International Women’s Day: Progress on Global Gender Equality

Baroness Donaghy Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Donaghy (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Jenkin of Kennington, whose record on women’s issues and equality is quite outstanding. I congratulate the Minister on initiating the debate.

The campaign for equal rights, as has been said, is not new, but it is always stimulating to participate in a debate of this kind involving women and men. One of the most exhilarating International Women’s Days that I experienced was when I attended a women’s conference in New York with Gloria Steinem as the guest speaker, but that was 35 years ago.

I am afraid that I can go back even further. Forty-four years ago, my former trade union, NALGO, decided to investigate and report on the promotion of equal rights for women, and I was lucky enough to be a member of the group. The report analysed inequality and discrimination in the workplace, the weaknesses of the anti-discrimination legislation and job segregation. It called for a full nursery and childcare facility and flexible working patterns for women. The NALGO history recorded that the report was,

“a devastating appraisal of the situation of women at work, in society and within NALGO”.

I mention this because we have known for a very long time the causes of inequality for women and the solutions. I do not want another report analysing the problems. We need a recognition by Government that they must lead, facilitate, and open their purse where necessary, if we are to move forward.

I commend the Government for going ahead with the requirement for companies and the public sector to analyse and publish statistics on the gender pay gap. It will be interesting to see the concrete figures when they are published shortly. Much publicity has been given to the gender pay gap as a result of the gyrations of the BBC. The downside of this negative coverage is that it has probably frightened a lot of well-meaning employers, who will go into their collective shell rather than making plans. The April deadline for companies with 250 employees or more to publish their gender pay gap data is fast approaching. Last month, only 550 companies out of 9,000 had published their figures. The average gender pay gap is 11%, and is worse in construction and financial services in particular.

I accept that the first round of calculations will be the hardest for companies, but after that it will be much easier and there is plenty of advice around. It is essential for companies to plan now and state how any gap will be rectified over time. An example given in People Management was of easyJet, with a 52% mean gender pay gap but only 6% women pilots. EasyJet has publicly committed to a target of 20% of new-entry pilots being women by 2020. Companies should be praised for taking these steps.

Once employers understand the difference between a gender pay gap and an equal pay issue it will be easier to communicate with their employees. Instead of regarding the exercise as a burden on business, it could be a great opportunity to become a real equal opportunities employer, attracting the best available talent and minimising talent wastage, as the noble Baroness, Lady Jenkin, said. The CIPD, of which I am a fellow, is holding a gender pay gap conference today, so help is out there.

Local government has often been more progressive than central government on this issue. My thanks go to the Local Government Association for pointing out that next year will be the 150th anniversary of single women ratepayers having the right to vote in local government elections and of the Municipal Franchise Act 1869, an anniversary which should be celebrated. The LGA is continuing its “Be a councillor” campaign on a cross-party basis to encourage more women to stand for election as councillors.

The Greater London Authority has been working with Gingerbread to assist single parents who are locked out of work because of the cost of childcare. They struggle with up-front costs, such as deposits to secure a nursery place, which must be paid before the first pay cheque comes in. This will be even more critical when universal credit is rolled out. It will be paid in arrears and costs prior to employment will not be readily available. Gingerbread has an “up front” policy, whereby local government or employers could pay parents’ deposits directly to enable them to accept a job or increase working hours before the money starts coming in. It is to be hoped that this commendable co-operation will spread to other parts of local government. However, it is a poor substitute for the targeted support which existed in the 2000s.

Local government could do so much more if it were given adequate financial support. The benefit cap has affected single parents, mainly women, who make up three-quarters of capped households. Those who find it hardest to move into work will have preschool children. Single parents still face a disproportionate risk of poverty and figures are returning to the levels not seen for two decades. Compared with the system in 2013-14, lone parent families will be £2,380 a year worse off. Single parents are more likely than the average employee to be trapped in low-paid work. Lifting the two-child cap would keep 200,000 children out of poverty, according to the Child Poverty Action Group. Removing the benefit cap could keep up to 100,000 children from poverty.

Government policy in this area has a detrimental impact on women and their opportunities. I hope the Government will look again at the issue of paying universal credit to women in couples, or at least allow an agreed split in income. The Government have argued up to now that this represents “interference” and would undermine the responsibility of couples in managing their affairs. However, one could equally argue, as the Women’s Budget Group does, that making couples choose one partner to receive the payment also represents “interference”. The Government’s aim to encourage committed couples is commendable, but their current policy could act as a disincentive to single people moving in with a new partner.

Cuts in public services have a disproportionate effect on women. The Women’s Budget Group reported that women have borne 86% of the impact of austerity through lost services and changes to the tax and benefit system. In conclusion, on this International Women’s Day, will the Minister say whether the Government are considering a review of the cuts in benefits which affect women so badly, and whether local government will have the resources that it so desperately needs?