A forum of major employers has called on the government to take a lead in establishing a national policy on childcare. Backed by companies such as British Airways, British Gas, BT, Kingfisher, Midland Bank, Shell UK and TSB, Employers for Childcare issued a seven point ‘business blue-print’ on September 5 to achieve accessible, available, affordable, quality childcare. It calls childcare an investment in the workforce of today and tomorrow, not a perk, and wants political parties in the run-up to the general election to pledge effective solutions. Contact Victoria Lee, EFC, on 0171 976 7374
WOMEN AT WORK
Women now form a larger proportion of the labour force, at 44% in 1994 compared to 37% in 1971, according to Social Focus on Women (ISBN 0 11 620 713 2, £25), a comprehensive statistical guide published by HMSO on behalf of the Central Statistical Office on August 9. Just under half of women with a child under five work, compared to three quarters of women whose youngest child is aged 11 to 15. In some professions, women are making greater in-roads – around 30% of practising solicitors in England and Wales are now women, compared to only 12% ten years earlier.
@4N 10PT TXT.I = The survey contains a wealth of social and other information; for example, 87% of women are either ‘very’ or ‘quite’ concerned about the environment. Contact CSO on 0171 270 6363 (http://www.emap.co.uk/cso/)
LESS PAY, MORE WORKERS
By the year 2000, women will make up more than half the workforce in most industrialised countries, compared to a third in 1990. At present women earn less than men in all the countries included in a detailed statistical survey conducted by the ILO and published on August 25. The survey also provides data on job segregation and sexual harassment. Contact Graciela Carrillo, ILO, on 0171 828 6401
THE GLASS CEILING
Less than three per cent of directors of the top 250 UK companies are women, with 188 companies having no women on their boards and only 10 having two. According to figures published by PIRC, Pensions & Investment Research Consultants, at the end of August, the overall number has risen over recent years, although the rate of growth is slowing. Contact PIRC on 0171 250 3311 (100741,2055@compuserve.com)
GUIDE TO SEX EQUALITY
The Equal Opportunities Commission has issued a new guide book to sex discrimination law. Published on September 25 and intended for lawyers and legal advisers, Towards Equality details case histories as a reference to case law. The EOC warns that awards at industrial tribunals have risen by 45% since the compensation limit was abolished and the number of cases is up by a third. Contact EOC on 0171 222 1110
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