Diversity: bridging the gender gap… and the age barrier

Brimming with opportunity

Sainsbury’s, Ford and Credit Suisse First Boston were recognised as leaders in the development of women in work by the eighth annual Opportunity Now awards, sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland, on May 28. Sainsbury’s took a special award for significant improvement in the proportion of women represented on the board, now standing at 25%; Ford took the private sector award for its European diversity strategy; Credit Suisse First Boston’s programme to improve the career development, retention and promotion of women employees won the bank the new member award. The number of companies with adequate financial resourcing in place to promote gender equality in the workplace has increased from just over half to two thirds (65%) in the last year, according to research published on May 1 by the Opportunity Now campaign. Based on data from 226 of the UK’s largest organisations, the Gender equality in the workplace report finds that nearly three quarters (74%) now have a senior level gender champion in place, and six out of ten (60%) use a clear business case or rationale for their gender diversity work. Contact Helen Wells, Opportunity Now, on 020 7566 8714 (http://www.bitc.org.uk)

Accounting for people

The chief executives of The Royal Bank of Scotland and Cadbury Schweppes contributed to a consultation paper which calls for companies to report on the size and profile of their workforce. Proposals in the Accounting for people paper, launched by the government’s task force on human capital management on May 20, also recommends greater transparency on issues such as employee motivation, training and development, and remuneration and fair employment policies. The task force was set up with a mandate to advise on best practice and future options in human capital investment, and to recommend reporting mechanisms that would ensure greater transparency as well as winning the trust of investors and other stakeholders. The taskforce is currently encouraging feedback on its recommendations. It is the second recent taskforce to be led by Denise Kingsmill, building on a previous investigation into gender diversity earlier this year, which recommended making reporting on women’s employment and pay a mandatory requirement. The diversity taskforce also suggested that the government establish a new academic centre of excellence, jointly funded by business, to co-ordinate research on issues affecting the career prospects of women, and to provide practical market driven solutions to business. Other recommendation included overhauling the Investors in People standard to include women’s employment and pay issues. Contact Aarti Thakeria, DTI, on 020 7215 012(http://www.dti.gov.uk); Michael Oke, DTI,on 07778 469630(http://www.kingsmillreview.gov.uk)

20 years to go to equality

Gender parity in the workplace is as least twenty years away, according to a report published by The Conference Board in April. The Putting women on an equal footing report suggests that women continue to face many ‘microinequities’, with the key barriers being work-life balance challenges and inadequate networking, mentoring and visibility. In order to work towards parity, companies need to continually communicate and reinforce the importance and value of achieving gender equity, create effective mentoring and work-life balance programmes, and set objectives, measure progress, and hold managers accountable for supporting a gender neutral environment. Contact Deborah Anderson, The Conference Board, on 00 1 212 759 0900 (http://www.conferenceboard. org)

Break the age barrier

The Royal Bank of Scotland is sponsoring a new employers toolkit, launched by the Employers Forum on Age on April 3. The kit aims to help employers start preparing for new legislation due to enter into force in December 2006, which will give employees the right to bring legal cases against their employers if they have been discriminated against because of their age. The Forum is warning that UK employers could be liable for up to £73bn worth of such claims if they are not fully prepared for the legislation. The Nationwide Building Society was the first company to sign up to a new anti-age discrimination campaign, launched by Age Concern on March 20. The Break the Age Barrier campaign is encouraging 1,000 companies to sign the pledge to draw attention to the high levels of unemployment in the over 50’s. Contact Amanda Jones, RoyalBank of Scotland, on 0131 523 9287 (http://www.rbs.co.uk); Amanda Matheson, Nationwide, on 01793 65 5423 (http://www.nationwide.co.uk)

Euro year for disability

Microsoft is now an official corporate partner for the 2003 European Year of People with Disabilities, joining nine other companies, including Volkswagen, IBM and Sony on the roster of corporate supporters. Microsoft is working in partnership with Hewlett-Packard to provide technology for the campaign’s tour bus, traveling throughout the EU during 2003 to raise awareness and promote the rights of people with disabilities. In the European Parliament, proposals for Europe-wide legislation to prohibit discrimination against disabled people in housing, education, transport and all its other forms were published by MEPs on March 12. Such legislation would be the first piece of Europe-wide law to specifically cover disability discrimination in all areas of life, including the workplace. Contact Sarah Foxall, Microsoft, on 0870 6010100 (http://www.microsoft.com); Contact Richard Howitt, European Parliament, on 01376 501 700 (http://www.europarl.eu.int)

Doubling opportunities

HBOS, B&Q, Sainsbury’s and Safeway are among the 100 organisations to sign up to support the Double the opportunities initiative run by Remploy, specialists in training and employment for people with disabilities. Local branches of ASDA, Tesco, Comet and Co-op Supermarket are also signing up, it was announced on April 24. Launched in January, the campaign requires companies to commit to doubling the number of people they employ, and helps the companies to find, train, support employees with disabilities. Meanwhile, B&Q is sponsoring a new report presenting the attitudes of employers and employees towards people with disabilities in the workplace, published by national disability organisation Scope on April 2. Ready, willing and disabled finds that four out of ten (40%) employers do not know whether their buildings are physically accessible, and even more (45%) say they would not be able to employ a person with disabilities due to costs. Contact Stuart Knowles, Remploy, on 0800 138 7656 (http://www.remploy.co.uk); Alison Hunter, Scope, on 020 7619 7205 (http://www.scope.org.uk )

Employment for all

The number of working age people claiming incapacity benefits is now greater than the combined total of lone parents and unemployed people on benefits, according to a report published by MPs on April 2. The work and pensions committee report, Employment for all investigates the effectiveness of government policy in increasing the employment rate of disabled people. The committee recommends more effort in promoting the business case for employing disabled people, especially for small and medium sized businesses, more emphasis on regional employment policies, and improved assistance for those contemplating self-employment or starting a small business. Contact Emily Lumb, W&P committee,on 020 7219 5833 (http://www.parliament.uk)

in brief

The ILO outlines the risks of not eliminating discrimination at work in its new and most comprehensive study to date on discrimination, Time for equality at work, published on May 12. Contact Monica Evans, ILO, on 020 7828 6401(http://www.ilo.org)

US companies American Express, Ford, Verizon, IBM, Deloitte & Touche, Eastman Kodak and Xerox feature in the top ten of DiversityInc’s listing of leading American companies for diversity, published in April. Contact Barbara Frankel, DiversityInc, on 00 1 732 509 5215 (http://www.diversityinc.com)

COMMENT:

Monitoring, measuring, benchmarking and reporting are the unglamorous but essential tools first to identify and then to overcome persistent discrimination in employment.

Margaret Thatcher once said “In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman”. Perhaps that’s what the present incumbent of 10 Downing Street had in mind when the government first asked Denise Kingsmill to look into women’s employment and pay two years ago. The wait was worthwhile, as her recommendations, formally published earlier in the year, set out an agenda for action that – if implemented – would transform the results revealed by Opportunity Now’s admirable annual benchmarking study.

Her business case analysis is crystal clear, as is her understanding of the limitations of relying on that alone. In summary, the public sector should conduct audits of pay and employment conditions and report on their human capital management annually. She says the private sector should be required to do the latter now, and the former soon, if it does first act quickly and voluntarily. Arguing that the contracting out of public services has affected women badly, she also wants to require public sector outsourcing contracts to maintain previously established fair pay levels and working conditions. The key in all this is mandatory reporting in the promised new OFRs, around agreed indicators (the subject of a second Kingsmill report just out). Despite good progress in recent years, even many Opportunity Now companies are falling down on the basics. A third don’t track the numbers of women and men applying for jobs, still fewer those being interviewed and finally appointed; Similarly, a third don’t track genderbalance in training provision, and two thirds don’t track appraisal results by gender. The good news is that many of these highly practical recommendations can apply equally to other groups experiencing discrimination, such as people with a disability and older citizens.