1 Introduction
1. As part of our programme of examining as many
aspects of the work of the DTI as possible in the course of this
Parliament, we had identified equality at work issues as an area
for inquiry. When the Women and Work Commission was set up, we
decided not to try to imitate its broad remit but to focus on
an area which reflects two of the core interests of this Committee:
fairness at work and (a constant theme in our inquiries) skills
shortages in the UK. Occupational segregation—the tendency
for some jobs to be considered 'men's work' and others 'women's
work'—has a profound influence not only on the differing
career prospects, pay and pensions of both sexes but also on the
ability of industry and commerce to attract and retain employees,
with adverse consequences for productivity and competitiveness.
2. During our inquiry, we took oral evidence from:
the trade union, Amicus; the Equal Opportunities Commission; E-Skills
UK (the Sector Skills Council for the ICT industry); the Financial
Sector Skills Council; the Learning and Skills Council; the UK
Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology;
and the Women and Equality Unit of the Department of Trade and
Industry. We also received Memoranda from the Chartered Institute
for Personnel and Development, the Confederation of British Industry,
the construction industry training board (CITB-Construction Skills),
and the Trades Union Congress; and Ms Ros Wollen, a community
education worker, sent us a paper she had presented at the Women's
National Commission All Partners Day in December 2004. These are
all printed in Volume II of this Report. We also received a report
on Gender and the Labour Market in South East England prepared
for the South East England Regional Development Authority and
a memorandum from the Greater London Authority containing relevant
extracts from a report on Women in London's Economy (published
in January 2005); we have not printed these. We are grateful to
all those who have supplied us with evidence.
3. Our aim in undertaking this inquiry was to
produce some practical suggestions on how to tackle occupational
segregation. Unfortunately, the inquiry has been curtailed because
of the expectation that a general election will take place shortly.
We have therefore been unable to treat the issues as comprehensively
as we wished. However, we believe that there is value in publishing
our conclusions and recommendations based on the evidence we have
received. This is an important subject, and we hope that our successors
will return to it in due course, perhaps in the context of the
final report from the Women and Work Commission later this year.
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