1. This equipment was donated by Thompsons solicitors Getting Equal: Implementing the Gender Equality Duty Monday 14 th May 2007

2. Trade Unions and the Challenges posed by the Gender Equality Duty in the Workplace Gloria Mills CBE National Secretary (Equalities) UNISON Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

3. Trade Unions and the Challenges posed by the Gender Equality Duty in the Workplace Background and Context of Equality work in trade unions Equality at the heart of trade union agenda Trade Unions commitment led by TUC TUC Rule Change 2001 commits TUC and unions to promote equality in all aspects of union work Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

4. Benchmarking began in 2003 – TUC Equality Audit compares progress against benchmarks Union priorities for equality Rules Structures Membership Collective bargaining Services to members Publicity Campaigns Unions as Employers Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007 Benchmarking of trade unions equality work and all activities

5. Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007 What Challenges for Trade Unions? Develop robust framework and strategy for workplace Casting a Gender Lens – gender dimension and perspective on all policies, practices and decision making – an integrated equality approach Develop framework for equality bargaining in general and gender equality bargaining in particular Collective bargaining decentralised and fragmented – multiple employers and bargaining units Public Sector - higher union density and organisation bargaining more centralised

6. Areas for Action Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007 Training and Capacity Building Negotiating and advocacy skills Strengthening capacity on job evaluation Statutory equality representatives Pay Audits Equal Pay and Sex Discrimination Questionnaires Codes of Practice – equal pay, GED, SDA, RRA, DDA Policies and Practices - terms and conditions, service delivery – not just pay! Employment, Service Delivery and Standards

7. Making Pay Gap Visible Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007 Identify gender equality objective of employing authority and gender pay gap at workplace Assess differences by occupational groups and grades Check plus payments, performance and pay related benefits, e.g. bonus, allowances Check for multiple forms of discrimination – e.g. migrant workers being paid lower rates Check terms are conditions eg, fixed term and casual contracts may vary by gender

8. Public Procurement – ‘Soft’ Contracts v ‘Hard’ Contracts Challenge Fallacy of definition of contracts as ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ Implicit and explicit gender differences ‘Soft’ – cleaning, catering, clerical are part of the five Cs where women are concentrated in labour market, contribute to gender segregation and lower paid Disproportionate impact on gender grounds Contracted out v directly employed Gender Impact Assessment mandatory Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

9. Pay Discrimination and Closing Gender Pay Gap Over 3 decades average hourly pay between men and women employed full-time reduced from 30 per cent in 1975 to 17 per cent today Assessing Impact of Pay Bargaining ‘Regional’ v ‘National’ Regional Differences in Pay, for example, London gender pay gap 23 per cent against national average of 17 per cent Impact of local bargaining on gender Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

10. Key Challenges and Priorities Labour market patterns and trends of discrimination – sector specific strategies and plans Challenging patterns of occupational segregation Women crowded in narrow range of low paying occupations Pay and opportunity gap between women and men Working below potential – few opportunities Public policy and decisions of public authorities Built in – not bolted – integrating all forms of discrimination Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

11. Public Procurement Policy and Decisions Monitor all public policy decisions Monitor and measure impact of decisions Check that full gender equality impact assessment has been done No tick box approach – proper evaluation Assess impact by groups and outcomes Do cost and benefits analysis Identify ‘losers’ and ‘gainers’ Check for disproportionate impact – insist on policy reversal, legal and judicial options Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

12. Examine Impact of Performance Measurement Schemes Impact of Lyons Relocation Gershon Efficiency Reviews Impact for jobs, service delivery, quality standards, gender impact Performance targets v Service level agreements How are quality standards enforced and maintained? Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

13. Knowledge and Information Resource Management Sources and quality of information, statistics and data Types of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ data Reliable, Authoritative, Authentic data Triangulation – check for robustness Access to data bases – LRD, IDS, EOR, LFS Sharing good practice Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

14. Role of Trade Unions in GES Gender Equality Schemes key strategic priority – SMART objectives - action plans and timelines Consultation – insist on meaningful consultation on GES For example, Unions in Higher Education Sector agreed to draw up jointly with employer GES – negotiated time off for reps; training for stewards and equality reps Negotiations on GES through Joint Consultative Committee Access to information – Information and Consultation Directive; Freedom of Information Act; TULRA Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

15. Lessons from Race Equality Duty Focus on Outcomes not Process Identify key indicators with objective measures where possible Non Compliant Schemes tend to be vacuous and vague Ensure equality built into service level agreements Action plans should close equality gaps in service outcomes Vision – drive up standards. Deliver culture change Improve access and equality outcomes Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

16. Lessons from Race Equality Duty Race Equality Duty – Levers that work Race Equality - Impact Assessments Proactive legal strategy and enforcement General and Formal Investigations Serving minded letters and non-compliance notices Proactive engagement and action with non compliant public authorities – e.g. Investigation into Department of Health Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

17. Key Message Measure - objectives and actions against delivery Monitor – progress and implementation plans Review – progress against objectives and plans Identify areas for strategic enforcement action Inspection and Scrutiny – Active engagement with Inspectorates; Regulatory Authorities and Equality Commissions and CEHR. Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

18. What are existing and emerging patterns and trends? Impact of Glass Ceiling – how low is glass ceiling for women compared to men? Rate of progress and promotion between women and men – what’s rate of progress from point of recruitment to promotion? Access and opportunities for training between women and men? Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007

19. Further Information http://www.unison.org.uk/women/ Institute of Employment Rights GED Monday 14 th May 2007