1. Government Attempts to Reduce Gender Inequalities Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham. Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Shadow Deputy Prime Minister.

2. Sarah West is the first woman to command a major warship – 2012. Angela Ahrendts of Burberry is one of only two female chief executives in the FTSE 100.

3. DIRECT & INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION DIRECT DISCRIMINATION – an example would be when an employer avoids employing a woman because they think she will be more likely to take time off work to look after children. INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION – this occurs when certain requirements are imposed by an employer which is unfair on one sex. For example a rule may be applied to everyone but can only be met by a small proportion – shift work or a physical requirement like height.

4. 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.

5. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) 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. 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.

6. . 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

7. The GED will also ensure that public bodies are showing that they encourage equality. For example – they must make sure that adverts and working practices do not favour one sex. There are now targets within the civil service and many other public services for the proportion of women in certain positions. A target of 30% was set for top management posts in the civil services to be held by women by 2008. There are currently 37% senior civil servant posts held by women. This is an improvement but still not the 50% it should be.

8. The Equality Act 2010 – YouTube QT: Gender equality in the UK (08Mar12) - YouTubeQT: Gender equality in the UK (08Mar12) - YouTube

9. 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.

10. The European Commission is considering new laws to get more women into the top management jobs. Currently, just one in seven board members at Europe's top firms are women. BBC News - Davies report calls for more women in boardroomBBC News - Davies report calls for more women in boardroom

11. 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 Reading: “Modern UK Social Issues” pages 42-44