Lesbilicious - the web’s tastiest lesbian magazine

The new Equality Bill is a triumph for women and minority groups, according to Minister for Equality Harriet Harman.

By 2013, firms employing at least 250 staff will be required to publish average hourly rates for men and women employees.

The Bill will also extend protection against discrimination with regard to sexual orientation, gender expression and age in employment, goods and services.

“The Equality Bill is part of building a strong fair future for Britain out of the downturn,” announced Harman. “That means fairness and opportunity. Especially in tougher economic times, we need to face the problems fairly and we need to look for a fairer future.

“Though we have ensured new rights and opportunities for disabled people, for women, black and Asian people and older people – there is still unfairness and discrimination to tackle. And this Bill will take the action necessary to tackle it.”

Jonathan Finney, Stonewalls’s senior parliamentary officer, welcomed the announcement. “Lesbian, gay and bisexual people fund public services like everyone else,” he said. “Yet all too often they receive second-class treatment from key services like healthcare and policing.

“The proposed equality duty would move us from dealing with discrimination after it occurs to proactively advancing equality. It offers the missing piece of the jigsaw for full legal protection for gay people in Britain.”

Some business leaders have criticised the Equality Bill, claiming that it creates unnecessary red tape for businesses. “This is a further example of unnecessary regulation at a time when companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, are struggling to survive,” said Miles Templeman, director general of the Institute of Directors.

Katja Hall, CBI Director of HR Policy, believes that the gender pay gap can be misinterpreted. “It does not compare men and women doing the same job,” she said. “It reflects the fact that fewer women have higher paid jobs and the way to address that is not by comparing misleading average pay rates, but by improving opportunities for women via better childcare and careers advice.”

Forty years after the introduction of the Equal Pay Act, women in the UK still earn on average 23% less per hour than men.

Posted in: Campaigns & Politics |