Department for Business, Enterprise &
Regulatory Reform response to questionnaire on implementation
of the Gender Equality Duty
1. Department has considered practical measures
to implement the duty in relation to employees of the Department.
An Equal Pay Audit has been undertaken and the
Department is in the process of finalising the report of the Audit.
There will be a number of actions to be taken forward in relation
to employees of the Department and pay policy.
Regular workforce monitoring is undertaken.
The representation of women within the Department as a whole and
across both the various levels of seniority and business Groups
in the former DTI and UKTI is reviewed on a monthly basis with
the aim of identifying any employment trends and considering mitigating
action should these give cause for concern.
The Department produces an annual staff survey
which includes questions on potential perceived barriers to full
participation or progression on the grounds of gender or otherwise,
and on the value and success of policies such as flexible working.
Participation in the staff survey is comparatively high. Results
are analysed at Departmental and local level and action plans
completed with the aim of showing real progress and action.
The Department is undergoing a restructuring
exercise including a reduction in staff numbers and a change in
the focus of the Department. A full Diversity Impact Assessment,
covering the potential impact on women and on other protected
groups, was completed and is monitored on an on-going basis.
The Department has a high level diversity strategy.
In line with this, action has been taken to address the under-representation
of women in the senior levels of the organisation. In common with
other government departments, the Department is working towards
the targets set out in the Cabinet Office 10 point plan on Diversity.
The relevant targets and current progress are
as follows:
|
|
|
1 April 2007 |
|
10 Point Plan Target |
|
10 Point Plan Target |
DTI Target |
No of Minority Staff |
Number of Staff at Band |
Current % |
No of staff required to reach target |
Gap between actual numbers and target |
| SCS Women | 37% | 37%
| 53 | 177 | 30
| 65 | 12 |
| SCS Women PB2 | 30% | 35%
| 8 | 34 | 24 |
10 | 2 |
| Band C Women | | 30%
| 427 | 1,165 | 37
| | |
In the recent SCS promotion exercise, HMUs encouraged candidates
from minority groups, including women, to apply. Diversity training
was delivered by a specialist contractor to all SCS assessors
and the competition was diversity proofed. As a result, the number
of successful women candidates was higher than anticipated. Further
diversity training is planned for all Key Leaders in the organisation
supported by diversity awareness training for all staff.
2. In order to assess the relevance of all of our work
streams to the Gender Equality Duty, the former DTI carried out
an extensive screening exercise of all of its functions. The screening
exercise covered each of the 8 Groups in the former DTI and the
UKTI and Executive Agencies' individual business plans were screened
as part of the same exercise. The results can be found at www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39015.pdf.
An assessment was carried out for all of the functions contained
within each of the Group plans. The following questions were considered
when making the assessment:
— will the activity help BERR and its Agencies meet
the duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment,
and to promote equality of opportunity between men and women;
and
— is there any evidence or reason to believe that
the activity is affecting/could have a different effect to gender
bias?
This information gave us a clear idea of those areas that
are of most relevance to the duty, and prioritise them as priority
areas for action.
We were therefore able to form a clear idea of what the overall
objectives for the Gender Equality Scheme should look like. The
former DTI used the results of the screening exercise to identify
the priorities in the action plan at Chapter 8 of the department's
Equality Scheme (which can be found at: www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39012.pdf).
3. The Department has not currently changed procurement
policies and practices to take account of the gender equality
duty but is actively considering changes in the light of best
practice across government and in line with existing procurement
guidance.
4. Generally, the department's Gender Equality Scheme
has been implemented into BERR policy formulation in a similar
way to the department's Race Equality Scheme. The approach to
including Race Equality Impact Assessments and Gender Equality
Impact Assessments is an integrated one (along with Disability
Impact Assessments). High priority has been given to meeting the
department's obligations to all three Equality Duties for genuine
and integrated consideration in the delivery of our objectives
to ensure equality across the department and in all the policy
and service that we deliver.
| 
