Upcoming Events :
Housing Seminar: Partnerships with the Public Sector – Avoiding the pitfalls
Thu 31 May 2012
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
Government commits to tackling gender discrimination
Thu 19 Nov 2009
The government has used the Queen's Speech to reaffirm its commitment to tackling discrimination against female employees.
Measures to address issues such as the pay disparity between men and women have been included in the Equality Bill, which is being carried over from the last parliamentary session.
It is hoped the proposed legislation will help to identify instances of gender discrimination in the workplace and lead to tougher action being taken against culpable employers.
The government said it is committed to achieving respect, fairness and opportunity for everyone in the UK.
This coincides with a report from the Cranfield School of Management, which found that the number of female directors in FTSE 100 corporate boards has not gone up in the last year.
Responding to the findings, equality minister Harriet Harman said this shows more needs to be done to increase the representation of women in the boardroom.
David von Hagen, a partner at Winckworth Sherwood, added: "One possible issue is that the Equality Bill may not become law before there is a change of government.
"The Conservatives have already said there are parts of the Bill they would express differently or not enforce.
"If the Bill is to made law in its current form, it will be a race to reach the statute book before May 2010."
