Government response
Introduction
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) welcomes
the Select Committee's Report. It is pleased to note the Committee's
support for some of the Government initiatives which tackle inequality
issues including occupational segregation. These include the
Government's Strategy for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology
and the increased attention given to challenging gender stereotypes
in education and training. The Committee recognises that action
taken to address the causes of occupational segregation cuts across
departmental boundaries. The DTI is therefore pleased to include
responses from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES),
the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), Regional Development
Agencies and Government funded bodies such as the Learning and
Skills Councils and the UK Resource Centre in this response.
The Committee raises important questions regarding
the availability of information which might encourage women to
enter non-traditional sectors, higher-paid and higher-skilled
sectors. The Inquiry Report also makes links between occupational
segregation and the barriers to work experience and training faced
by women in these sectors. Such trends are reflected across Europe
where the average gender pay gap is 18%. Programmes such as EQUAL,
which is funded through the European Social Fund, fund innovative
programmes to combat inequalities in the labour market and help
disseminate best practice across the EU. Like our European counterparts,
the UK uses a range of approaches to tackle occupational segregation.
This memorandum provides details of the UK Government initiatives
in place to ensure that women are able to make informed choices
regarding their training and careers. It also highlights the
steps being taken to tackle the significant areas outlined by
the Committee such as barriers caused by misconceptions or misinformation
and the relative inflexibility and inaccessibility of training.
General
1. 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.
(Paragraph 3)[2]
The DTI concurs with the Committee's view that this
is an important subject and welcomes both the analysis carried
out as well as the recommendations made. The DTI agrees that
the findings of the inquiry are pertinent to the deliberations
of the Women and Work Commission (WWC). Baroness Prosser, Chair
of the WWC, has ensured that the Committee's analysis has fed
into its work. The WWC will draw on the issues uncovered by the
Committee in its analysis of the pay gap and the reasons as to
why women are more prevalent in certain, often low-paid, occupations.
A number of the questions raised by the Committee are in line
with the questions the WWC believe are important to address.
Reasons for occupational segregation: lack of
knowledge
2. The experience of some members of the Committee
supports the EOC's contention that, though it is by no means a
universal attitude, a significant number of schools seem to consider
finding work experience placements an onerous addition to their
core teaching work, and they try to devolve as much of the responsibility
to individual pupils as possible. For both students and employers,
this is a wasted opportunity. (Paragraph 15)
The Government agrees that work experience placements
can create opportunities for students and employers. In fact,
research indicates that young people have a strong preference
for experiential learning. The DfES is helping schools to find
placements through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded
Education Business Partnerships (EBP). These partnerships assist
schools to find work experience opportunities locally. 300,000
businesses are currently involved with schools through EBPs.
There are different levels of service in different areas depending
on local requirements. For example a number of EBPs have databases
of suitable contacts for work experience. Some EBPs offer a complete
matching service for schools where they do all the paperwork,
preparation, matching and debrief.
The DfES also highlighted plans for the Youth Green
Paper to look at ways of giving both girls and boys more opportunities
to experience different working environments, for example, through
work experience and enterprise education. Other proposals being
considered include peer mentoring and formal or informal talks
from young people who have recently entered further or higher
education, employment or training. All of these proposals will
be vital in the Government's push to combat gender stereotyping
and open young people's eyes to opportunities they might not previously
have considered.
3. We recognise that providing well structured
and informative work placements is a burden on businesses, and
that employers are understandably anxious about health and safety
issues and other statutory responsibilities towards the young
people involved. However, especially in sectors suffering from
skills shortages, there is a strong argument from economic self-interest
for employers to take seriously the opportunity afforded by work
placements to 'sell' their industry and their company. The burden
is especially acute for small businesses, and here we see a role
for Sector Skills Councils and local trade associations to provide
advice and support. It might, for example, be possible to co-ordinate
a programme of brief 'taster' sessions in several companies to
share the responsibility more widely. (Paragraph 16)
The DTI also recognises that developing a well-structured
work placement can be a burden on business, particularly small
business. The Committee's suggestions for improving young people's
exposure to the work place are therefore particularly welcomed.
In response to the issues raised by the Committee,
the DfES has drawn attention to the types of support Sector Skills
Councils (SSC) plan to give employers involved in facilitating
work experience through Young Apprenticeship programmes. SSCs
are working to provide relevant information on the benefits of
becoming involved in Young Apprenticeships. In particular they
will highlight the potential to address skills shortages. They
will also provide guidance on how employers can best induct, mentor
and support 14-16 year olds on the programme to encourage retention.
This will help ensure that work placements are a valuable experience
for young people.
4. While the issue of education of 14-19 year
olds is a matter for our colleagues on the Education and Skills
Committee, not us, we feel it a shame that, so far, although there
has been a marked improvement in the educational achievements
of girls, which should have led to a greater range of career options
for these girls when they leave school, the pattern of occupational
choices has not changed as much as one might have expected. We
are confident that the DTI and the Learning and Skills Council
are giving due attention to this issue, but we have doubts about
whether the message has really penetrated down to the level of
individual schools, and the local businesses that might benefit
from having a wider range of candidates for jobs. We are also
uncertain of the extent to which the Department for Education
and Skills has ensured that the challenging of gender stereotypes
is fully incorporated into the curriculum and into the general
approach of schools towards fitting their pupils for adult life.
(Paragraph 18)
The Committee's analysis of the educational achievement
of girls and their occupational choices is helpful. The DfES
responded with interest and informed the DTI of how the challenging
of gender stereotypes is incorporated into the curriculum. The
National Framework for Careers Education and Guidance lists as
one of the learning outcomes for Key Stage 3 that young people
should: "recognise stereotyped and misrepresented images
of people, careers and work and how their own views of these issues
affect their decision making". It recommends that they could
do this through collecting and analysing images of people in work,
and debating views on 'men's jobs' and 'women's jobs'.
In the careers publications produced by the DfES,
care is taken to include photographs displaying young people in
'non traditional' roles. For example, all the 'Working in' information
booklets include case studies showing people in 'non traditional'
roles; some recent examples include a female crane driver and
female electrician in 'Working in building and construction' and
a male nanny in 'Working with young children'.
The DfES are also currently working to add case studies
to each of the 600+ jobs contained on the jobs4u occupational
database (www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u). Details of pay rates
are included for each job on the website. As pointed out in the
Committee's report, pay rates will influence students' decision
to train for a non-traditional job so this information is particularly
useful for tackling occupational segregation.
5. Although there have been improvements in the
provision of careers advice and work placements, and in the links
between business and schools, the quality still varies too much
from place to place. The critical links in the process of spreading
best practice would appear to be the local Learning and Skills
Councils, local education authorities, Sector Skills Councils,
Regional Development Agencies, and local trade associations such
as Chambers of Commerce. Until all these bodies are properly engaged
in the process, it will be extremely difficult to challenge the
general culture of sexual stereotyping of roles, and young people
will not be given the information and encouragement necessary
to step outside the stereotypes. Half the battle to improve women's
pay and opportunities and to tackle skills shortages will already
have been lost. (Paragraph 19)
The Government notes the Committee's comments that
the quality of careers advice and work placements and the links
between business and schools varies too much from place to place.
The LSC is undertaking a strategic review of education business
links. They plan to consult widely on findings later this year.
This is clearly an important issue and one which, taken alongside
the WWC's deliberations, will be critical in making the necessary
'step change' in improving the career choices of girls and women.
Reasons for occupational segregation: difficulties
with training
6. While the Modern Apprenticeships programme
is a key to alleviating skills shortages in the UK and to providing
young people with the means to access higher value and higher
paid work, it appears that the structure of the apprenticeships
may have been designed too much with the traditional school-leaver
recruit in mind. The development of schemes for older people,
particularly those with caring responsibilities, is vital to attracting
more women into male-dominated sectors; and we therefore welcome
the pilots being run for older people. However, we are disappointed
that the Modern Apprenticeships programme seems to date to be
reinforcing gender segregation among young people. (Paragraph
24)
The Committee's analysis of the Apprenticeship (formerly
Modern Apprenticeship) programme raises some important concerns
about access to programmes. Some of these are being addressed
by DfES initiatives to widen access and improve Apprenticeships'
capacity to meet individuals' and employers' needs. For example,
Young Apprenticeship provision is now introduced from age 14 and,
as noted by the Committee, Apprenticeships are now open to older
learners.
The DfES also works with SSCs to develop strategies
for addressing gender imbalances in recruitment, including the
recruitment of apprentices. A good example is the work done by
the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB),
some of which is highlighted in the Inquiry Report. The ECITB
framework acknowledges gender and cultural imbalances and commits
to positive promotion of opportunities within the sector. Further
ECITB activities include 'taster' days at schools run jointly
with local employers and providers.
Employers are increasingly aware of the negative
impact of occupational segregation. The Apprenticeship Task Force
(ATF) is made up of senior figures from across the public and
private sector. By drawing attention to the link between skill
shortages and gender segregation in particular sectors, the ATF
makes a business case for challenging occupational segregation.
It also provides guidance on how to tackle segregation in its
report on 'Good Practice in Promoting Diversity in Apprenticeships'.
7. The example of Foundation Degrees shows that
it is possible to construct training to make it accessible to
the greatest range of people. We recognise the difficulty in extending
this flexibility into employer-based schemes: the sole purpose
of FE institutions is to provide training, while employers have
to juggle the sometimes conflicting demands of efficiency and
immediate productivity against providing for future skills needs
via training. However, the development of flexibility should be
encouraged, not hindered, by the overall requirements for Modern
Apprenticeship schemes. We recommend that the Government review
the structure of such apprenticeships to ensure that the maximum
possible flexibility is built into them. We commend the suggestion
that the Government should reconsider whether the programme of
Young Apprenticeships, which is aimed at 14-16 year olds, should
be used actively to encourage young people to think about a wider
range of job options by offering training in three sectors rather
than just one. (Paragraph 25)
The DfES is improving Apprenticeship programme flexibility.
For example, by giving SSCs greater discretion and authority
to recommend entry standards and determine the attributes needed
for fully-skilled status, Apprenticeships are more tailored to
the industry sector. Developing the more flexible approach of
Programme-Led Pathway (PLP) Apprenticeships, which begin with
specialised occupational training in a college before progressing
to learning while working for an employer, helps to cater for
learners who may prefer a programme initially based in an educational
setting.
The DfES noted the Committees recommendations on
Young Apprenticeships (YAs) with interest. The first group of
Young Apprentices started in September 2004, with 1,000 pupils
embarking on YAs in Art and Design, Business Administration, Engineering,
Health and Social Care, Performing Arts and the Motor Industry.
The two days a week the young people spend on the programme allows
them to complete substantial Level 2 vocationally related qualifications
in individual sectors and the 50 days experience of work, with
practical learning on the job, supports their qualification studies.
Training in more than one sector would require a radical re-design
of the programme, particularly with regard to accreditation of
learning.
A second group of around 2,000 Young Apprentices
will start the programme in September 2005. In addition, for the
second cohort, a further two sectors will be included in the programme,
they are Hospitality and Carpet Manufacturing and Fitting.
The LSC, OFSTED and DfES are closely monitoring the
progress of the YA programme to inform decisions on how to progress
the initiative in future years.
8. We were told there was a variation in the degree
to which local Learning and Skills Councils were using Equality
and Diversity Impact Measures to tackle gender segregation. We
think it would encourage the wider adoption of best practice if
the Learning and Skills Council itself set a national indicator
to show how seriously it took this issue. (Paragraph 26)
The LSC is fully involved in taking steps to address
gender segregation and will take this into account during the
current review of the Equality and Diversity Impact Measures (EDIMs)
approach which includes consideration of whether and, if so, how
best to introduce national EDIMs.
In addition to any focus that a gender related national
EDIM would provide, the LSC will continue to work with its partners,
including the DfES and the Inspectorates, and use all relevant
forms of monitoring arrangements to tackle inequalities. For
example, in the future, Adult Learning Inspectorate inspectors
will quiz local LSCs about Apprenticeship recruitment patterns
by area of learning, and by gender, ethnicity and disability.
This will reinforce the significance given to diversity issues
in recruitment. The inspectors will similarly review the success
of individual providers in attracting and retaining atypical Apprentices.
9. We note the complexity of the requirements
for qualifying for and accessing the training schemes under the
New Deal umbrella. This in itself may be a deterrent to the unemployed
accessing the training that would benefit both them and the UK
economy. (Paragraph 31)
The Building on New Deal programme (BoND) builds
on the success of New Deal, giving people in all areas of the
country the help and support they need to move off benefits and
into work. The BoND strategy is based on a review of New Deal
which was published on 17 June 2004. Key aims of the review were
to simplify administration and simplify programme eligibility.
As noted by the Committee, provision has traditionally been made
up of a complex mix of eligibility rules and programme specification.
BoND simplifies these through direct access to provision as opposed
to the complex routeways currently used.
The BoND programme will introduce a greater flexibility
into employment programmes, providing a service that meets the
needs of individuals, local areas and local employers. BoND reduces
complexity and bureaucracy in employment programmes; making them
simpler for staff, partners and customers.
Reasons for occupational segregation: business
cultures
10. It is stating the obvious to say that the
culture of industries will not be changed quickly. Both employers
and trade unions could do more to tackle the overtly sexist elements
of workplace culture, simply by making it clear that certain behaviour
is unacceptable. We welcome the indications that some companies
are now indicating that they are unwilling to do business with
firms that have tolerated, let alone tacitly encouraged, harassment
and discrimination. (Paragraph 36)
The Government wholly supports the Committee's comments.
ACAS, an independent statutory body, aims to improve organisations
and working life through better employment relations. They provide
publications, guidance and training on tackling discrimination,
bullying and harassment in the workplace. This includes practical
advice to employers to help them prevent bullying and harassment
and to deal with any cases that occur. Guidelines on the development
of policies and procedures are also available to employers.
As part of implementing the amended Equal Treatment
Directive, regulations will come into force on 1 October 2005
which will add harassment on grounds of sex and sexual harassment
to the Sex Discrimination Act. ACAS are therefore updating their
guidance to reinforce the fact that such treatment is unlawful
and will provide additional examples of what constitutes such
treatment.
The DTI leads by example as an employer by refusing
to tolerate harassment. It is departmental policy that all staff
have the right to be treated with dignity and respect whilst on
official premises, or in the course of official duty. Harassment
or bullying in any form is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Other practical examples supporting the promotion of culture
change include DTI's women's development programme, DTI's mentoring
programme (which has supported the work to improve under-representation)
and the department's flexible working policy which offers everyone
the flexibility to balance work and life.
11. The problem of the 'downgrading' of jobs which
have increasingly become the preserve of women is not a new one:
it happened to the clerical/secretarial sector almost 100 years
ago. Dealing with this problem would require an overturning of
the traditional view of caring and service (and largely female)
jobs as inherently inferior—less skilled, less valuable,
lower paid—to 'wealth-creating' financial, technical and
manufacturing (and largely male) jobs. This is beyond the scope
of our Report, but we note, in passing, the example set by the
Government in its re-evaluation of the work done by different
occupational groups within the National Health Service in the
context of its Agenda for Change programme. We would welcome moves
by any other employer to undertake a similarly fundamental review
of the value—and rewards—attached to the range of
jobs within their business. (Paragraph 37)
The Committee's concerns reflect those of the WWC.
As outlined in the interim statement, the Commission proposes
to look at the undervaluing of female-dominated workforces and
'women's jobs' including the relative valuing of the public and
private sectors. The WWC see the value that society places on
caring as fundamental to the position of women. For this reason,
the WWC will investigate how caring is valued at present and whether
and how our society might value caring jobs more highly.
12. It is only comparatively recently that women
have regularly reached senior positions in professions in which
they have been well established for a long time, such as the law
and medicine. It is as yet too early to judge the success of the
Government's Strategy for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology,
which was launched in 2003. Changing the culture in areas like
SET will clearly require sustained effort, but the process started
by Baroness Greenfield's SET Fair report in 2002 appears to be
gathering momentum. (Paragraph 39)
The DTI welcomes the Committee's comments and agrees
that the process is indeed gathering momentum. The Government
Strategy for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET)
included a commitment to set up a new UK Resource Centre for Women
in SET (UKRC). The Centre was launched in September 2004 by the
former Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt. The Consortium running
the Centre comprises Bradford College, Sheffield Hallam University,
the Open University and the WiSETi Project of Cambridge University.
The Government has now committed a total of £6.9 million
over the period 2004-2008 for the operation of the Centre, £1.5
million of this funding being ring-fenced for activities specifically
to help women who wish to return to SET careers.
An example of the Resource Centre's work is the Return
Campaign. Official research shows that 50,000 women are not currently
working in the UK's SET industries, despite having specialist
skills and training that are crucial to the economy. The UKRC
expects to help SET-trained women return to SET professions over
the next three years by connecting them to a host of free services
and support, including training, courses, mentoring schemes and
networking organisations.
Central to this campaign is a free, Open University,
on-line course called Science, Engineering and Technology: A Course
for Women Returners (T160). The course is currently enrolling
and will start in October. It will help women plan their return
and update their skills. The course also provides opportunities
to attend networking events, meet with potential employers, role
models and mentors.
Reasons for occupational segregation: lack of
flexible working
13. There is a long-established view that certain
jobs—senior managerial posts, skilled manufacturing jobs,
key service industry posts—are unsuited to part-time and
flexible working. This view is accepted far too uncritically:
there appear to be a number of good examples where it has been
perfectly practicable to re-arrange working hours while maintaining—sometimes
even improving—productivity and performance. There are already
indications that employers are re-thinking their attitudes, not
least in light of the success of the recent introduction of the
parental right to request flexible working. A number of employers
have already extended this and have indicated that they are willing
to consider requests from any of their employees. At present,
we would not recommend introducing an element of compulsion on
employers: the codification of best practice seems more likely
to facilitate its widespread adoption than any statutory requirement
would. However, we believe it would be useful to monitor the success
rate of such requests, and to examine the reasons for refusal
to see whether there are any grounds for instituting the sort
of mechanism to challenge an employer's decision that Amicus suggested
to us. (Paragraph 48)
The UK Government has monitored the flexible working
law since its implementation and in April it published its second
Flexible Working employee survey. This continued to show that
on the whole the law is proving a success and having a positive
impact. Fourteen per cent of British employees reported that
they had requested a change to their working arrangements in the
two years since the law's implementation. Almost one quarter
(22%) of employees with dependent children under the age of six
have requested to work flexibly. Over four-fifths of employee
requests were fully or partly accepted by employers, with the
refusal rate significantly lower than before the new right was
introduced. Over four-fifths of employees who had requested to
change their working pattern said they were satisfied or very
satisfied with their working arrangements. 11 per cent said they
were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
The UK Government agrees with the Committee on not
recommending an element of compulsion on employers. The 'Work
and Families: Choice and Flexibility' consultation closed on 25th
May 2005. The consultation takes forward the work and family
proposals that were announced in last December's pre-budget report
and the ten-year childcare strategy and, in particular, explores
the case for extending the right to request flexible working to
carers of sick and disabled adults and parents of older children.
The Government is currently considering the responses . As part
of this work the Government is also looking at whether the accompanying
guidance can be improved to help facilitate the spread of flexible
working, especially where flexible working is not the cultural
norm.
The role of employers
14. We received evidence that the experience of
equal pay audits has been mixed. Some of our witnesses believe
they are of doubtful effectiveness as a tool to make companies
take the issue of occupational segregation more seriously. They
are probably of more use as a way of marking out those companies
that employ best practice from others, which—given the likely
consequences for recruitment and retention—may concentrate
the minds of the less forward-looking companies. We do not wish
to denigrate them as a means of facilitating the process of changing
the overall culture with respect to equal treatment of the sexes.
(Paragraph 52)
The Committee's assessment of the usefulness of compulsory
equal pay audits is helpful. Whilst equal pay audits alone will
not automatically close the gender pay gap the Government would
agree that they are considered a useful way of marking out companies
that employ best practice. The Government as an employer leads
by example in its dedication to equal pay. As an example of good
practice and to show commitment to equal pay, all Government departments
and agencies (88 in total) have completed equal pay reviews.
This is reinforced by our toughened target of 45 per cent of large
organisations having undertaken pay reviews by April 2008.
The Equal Pay Panel of experts is a pilot initiative
led by the TUC and supported by the DTI Partnership at Work Fund.
The panel gives free advice and guidance sessions to organisations
looking to investigate or undertake an equal pay review in partnership
with unions. Serco is a large UK service company which has recently
engaged with the Panel of Experts. Serco subsequently decided
to role out equal pay audits, initially across health divisions,
with the aim over time to extend this work across the whole of
the business. Serco has committed to ensuring that pay systems
are transparent and easy to understand. In this respect, they
will continue comparing the pay of men and women doing equal work,
explaining any equal pay gaps and closing those pay gaps that
cannot satisfactorily be explained on grounds other than gender.
15. Employers are showing increasing awareness
of the damage that occupational segregation can do to their businesses.
However, although there are some imaginative attempts to tackle
the problems that deter women from taking certain jobs, as yet
these seem to occur in isolation, and there needs to be more effort
to share best practice. We discuss the potential role of the Regional
Development Agencies ('RDAs') in this in the next Chapter; but,
with a few honourable exceptions, there is also a need for greater
effort by Sector Skills Councils and trade associations. We are
not asking business to behave altruistically—though some
companies will doubtless do so—but we do expect them to
behave fairly, and to be aware of the effect on their competitiveness
of a failure to act. (Paragraph 55)
DTI, in association with the Sector Skills Development
Agency, is encouraging SSCs and other partners to adopt a complementary
approach to tackling diversity and occupational segregation.
Some sectors are already addressing these issues in this way such
as the Women in IT Forum. A joint report has recently been published,
'Women in the IT Industry: Towards a business case for diversity',
the principles of which are being taken forward. SSCs have submitted
plans to address cross-cutting issues to the SSDA and DTI will
be working with the SSC network to address them. DTI and the
SSDA will shortly begin a project focusing on how SSCs are addressing
diversity issues, finding and sharing good practice and using
these examples to make recommendations for change.
The Select Committee report refers to a number of
programmes put in place by CITB-Construction Skills to address
occupational segregation. These include project-based Apprenticeships,
and adult Apprenticeships for women. The National Construction
College also provides mentors for women and Diversity Equality
workshops. More women are being encouraged to enter the industry
as part of their current Positive Image campaign, and the same
theme will run through the 2005 National Construction Week (October)
which showcases opportunities in the industry. CITB-Construction
Skills carries out a broad and ongoing programme of research to
underpin their strategies and interventions in this area. DTI
continues to be closely involved with CITB-Construction Skills,
and other industry bodies covering the built environment, on a
number of fronts supporting their diversity agenda.
More broadly, the WWC will consider minimum standards
(the legal framework) and how to spread best practice across employers.
The WWC will look at organisational practice with respect to
equal opportunities, recruitment and retention policies and procedure,
work organisation, flexibility and support mechanisms. The WWC
will consider the respective roles and responsibilities of managers
and trade unions in raising standards of practice. The Commissioners
are a team of influential and senior figures comprising employers,
unions, education and skills experts and practitioners from a
wide range of fields. They will play a significant role in highlighting
the negative impact of occupational segregation on the wider economy.
The role of the RDAs
16. Some RDAs are running schemes to provide women
returning to work after career breaks with advice on career options,
access to training, work placements, and good quality, affordable
childcare. We are concerned that they are still at the pilot stage—we
would have thought that RDAs would have already finished experimenting
in this area and that they would be disseminating and adopting
best practice by now. We are also surprised at how tentative the
DTI seems to be about the development of these pilot programmes:
"If the model proves successful then, potentially, there
is scope to explore whether it could be applied more widely"
shows less than wholehearted belief that successful programmes
will be adopted by RDAs en masse. (Paragraph 56)
The DTI is not tentative about the development of
pilot programmes and is considering them. The Department agrees
that progress has been slow, however, it is fair to say that RDAs
have taken forward this work based on variations in regional priorities.
Research into the area of supporting women back into employment
has resulted in a range of good practice which has now been used
to develop two pilot projects—'Supporting Women Returners
back into the Workforce'. These projects have been set up to
take forward best practice in supporting women back into employment
and to analyse Childcare issues in relation to Women Returners.
Following completion of the two pilot projects, the
London Development Agency (LDA), as the lead RDA for Childcare,
will hold a regional and national dissemination event to ensure
that best practice and lessons learnt are shared with all RDAs.
The Gender and Labour Market report referred to in
paragraph 56 of the Select Committee report is co-funded by the
South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA) and is currently
at the interim stage of development. It is expected that recommendations
for future action will be included in the final report and three
year Action Plan due for publication in August 2005.
17. RDAs may have committed themselves to seriously
tackling occupational segregation as a major focus of their work
in improving the skills of the workforce and boosting productivity
in their area; but the comparative silence about what they are
doing leads us to conclude that most have yet to take the issue
fully on board. Given their key role in ensuring that the needs
and wishes of local businesses are taken into account in regional
development policies, and their position as local agents for the
delivery of much of the Government's policy with respect to industry
and commerce, we would have expected them to be playing a larger
part in the attempts to engage the attention of employers on the
disadvantages of occupational segregation. (Paragraph 57)
The DTI would also expect the RDAs to play a greater
role in engaging employers and will be pushing for them to build
upon existing work in this area. The Committee expressed concerns
that RDAs have not yet taken the issue of occupational segregation
fully on board. However, there are examples of work in train
to address the issues highlighted by the Committee. The LDA has
set itself challenging targets of 50% female participation to
ensure that women have access to and benefit from the business
and job opportunities currently available in London; One North
East (Development Agency for the North East) has funded the Women
into the Network project working with mainstream businesses to
address the barriers facing women starting up and succeeding in
business; North West Development Agency (NWDA) is working towards
developing a Regional Centre for Equality and Diversity to provide
advice to employers and employees; and South West England Regional
Development Agency (SWRDA) has equality representatives on the
South West Enterprise and Skills Alliance embedding equality principles
into the Regional Skills Partnership work. RDAs also have a broad
range of projects specifically focusing on improving female participation
in enterprise.
There are other examples of RDA initiatives where
a key objective is to tackle occupational segregation. For instance
projects targeted exclusively at women such as multi-skills training
for employment in the Construction industry, the SEEDA funded
Computer Clubs for Girls project which is now a nationwide project
and a Construction apprenticeship programme targeted at Graduates
from the LDA's equalities groups. The DTI welcomes these initiatives,
however continued efforts will be necessary to tackle gender segregation
and the DTI will continue to challenge the RDAs in this area.
Co-ordination in central Government
18. We think that there needs to be greater co-ordination
between government departments. Since 2002-03 there has been an
explicit Public Service Agreement target across Government about
delivering achievable improvements in equality for women. We are
also aware that the Women and Equality Unit has been given the
task of advising other departments on their specific targets for
achieving this and of reporting on progress across Government.
However, we suspect that other departments have not fully integrated
into their policy decisions the need to be conscious of any effects
on occupational segregation. We believe, for example, that the
DfES has only recently started to consider the issue of segregation
in the recruitment of apprentices; the Learning and Skills Council
admitted that, although it had held information on training broken
down by gender, it had never thought of making use of it before
the EOC's investigation into the area; and we are still uncertain
of the extent to which the DWP's general training and employment
programmes take into account the difficulties faced by women returning
to work. It is not clear to us whether the slowness of other departments
in addressing the issues is a result of insufficient vigour in
the lead Department, the DTI, or a lack of co-operation from the
other departments. It appears to us that the Women and Equality
Unit still has considerable work to do, and may have neither the
authority in relation to other departments nor the resources to
do it. (Paragraph 59)
The Government agrees that there needs to be greater
co-ordination between departments and recognises that the Public
Service Agreement (PSA) targets, to bring about measurable improvements
in gender equality, provide a platform upon which to build more
effective cross-Government working.
Although the first gender equality PSA was agreed
as part of Spending Review 2002, the diverse basket of indicators
underpinning the PSA—for delivery in 2006—did not
focus specifically on occupational segregation, but were the targets
that the Ministers for Women saw as key priorities for Government
action, including employment, pay, flexible working, childcare
and fear of crime.
As part of the negotiations for the Spending Review
2004, however, the Women and Equality Unit had identified occupational
segregation as an important issue in order to improve gender equality,
and this now forms one of the indicators for the new gender equality
PSA, due for delivery in 2008. As part of the delivery strategy
for SR04, the DTI will actively be looking to work across Government
and more broadly, to increase the number of girls and boys achieving
level 2 and level 3 Apprenticeships in sectors where they are
currently under-represented, and where employer demand for these
skills is high.
The Women and Equality Unit has developed a broad
strategy to influence individual departments to bring about change.
This includes working through the high-level cross-Government
Gender Equality Steering Group to monitor and scrutinise progress
and through a series of official bi-laterals. The strategy is
supplemented by the annual publication of a wide-ranging annual
progress report to support gender mainstreaming. The gender equality
PSA objectives, where appropriate, also provide the context for
the Women and Equality Unit to have a structured intervention
in the areas of key spending departments.
In order to move forward into the new PSA delivery
period, the Unit is proposing changes to the leadership of the
gender equality PSA SR04, and targeted and sustained Ministerial
support forms an important feature of the forward strategy. It
is envisaged that a new Cross-Government Gender Equality Delivery
Board will be assembled to enhance accountability and provide
a mechanism to integrate cross-cutting work strands and over-arching
PSAs.
The new Minister for Women, Tessa Jowell, has already
demonstrated her commitment to greater coordination between Government
departments by identifying a Women's Minister in each department
to act as a Women's Network across Government to ensure mainstreaming
of gender within each Department's priorities.
19. The Government has given a strong lead in
the field of racial equality through both the adoption of a general
public duty to promote such equality and through procurement policy.
We think it would be valuable for the question of gender equality
to be treated in the same way. (Paragraph 61)
The Government agrees that the approach to the inclusion
of relevant gender equality issues in public procurement should
follow that adopted for race equality issues. In respect to the
proposed Public Sector Duty on Gender Equality, currently legislated
for in Part III of the Equality Bill, the Government will be keen
to ensure that public authorities, who are responsible for their
own procurement practices, are better equipped to consider in
a proper, proportionate and relevant manner gender equality issues
in the granting of contracts. The Government will ensure that
this is adequately covered in any Code of Practice and guidance
issued in advance of the Gender Duty coming into force which is
expected to be the end of 2006. The Government intends to hold
a full public consultation on the details of specific duties to
assist public authorities in complying with the gender duty during
this Summer.
Equal Pay Act
20. While we understand the Minister's concerns,
it seems to us that the 1970 Equal Pay Act is reaching the limits
of its usefulness. There appears to be a consensus among analysts
of the labour market that most of the remaining gender pay gap
is attributable to factors other than 'straightforward' discrimination,
and it is notable that the rate of decrease in the pay gap has
slowed almost to a stop in recent years. Although there are difficulties
in dealing with the deep-seated problem of the undervaluing of
women's work through legislation, the concepts of "work of
equal value" and indirect discrimination are already embedded
in statute, and we believe that it should be possible to build
on these. We regret that the Government appears to be ruling changes
out as 'too difficult' without having undertaken a serious review
of the options. (Paragraph 63)
The DTI notes the Committee's comments that the Equal
Pay Act is reaching the limits of its usefulness. Legislation
has made a vital contribution to reducing the gender pay gap,
however, the Equal Pay Act only addresses one aspect of the gender
pay gap—that of unequal pay. It will not tackle issues
such as job segregation, differences in education and qualifications,
differences in length of work experience and the cultural barriers
women face when returning to the labour market. Therefore, Government
must balance out the legislative approach with other actions.
The WWC will be identifying the underlying causes of the pay
gap in its work to close the pay and opportunities gap. The WWC
will make recommendations on how to address these underlying causes
in its final report
The DTI is carrying out a Discrimination Law Review
(discussed further below) which will examine the current anti-discrimination
legislative framework, including the Equal Pay Act 1970.
21. We have not had time to examine these issues
in the depth necessary for us to make a recommendation for specific
legislative change, and we realise that considerable further work
would be required before appropriate legislation could be drafted.
However, we believe that the persistent undervaluing of women
in the workplace is a major obstacle to the UK's being considered
to be a society with true gender equality. (Paragraph 64)
The Government is currently undertaking a comprehensive
programme of reform to deliver a new framework to challenge discrimination
and inequality. The independent Equalities Review, which is investigating
the causes of persistent discrimination and inequality in British
society will report to the Prime Minister by Summer 2006, making
practical recommendations on key policy priorities for: the Government
and public sector; employers and trade unions; civic society and
the voluntary sector.
This work will feed into the DTI-led Discrimination
Law Review which is considering in detail how our anti-discrimination
legislation, including the Equal Pay Act 1970, can be made fairer,
simpler and more effective, with a view to bringing forward a
Single Equality Bill in due course. The DTI will take the opportunity
to consider the detailed issues raised by the Committee during
the course of the Review and will work closely with the Equal
Opportunities Commission, WWC and other experts on Equal Pay.
Concluding Remarks
The Committee's analysis demonstrates that occupational
segregation continues to constrain UK potential. Barriers to
particular sectors of the labour market, based on gender stereotypes
or inaccurate information, limit opportunities for individuals
but also for business and society. This Government recognises
that removing these barriers is fundamental to closing the gender
pay gap, addressing skill shortages and tackling inequality.
It is evident from the inquiry that occupational
segregation needs to be both acknowledged and confronted across
Government as well as by employers and educators. This will require
a clear plan of action and time as moving such an entrenched cultural
barrier will not happen overnight.
There is plenty more to do and this Government is
committed to the challenge. The Committee's report is very timely
as the new Ministers for Women and Equality, Tessa Jowell and
Meg Munn, are already looking hard at gender inequality. They
are leading in identifying practical ways of improving opportunities
for women and reducing the constraints on their choices. The
Committee's inquiry will therefore contribute to developing the
Government's long-term programme of action to reduce gender inequalities
in the labour market.
2 All paragraphs in bold type are quotations from
the Committee's Report. Back
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