An article examined the evolving use of state agencies to address gender relations. The advent of the new Commission on Equality and Human Rights appeared to involve the demise of a singular focus on gender equality and with it the justification for separate women's policy agencies.
Source: Judith Squires, 'The challenge of diversity: the evolution of women's policy agencies in Britain', Politics and Gender, Volume 3 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Dec
A report examined the different financial behaviour of women and men over their lifetimes, including their savings, pensions, and debts. More action was needed to tackle deep-seated gender inequalities, such as the gender pay gap and the unequal sharing of unpaid caring work, of which the savings and debt gaps were mostly simply a symptom.
Source: Jenny Westaway and Stephen McKay, Women's Financial Assets and Debts, Fawcett Society (020 7253 2598)
Links: Report | Summary | Fawcett Society press release | HMT press release
Date: 2007-Nov
A new book examined the treatment of gender and sexuality issues in the Church of England.
Source: John Burgess, Human Rights and the Church of England: Issues of Gender and Sexuality, John Burgess Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Oct
A report said that women's representation on local strategic partnerships, especially at senior level, was too low, and could be regarded as discriminatory.
Source: Elin Gudnadottir, Sue Smith, Sue Robson and Darlene Corry, Where Are the Women in LSPs? Women's representation in local strategic partnerships, Urban Forum (020 7253 4816)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Sep
A briefing paper said that men had twice as much unsecured debt as women: but women were more likely to struggle with debt. Women were more likely to use 'sub-prime' credit than men. Four groups of women had particularly high levels of debt problems: young women, lone mothers, women who had gone through relationship breakdown, and black and mixed race women. Although young women had high levels of debt and problems with debt, they still owed less than young men, and were slightly more likely to have savings.
Source: Women and Debt, Fawcett Society (020 7253 2598)
Links: Paper | Fawcett Society press release
Date: 2007-Aug
The sex equality watchdog published its final report before being wound up and absorbed into a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. In a linked report it said that sex equality would take generations to achieve at the existing 'painfully slow' rate of progress. Discrimination was still rife in politics, employment, and public services; and there were wide gender gaps both at work and in the home.
Source: Annual Report & Accounts 2006-2007, HC 784, Equal Opportunities Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522) | The Gender Agenda – The Unfinished Revolution, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Annual report | Report | EOC press release | Fawcett Society press release | UNISON press release | Guardian report | FT report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government announced the establishment of a new Government Equalities Office. The Women and Equalities Unit would be transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government to the new Office: but race and faith issues would remain located with the rest of the community agenda in DCLG. Harriet Harman MP, Leader of the House of Commons, would be responsible for the Equalities Office at Cabinet, as Secretary of State for Equality.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 26 July 2007, column 108WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Personnel Today report
Date: 2007-Jul
The sex equality watchdog in Wales examined the career hopes and work experiences of ethnic minority girls and women in Wales. It highlighted a 'worrying and unacceptable' gap between ambition and reality.
Source: I Want to Fulfil My Dream, Equal Opportunities Commission Wales (029 2034 3552)
Links: Report | EOC press release
Date: 2007-Jul
A report said that young women in Northern Ireland continued to be affected by discrimination and stereotypical ideas about gender roles. A quarter of the young women interviewed had experienced child abuse or domestic violence in the home. Young women carried the bulk of household and caring work in the home. They also continued to be restricted by traditional subject choice in education, gendered careers advice, and limited access to vocational training in non-traditional areas.
Source: Siobhan McAlister, Ann Marie Gray and G Neill, Still Waiting: The stories behind the statistics of young women growing up in Northern Ireland, YouthAction Northern Ireland (028 9024 0551)
Links: University of Ulster press release
Date: 2007-Jun
A new book examined New Labour's politics and policies from a 'gendered perspective'.
Source: Claire Annesley, Francesca Gains and Kirstein Rummery (eds.), Women and New Labour: Engendering politics and policy?, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Jun
The sex equality watchdog in Scotland said that visible ethnic minority women were three times more likely to be unemployed than white women. Although minority ethnic girls were the highest achieving group in school, minority ethnic women were likely to be clustered in a narrower range of occupations than white women, and to be working for less pay.
Source: Moving On Up? The Way Forward, Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland (0845 601 5904)
Links: Report | EOC press release
Date: 2007-May
The sex equality watchdog in Wales set out the key issues that should be tackled if women were to achieve equality. Women in Wales were concentrated in low-paid, low-skill sectors of the economy, and the pay gap was narrowing much too slowly. Women took responsibility for the majority of caring duties: but poor social care support undermined the quality of life for both carers and those who needed care. Many women experienced violence at home, and harassment or hate crime in their communities: women were six times more likely than men to feel unsafe walking alone at night.
Source: The Gender Agenda: Wales Review 2006, Equal Opportunities Commission Wales (029 2034 3552)
Links: Report | EOC press release
Date: 2007-Mar
A paper examined how recent policy developments on diversity related to the long-standing distinction made between women's right to the same treatment as men in some contexts (to promote equality), but different treatment in others. Policy development so far suggested that the theoretical promise that diversity held for gender equality might well be more than was realized.
Source: Dalia Ben-Galim, Mary Campbell and Jane Lewis, Diversity: Opportunity or Threat for Gender Equality Policy in the UK?, Working Paper 25, Gender Equality Network, c/o Faculty of Social and Political Sciences/University of Cambridge (01223 334520)
Links: Paper
Date: 2007-Mar
A report provided a review of statistics on gender differences and inequalities in Scotland across a range of key areas of social and economic life.
Source: Esther Breitenbach and Fran Wasoff, A Gender Audit of Statistics: Comparing the position of women and men in Scotland, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Date: 2007-Mar
The Leader of the House of Commons announced that, from the beginning of next parliamentary session, government Bills would take a form which achieved gender-neutral drafting so far as was practicable, 'at no more than a reasonable cost to brevity or intelligibility'.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 8 March 2007, column 146WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2007-Mar
A paper examined gender differences in the nature and scale of entrepreneurial activity. Caribbean women and African men were the most entrepreneurial, along with women born in Northern Ireland who had migrated to other United Kingdom regions. The evidence suggested that the gender gap would close slightly in the future if entrepreneurial intentions were converted into actions.
Source: Marc Cowling and Rebecca Harding, The Present and the Future: Gender differences in the nature and scale of entrepreneurial activity and potential activity in the UK, Working Paper 3, Institute for Employment Studies (01273 686751)
Links: Paper
Date: 2007-Feb
The sex equality watchdog said that women remained 'woefully under-represented' in company boardrooms, Parliament, the top judiciary, and the senior civil service, and were struggling to close the gender gap in positions of power.
Source: Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? 2007, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244)
Links: Report | EOC press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jan