INTRODUCTION

  1.  The Good Relations Unit of Belfast City Council is submitting a written statement in relation to those questions listed in the documentation that are most relevant to the work of the Council.

  2.  We have taken the view that examining the balance in representation of local government, together with a review of those initiatives aimed at influencing the composition of local government, is a useful starting point from which to examine the wider societal debate surrounding the composition of representation in the House of Commons.

Background information on Belfast City Council and its composition

  Belfast City Council is the largest of the 26 Councils in Northern Ireland (NI) and will retain this status even after the reduction in the number of Councils envisaged under the current Review of Public Administration. It serves a resident population of around 280,000 people, spends approximately £120 million each year, employs directly more than 2,500 people and is responsible for the delivery of key services within Belfast.

  3.  The Council has a total of 51 locally elected Councillors; only 14 of these are women (27%), although the population of the city as a whole is almost 50/50 men/women.

  4.  Belfast City Council conducted a survey of the makeup of its elected Councillors in 2007; 41 of the 51 Councillors provided details on their personal circumstances.

  5.  Of these, 31 (76%) were male and 10 (24%) were female. Just under a fifth of Councillors (19%) were under 40 and 78% were more than 40 years of age. 32% of Councillors were responsible for a child or children; 12% were responsible for a dependant elderly person and 10% were responsible for a person with a disability. A majority (73%) of Councillors were employed full-time while 12% were employed part-time.

What are the reasons why more women, people from ethnic minorities and disabled people do not become members of Parliament/Councillors?

Why don't more from these groups consider standing for election?

Why aren't more of them selected? Or, if they are,

Why aren't more of them elected?

  6.  We have anecdotal evidence within the Council to suggest that women are less likely to want to become elected Councillors for various reasons:

— the timing of Council and Committee meetings, usually late afternoon, which is the most inconvenient time for those with child caring responsibilities

— the "macho" perception of Council /Committee meetings in Belfast, linked to the perceived "aggressive" nature of politics in NI.

  Some political parties have pro-active policies on the selection of women as candidates and representatives at Council and NI Assembly level.

What actions could be taken by the government (Council) to address disparities in representation?

  7.  Belfast City Council has been working proactively to identify and tackle the issues identified on a number of levels.

  8.  As a member of the Local Government Staff Commission of NI (LGSC) the Council has played a key role in the Commission's work looking at the following:

— how to increase women's participation and representation in decision making processes

— identifying the causes and seeking to close the gender pay gap

— developing recognised good practice in relation to flexible working policies and work-life balance initiatives

— examining the impact of childcare/caring roles for both men and women (particularly in rural areas)

— raising awareness of gender related violence.

  9.  Belfast City Council has been involved in a number of initiatives aimed at raising the levels of involvement of women in local Councils and has been a proactive member of the LGSC's Women in Local Councils initiative.

  10.  As part of this initiative the LGSC established a Women's Development Steering Group to identify and address training and development needs, in the context of the under-representation of women Councillors and senior officers in NI Councils.

  11.  The Steering Group has representatives from a range of partner organisations in NI including the Society for Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), the NI Local Government Association (NILGA), the National Association of Councillors, Business in the Community, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), the Equality Commission of NI and the Institute of Governance at Queen's University Belfast.

  12.  A female Head of Services at Belfast City Council is Chair of this Steering Group and each Council and political party in Northern Ireland is challenged and supported to make measurable progress towards addressing gender under-representation, thereby creating a local government sector that more accurately reflects the community it serves.

  13.  A key feature of the Women in Local Councils initiative is the appointment of a gender champion within each of the partner organisations. The network of champions is committed to maximising the profile of the initiative and participation in the programme of events within their respective organisations. They also assist in identifying and sharing examples of best practice and act as the main point of contact with the Women's Development Steering Group. In Belfast City Council the champion is our Director of Development, Marie-Threse McGivern.

  14.  In addition to this initiative, Belfast City Council also developed and led a 3-year project 2005-08, funded under the EU EQUAL programme, entitled WINS (Women Into Non- Traditional Sectors). This delivered a programme of pre- employment training and mentoring and work placements for long term unemployed or economically inactive women in Belfast along with research into barriers facing women working in non-traditional sectors. The project also examined how to make the workplace attractive to labour supply, how to improve accessibility and remove barriers (real and perceived) and the promotion of the benefits of a particular job to a target audience.

What actions have been taken elsewhere in the UK and overseas, and by whom, to address similar concerns? And

  15.  We are aware that the European Commission has produced an Equality Roadmap for gender equality and that MEPs have called on member states and political parties to review positive measures to improve levels of representation in relation to gender. We note that the European Parliament has endeavoured to take a lead in tackling under representation with the Parliament's "Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities" by recommending the introduction of EU legislation to require employers to undertake wage audits and develop action plans to reduce gender wage gaps. The statutory requirement of public bodies in Britain to develop a Gender Action Plan has established the eradication of gender pay differentials as one of a range of positive actions to be undertaken by public sector organisations. We also note that MEPs have called on the European Commission to declare 22 February 2009 as international wage equality day.