brief, working with the Deputy Prime Minister on Regional Co-ordination and Social Exclusion.
Leading the gender equality work inside government is the Women and Equality Unit. Working across government and linking departments with women, it aims to bring about practical improvements to women’s lives by ensuring that the impact of policies on women is considered at the outset. Following the election, the unit’s remit expanded to take in the co-ordination of equality legislation and policy, including sponsorship of the Equal Opportunities Commission and a raft of policies related to sexual orientation. It will build on the progress made by government to improve equality over the last Parliament.
And there has been significant progress: the national minimum wage, the Race Relations Amendment Act and a common age of consent, to list only a few. examples.
We have much further to go and change has to happen on several fronts at the same time – through legislation and through deeper cultural change. We need to learn from what we have done already to map out where we have to go.
In our second term, we have already taken important steps forward. In October we introduced the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Bill, which will enable political parties to take action to reduce inequality between men and women amongst their representatives at both a national and local level. For the Labour Party the hard work now begins to turn that into genuine power sharing between men and women.
On the broader equality agenda, the government is implementing the Article 13 employment directive which will introduce a common framework for protection against discrimination at work – helping us tackle discrimination on the grounds of race, disability, age, religious belief and sexual orientation. A comprehensive consultation will begin before the end of the year.
We will continue to focus on the issue of equal pay. Before the last election, we commissioned Denise Kingsmill, Deputy Chair of the Competition Commission, to undertaken an independent review of the action businesses and others can take to close the pay gap. The report is due to be published before Christmas.
But tackling unequal pay rests as much on our policies to help women into work, on training opportunities for women throughout their lives, and on maternity and paternity pay policies where important action is being taken. The employment bill, led by Patricia Hewitt, will deliver for working parents. It will give mothers up to a year off work and recognise the rights of fathers and adoptive parents to paid time off for the first time. It will also increase the amount of maternity pay from £62 to £100. It will introduce a statutory duty for employers to give serious consideration to requests for flexible work from parents with young children.
One of the biggest tasks the government faces is to invest in and deliver public services to meet people’s expectations. Women are central to this goal. They make up the majority of employees in education and the health service and they are also the major users of these services for themselves and their families. So a priority for us is to use women’s insights to make these public services work for everyone.
Finally, much has been written since the election about the increasing ‘disengagement’ of women. How women are engaged in small ‘p’ politics – housing, school issues – but how too many remain outside the political process at a regional and national level. In January 2002, as Minister for Women, I will be launching a campaign to increase the number of women taking up regional and national positions in public life. Research suggests that the main barrier lies in encouraging women to apply in the first place. I will be prioritising a campaign to greatly increase the representation of women on our public bodies, including a programme of regional ministerial seminars designed to encourage more women to apply.
This can only be a snapshot of current activity and future plans. What we have in front of us is an ambitious agenda for delivery and change and I look forward to working together to achieve it.