Equality Bill is due to be passed in spring 2010

There are currently many different types of equalities legislation on race, disability, sex, etc? These will soon all be coming under one single piece of legislation called the ‘Equality Bill’ which is intended to streamline the system. Public sector bodies are required to promote equality.

There are lots of reason givne for the need for the Equality Bill, for example:

• To reduce the pay gap between men and women - in the UK, on average, women earn 23% less than men 
• Poorer children still achieve less well at school 
• Disabled people are still not getting the same job opportunities as people who aren’t disabled 
• Figures also show that people from minority ethnic backgrounds are not given the same job opportunities as White British people 
• There is evidence that age discrimination still exists

Existing UK law protects the following strands:

• Race 
• Sex 
• Disability

The Equality Bill will mean there are additional protections for other strands:

• Sexual orientation 
• Religion or belief 
• Age 
• Pregnancy and maternity 
• Gender reassignment

Public sector bodies will be required to report on:

• The ‘gender pay gap’ (measured by the average hourly pay of full-time employees: the difference in pay between men and women who work for a public sector employer) 
• The ethnic minority employment rate (how many people are employed from an ethnic minority background) 
• The disability employment rate (how many people are employed who have a disability)