Campaigners said they were 'extremely doubtful' that proposals in a government consultation paper would achieve the goal of having a House of Lords which reflected the make up of society as a whole, including numbers of women.
Source: Letter 12 December 2003, Fawcett Society (020 7253 2598)
Links: Letter (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
A report said that women had been selected as Conservative party candidates in only 2 out of the party's top 20 target seats. Changes in the candidate selection process had made a 'slight' difference, and 20 per cent of candidates overall were women. But in the bottom 20 seats - those where the Conservatives had to achieve a very large swing to win - 7 were women.
Source: Conservative Candidates Where are the Women?, Fawcett Society (020 7253 2598)
Links: Report (pdf) | Fawcett Society press release (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
A official taskgroup report described the continuing inequalities experienced by women in Scotland, and set out recommendations in key areas - including employment and pay, childcare and other forms of caring, poverty and exclusion, violence, influence and decision-making. Two background papers were also published.
Source: Strategic Group on Women, Improving the Position of Women in Scotland: Agenda for action, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400) | Esther Breitenbach, Statutory Duties to Promote Equal Opportunities and Evidence of Their Impact, Scottish Executive | Esther Breitenbach, Summary and Discussion of Research Reviews on Women's and Gender Issues in Scotland, Scottish Executive
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Breitenback paper (1) (pdf) | Breitenback paper (2) (pdf)
Date: 2003-Nov
Researchers examined the strategies used by women activists in the devolved governments, and the impacts of constitutional change on women's political roles and identities. Women had managed to 'gender' mainstream debates and promote equality issues. However, the 'extraordinary' politics of Northern Ireland, and gender issues getting lost in the broader equalities agenda, remained areas of concern.
Source: Fiona Mackay and Elizabeth Meehan with Tahyna Donaghy and Paul Chaney, Gender and Constitutional Change, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Nov
A 'women's manifesto' for Northern Ireland set out a series of demands on key gender equality areas, covering economic independence, sustaining the women s sector, women and decision making, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and domestic violence.
Source: A Women s Manifesto: Putting women in the picture, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (028 9050 0600), Women s Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and Women s Policy Group
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | ECNI press release | NICVA press release
Date: 2003-Nov
An article reported a study which examined the provision of family care and its impact upon employment and subsequent pension entitlement amongst mid-life men and women in Britain. Fewer men and women who stopped work as a result of caring were members of an occupational pension scheme than other groups; and they had accumulated fewer years of contributions than their counterparts who continued working, with direct implications for their level of pension income in later life.
Source: Maria Evandrou and Karen Glaser, 'Combining work and family life: the pension penalty of caring', Ageing and Society, volume 23, issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2003-Oct
Dame Brenda Hale became the first woman judge to be appointed to the House of Lords.
Source: The Guardian, 24 October 2003
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
A study found little adverse impact of a teenage birth on a woman s qualifications, employment or pay at age 30: but the partner she was with at age 30, if she had one, was more likely to be unemployed.
Source: John Ermisch and David Pevalin, Does a Teen-birth Have Longer-term Impacts on the Mother? Evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study, Working Paper 2003-28, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
The government said that it had decided (following consultation) to establish a single equality body incorporating the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission. It said the new body would provide an 'effective and flexible framework' for supporting equality legislation as well as underlining the importance of equality as a mainstream concern. The working title of the new body would be the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The Disability Rights Commission broadly welcomed the new commission, but raised concerns over 'unresolved' issues concerning the commission's structure. The Equal Opportunities Commission warned that a single equality and human rights body that was not backed up by stronger laws on sex equality would send a message to women that sex equality was not regarded as a priority. The Commission for Racial Equality said it welcomed the new commission, provided it had the power, the resources and the will to address race equality issues vigorously.
Source: Equality Institutions Review: A Commission for Equality and Human Rights, Women and Equality Unit/Department of Trade and Industry (0845 001 0029) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 30 October 2003, columns 17-19WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 30 October 2003, Disability Rights Commission (08457 622633) | Press release 29 October 2003, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244) | Statement 30 October 2003, Commission for Racial Equality (020 7939 0000)
Links: Report | Hansard | DTI press release | DRC press release | EOC press release | CRE statement | Stonewall press release | Mind press release | Age Concern press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
The Equal Opportunities Commission said that a more equal society would improve everybody's quality of life, increase prosperity, strengthen democracy, and improve public services. It criticised the government's failure to change the law so that public bodies were required to promote sex equality.
Source: The EOC s Vision for Equality, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2003-Sep
Researchers explored the role of gender impact assessment in the Scottish budgetary process, and sought to develop tools to enable equality issues to be 'mainstreamed' into the process.
Source: Ailsa McKay and Rona Fitzgerald, Exploring the Role of Gender Impact Assessment in the Scottish Budgetary Process, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: Report (with SE response) (pdf)
Date: 2003-Sep
A briefing from the Equal Opportunities Commission summarised two earlier reports on gender and poverty, and included some unpublished data from an opinion survey on the issue.
Source: Gender and Poverty in Britain, Equal Opportunities Commission (0845 601 5901)
Links: Briefing (pdf) | EOC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Sep
A survey found that only 15 of the 597 full-time directors of the top FTSE 100 companies were women.
Source: Annual executive pay survey by The Guardian, 1.8.03
Links: Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2003-Aug
A small-scale study using focus groups examined people's attitudes to equality between women and men. People were aware that social inequality and discrimination were widespread, and believed society should be fairer and more tolerant. But people talked about these issues in a very different way from equality professionals . People were not comfortable with the term equality , and many questioned the possibility of an equal society. But they were comfortable with the idea of equal opportunities, or protection from discrimination. Virtually every respondent had a personal experience of inequality. Many felt that inequality was the result of 'natural differences' between the sexes. Campaigners reportedly warned against 'over-interpreting' the report.
Source: Melanie Howard and Sue Tibballs, Talking Equality: What men and women think about equality in Britain today, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244) | The Guardian, 2.7.03
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jul
The Equal Opportunities Commission published its annual report for 2002-03, summarising the work of the Commission and the current state of equality for women.
Source: State of the Nation on Sex Equality: Annual report 2002-03, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church (part of the Anglican Church) voted in principle to approve the ordination of women bishops.
Source: Press release 12.6.03, Scottish Episcopal Church (0131 225 6357)
Links: SEC press release
Date: 2003-Jun
The weekly median total individual income for all women in Great Britain in 2001-02 was 145, half of that for all men ( 287). The corresponding median net ( 137) and disposable ( 107) individual income measures were slightly higher at 57 per cent and 55 per cent respectively. Around 40 per cent of all women had total and net individual incomes of less than 100 per week in 2001-02, compared with less than one fifth of all men.
Source: Individual Income 1996/97-2001/02, Women and Equality Unit/Department of Trade and Industry (0870 150 2500)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Tables (pdf) | DTI press release
Date: 2003-Jun
An official plan was launched, designed to encourage government departments to focus on key gender priorities in areas such as childcare, equal pay, flexible working, public appointments and domestic violence. The government said the plan would help departments to identify, measure and improve their performance in relevant areas.
Source: Delivering on Gender Equality - Supporting the PSA objective on gender equality 2003-2006, Women and Equality Unit/Department of Trade and Industry (0870 150 2500) | Press release 12.6.03, Department of Trade and Industry (020 7215 5000)
Links: Report (pdf) | DTI press release | EOC press release
Date: 2003-Jun
A report said that, despite some significant improvements in the position of women relative to men, poverty was much more a female experience than a male one; and that the gender dimension in the government s anti-poverty strategy was largely implicit rather than explicit, and indirect rather than direct. It warned that it was unlikely that targets such as those to eradicate child poverty or provide older people with security in retirement would be achieved unless gender was fully addressed within those policies.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw, Naomi Finch, Peter Kemp, Emese Mayhew and Julie Williams, Gender and Poverty in Britain, Working Paper 6, Equal Opportunities Commission (0845 601 5901)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-May
In response to the independent Greenfield report, the government announced a new integrated approach to tackling the problem of the under-representation of women in science, engineering and technology.
Source: A Strategy for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, Office of Science and Technology/Department of Trade and Industry (020 7215 0052)
Links: Response (pdf) | Greenfield report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Apr