A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers welcomed measures in the Equality Bill which provided additional protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, sexual orientation, and gender.
Source: Equality Bill, Fourth Report (Session 2005-06), HL 89 and HC 766, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
The Equality Bill was given a second reading. The Bill would establish a Commission for Equality and Human Rights to promote all the strands of equality and to promote and protect human rights.
Source: Equality Bill [HL], Department of Trade and Industry, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 21 November 2005, columns 1237-1337, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | JUSTICE briefing
Date: 2005-Nov
A report examined the challenges faced by public authorities in Northern Ireland in developing more effective monitoring systems on equality issues.
Source: Tony Dignan, Equality Monitoring Research Project, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Nov
The head of the race equality watchdog said that the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights would be 'bad for race, bad for equality', and would weaken the influence of the CRE. He proposed the creation instead of a new 'Commission for Citizenship and Integration', which would fulfil the duty of promoting and encouraging good race relations, and also deal with wider issues of cultural conflict.
Source: Speech by Trevor Phillips, 30 November 2005
Links: Text of speech | CRE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Nov
A report set out the expectations of equality bodies in Scotland in relation to the duties placed on the public sector by existing and forthcoming legislation on race, disability and gender equality.
Source: Public Sector Duty: Three Commissions joint position paper, Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland (0845 601 5904), Commission for Racial Equality Scotland, and Disability Rights Commission Scotland
Links: Statement | EOC press release | CRE press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A report said that progress was being made in tackling labour market inequalities in Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to religion, gender and disability.
Source: DTZ Pieda, Report on Labour Market Dynamics, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report Part 1 | Report Part 2 | Report Part 3 | Report Part 4 | NIE press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article reported research with non-governmental organizations in Northern Ireland dealing with issues concerning race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability.
Source: Helen Lewis, 'Race/ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation in Northern Ireland: a study of non-governmental organisations', Shared Space, October 2005, Community Relations Council (028 9022 7500)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2005-Oct
The government began consultation on proposals to introduce a public sector duty to promote gender equality.
Source: Advancing Equality for Men and Women: Government proposals to introduce a public sector duty to promote gender equality, Women and Equality Unit/Department of Trade and Industry (0845 001 0029)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | WEU press release | EOC press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A report said that 2001 UK Census data could be useful in monitoring both employee profiles and applicants' data, especially for discrimination by gender or ethnic origin.
Source: Shirley Dex and Kingsley Purdam, Equal Opportunities and Recruitment: How Census data can help employers to assess their practice, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf) | JRF Findings 0485
Date: 2005-Oct
An article disputed the notion of a link between decline in support for welfare and growing ethnic diversity.
Source: Adrian Barton and Nick Johns, 'Pragmatism and the third way: an open door for new racism?', Social Policy and Society, Volume 4 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Jul
An article explored attitudes of 'pride and prejudice' among the Protestant and Catholic communities of Northern Ireland. Pride in one's 'in-group' could be thought of as benign, acceptable, and indeed positive in many ways. It was not inevitably linked to sectarian views.
Source: Ed Cairns and Miles Hewstone, 'Northern Ireland: in-group pride and out-group prejudice', Seven Deadly Sins: A new look at society through an old lens, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Article | ESRC press release
Date: 2005-Jun
A report said that employers needed to recognize the challenges of managing diversity. Ignoring diversity could reduce productivity and performance: but badly managed efforts to introduce diversity ran the risk of creating conflict and doing just as much to undermine business performance.
Source: Managing Diversity: Linking theory and practice to business performance, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (020 8971 9000)
Links: Report (pdf) | CIPD press release
Date: 2005-May
A report sought to gauge the impact of the Peace ll Programme (a European Union programme) across the entire range of constituent sectors involved in peace and reconciliation work, in both Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.
Source: Beyond Sectarianism?: The Churches and ten years of the peace process, Community Relations Council (028 9022 7500)
Links: Report (pdf) | CRC press release
Date: 2005-May
The government reintroduced an Equality Bill (previously lost due to the general election). The Bill proposed the creation of a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights.
Source: Equality Bill, Department of Trade and Industry, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | DTI press release | EOC press release | MCB press release
Date: 2005-May
A report highlighted the lack of a common understanding of the term diversity within further education and training organizations, and called for swift action to address concerns about the low priority given to diversity issues.
Source: Jacky Lumby et al., Leadership, Development and Diversity in the Learning and Skills Sector, Learning and Skills Development Agency (020 7297 9144)
Links: Report (pdf) | LSDA press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
The Equality Bill was given a second reading, but was then dropped due to lack of parliamentary time before the general election. The Bill would have established a unified Commission for Equality and Human Rights, and outlawed discrimination on the basis of a person s religion or belief.
Source: Equality Bill, Department of Trade and Industry, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 5 April 2005, columns 1297-1362, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Hansard
Date: 2005-Apr
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that the Equality Bill (establishing a Commission for Equality and Human Rights) was the most important measure for the advancement of human rights since the Human Rights Act.
Source: Equality Bill, Sixteenth Report (Session 2004-05), HL 98 and HC 497, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Mar
The government published a Bill to establish a unified Commission for Equality and Human Rights from October 2007. The new body would bring together the work of the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission, and the Equal Opportunities Commission. It would also outlaw discrimination on the basis of a person s religion or belief in the supply of goods, facilities, services and premises. Gay rights campaigners criticized the exclusion of protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Source: Equality Bill, Department of Trade and Industry, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 31 March 2005, OutRage! (020 8240 0222)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | HOC Library research paper (pdf) | DTI press release | Liberty press release | EOC Briefing (pdf) | Liberty press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
A Court of Appeal decision strengthened the burden of proof regulations in discrimination cases. It said that if an individual had established that there could be a valid case of discrimination, employers were expected to provide detailed evidence to prove that they did not discriminate. Evidence needed to show that an employer s actions were in no way related to an employee s sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, or religion/belief in order to defeat these claims.
Source: IGEN Ltd & Ors v Wong, Court of Appeal 18 February 2005
Links: Text of judgement | DRC press release
Date: 2005-Feb
The government announced a 'root and branch review' to investigate the causes of persistent discrimination and inequality in society. The Equalities Review would investigate the social, economic, cultural and other factors that limited or denied people the opportunity to make the best of their abilities; and provide an understanding of the long-term and underlying causes of disadvantage that needed to be addressed by public policy. It would report to the Prime Minister by the summer of 2006.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 25 February 2005, columns 68-70WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | DTI press release | TUC press release
Date: 2005-Feb
A report said that organizations which failed to take diversity seriously could face difficulties attracting the best candidates to fill vacancies, and risked damaging efforts to achieve their own business objectives.
Source: Driving Diversity Progress: Messages from a showcase of CIPD research, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (020 8971 9000)
Links: Report (pdf) | CIPD press release
Date: 2005-Jan