News from the April/May edition of Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue 105
Female CSR practitioners earn less than men and fill lower postions
The latest study on the CSR profession, produced by Ethical Performance, Acona and Acre Resources, shows that women in CSR are likely to earn less and fill lower-ranking positions than men, and that certain CSR areas of activity have a gender bias. Specifically, men – despite their lesser numbers – continue to hold a majority of Director/Head roles while women predominate in the Advisor/Analyst positions. Even more pronounced this year is the fact that women are much more likely to be found working in community involvement than men (by a factor of four) while men continue to dominate the more technical fields such as climate change and environmental management. Contact: Acre Resources www.acre-resources.co.uk
Rising informal employment will increase poverty
Informal employment is at record levels worldwide, partly in response to the financial crisis, with severe consequences for poverty in poor countries, according to a new report by the OECD Development Centre, Is Informal Normal? The study, released on 8 April, finds that 1.8 billion people are working without a formal labour contract and social security. That number is projected to grow to at least two thirds of the workforce by 2020. The report warns of the potential drawbacks of a further increase in informal employment and calls for a comprehensive package that promotes good quality job creation in both the formal and informal sector. improving infrastructure, enhancing skills development, promoting institutional reform and access to resources for informal businesses are key elements in this strategy. Contact: OECD Development Centre www.oecd.org
Compulsory audits on equal pay
Companies will be forced by law to disclose how much they pay men compared with women according to the Equalities Bill announced on 27 April, which will also help narrow the gap between rich and poor, outlaw age discrimination and strengthen Britain’s anti-discrimination legislation. Compulsory “gender pay audits” will seek to shame employers who routinely pay women less, and spur more women to demand pay rises. The new law will apply to companies with 250 or more staff, who will be given until 2013 to comply. After that they will face civil or criminal prosecution. It will also apply to public sector bodies with 150 staff or more. The Equalities Bill is expected to come into force from autumn 2010 with gender pay reports not expected to be enforced before 2013. Contact: Government Equalities Office www.equalities.gov.uk
European MPs will vote on lesbian paternity leave
Proposals have gone before the European Parliament that will give MEPs the chance to grant two weeks’ leave to gay second mothers if their partners give birth. This follows an amendment to European Commission proposals on paternity/co-maternity parental rights, by the European Parliament’s women’s rights committee. The proposals include clauses that reflect “different types of family structures” including same-sex couples. Jane Anderson, solicitor at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin said that employers must “consider requests from same-sex partners in exactly the same way they deal with requests from biological fathers or male partners of women who may not be the biological father of the child, and give equal consideration to them, or risk falling foul of the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003”. Contact: European Parliament www.europarl.europa.eu
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