Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee report on Women in the Workplace

EHRC responds to the consultation of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee - First Report: Women in Workplace.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission welcomes the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee report on Women in the Workplace published on 20 June 2013.

Women in Britain are better educated than ever before and yet they still do not achieve parity with men in the workforce. Job choices are still highly gendered; the pay gap has declined but women are still likely to earn less than men; and women do not enter senior roles at the same rates as men.

If Britain is to make the most of its human talent, then we need to continue to improve ways of opening up work place opportunities to women. The Commission supports several changes introduced by Government that may help even the playing field. The extension to the right to request may remove the assumption that employees with caring responsibilities are less committed to their employer. Narrative reporting on gender representation and human rights will make company activities more transparent to customers, shareholders, and employees. And many listed companies have increased the numbers of women on their Boards to meet Government’s voluntary target.

However, to ensure women have similar opportunities to men in their working lives, girls need better guidance around career choices and access to apprenticeships, workplaces need to encourage flexible working and find ways of retaining employees with caring responsibilities so that women who want to work or want to work more hours, can do so, and employers need to consider how to improve their recruitment, retention, promotion and pay so that women have the same opportunities and rewards as men.

The response (word)

Last Updated: 11 Sep 2013