Sexual discrimination - A Changing Nation
Since the employment equality reforms of the 1970s, which were designed to level the playing field between men and women at work, there have been huge changes in the profile of society. In the 1970s there was a broad equivalence in the educational achievement between boy and girls at school (GCE/CSE level), but the majority of those studying in further education (58 per cent) and in higher education (67 per cent) were male. By 2004 statistics indicated that girls were significantly outperforming boys across the board in England, Scotland and Wales. For example in England 59 per cent of girls achieved 5 or more GCSE A-C grades as compared to 49 per cent of boys in that year. Moreover, 2003 figures show that 59 per cent of students in further education and 57 per cent of students in higher education are now female.
It is submitted that these statistics paint a picture of radical and fundamental social change, however the labour market has proved far more resistant evolution. It is true that it may still be too early to see the real impact of the educational progress of females in the workplace, because the typical working career lasts for around forty five years and most younger women are still at a relatively early stage of their working life, but that said it seems that females are still discriminated against in their employment.
Indeed, although a comparison of the statistics between the 1970s and the early years of the twenty first century indicate a narrowing of pay inequality and the advance of women in many professional fields and contexts, given the contemporary dominance of women at every stage and in every branch of education, it could be argued that the position is in fact worse today than it was thirty years ago when the major anti-discrimination laws came into force.
The full-time gender pay differential in 1975 was 29 per cent, and men received 42 per cent more pay in part-time employment. In 2005 the full-time gap was still 17.1 per cent and the part-time differential was 38.4 per cent. The comparative statistics on certain key jobs are also illuminating. In 1975 only six percent of practising lawyers were women. By 2004 this figure had increased to 41 per cent. This demonstrates great progress - although perhaps it should be expected in the profession entrusted with applying the anti-discrimination legislation. However, given that a substantial majority of law students have been female for many years, and that they outperform males in their educational and training achievements, the statistics still betray a disparity in treatment.
In 1974 women rarely reached managerial positions: 1.8 per cent of managers and only 0.6 per cent of company directors were female. By 2005 a considerable advance had been achieved, but a clear disparity still endures with 33 per cent of managers and 14.4 per cent of directors now female. After the 1974 General Election, 4.3 per cent of MPs were women, as compared to 19.7 per cent in 2005 (progress which is due in part to the policy of women-only shortlists implemented by Labour in the 1990s - this was itself challenged as discriminatory against men).
It is also significant to note that self-employment rates have increased substantially over the period in question. In 1974 21 per cent of self-employed jobs were held by women and by 2005 this figure had risen to 28 per cent. It is suggested that one possible reason for this increase is the fact that women are dissatisfied with the option of employment because they perceive they will not receive completely fair treatment under an employer. Women who work for themselves retain freedom and opportunities which may not be available if their employer exercises discriminatory practices in the workplace.
This survey indicates that while legislation is an important instrument of workplace equity policy it is not a panacea. The United Kingdom is a very different place today than it was in the 1970s but many of these changes have been brought about by changes in attitudes and needs within society, not by legislative means. Prominent cases demonstrate that the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts have bitten on a large number of discriminatory working practices and many women have benefited as a consequence, but it is clear that some practices and attitudes are deeply engrained. Presumably the effluxion of time will address some of these issues as more women and more enlightened men gradually assume positions of power within organisations, but there is still considerable work for the policy makers, law-makers and judges to do.
Tags: discrimination laws, educational progress, employment equality, fundamental social change, inequality, women at work
