Kevin Rowan

Mar 6 2006 By Kevin Rowan, The Journal

It's 30 years since the Equal Pay Act came into force and there have been many advances for women in the labour market and wider society.

But, as the Women and Work Commission noted in its report published last week, there is still a considerable way to go to achieving equality. Despite girls consistently outperforming boys in school, women working full-time earn 13% -17% less than men, and part-time workers are more than 40% behind male earners.

Even when women obtain higher level skills, the gap between earnings remains prevalent: three years after graduation women earn on average 15% less than male graduates.

There are still equal pay problems, as unions in the NHS and local authorities have demonstrated, but the Commission report also shows one challenge to overcome is occupational segregation. Women are "crowded into a narrow range of occupations, mainly those available part-time, that do not make the best use of their skills".

Women are under-employed, in jobs that do not match their talents. The Commission estimates the cost of this to the economy is £15bn-£23bn.

There is progress toward caring being a shared responsibility, but it is still predominantly women who care for children and older relatives. This imbalance continues to have a major impact on opportunities for women.

Balancing roles leads many into part-time occupations which, in practice, excludes them from senior managerial roles.

The 'glass ceiling' remains in place: only one third of managers and senior officials are women, and they tend to be in lower management roles. Many returning from maternity leave, despite the legislation, have to change occupation - to balance work and home responsibilities - often into lower-skilled, lower-paid jobs.

Making opportunity more equal at work is vital. There are accepted arguments against discrimination, but it is also essential if we are to improve productivity. A key aspiration must be to make the most of all our citizens' talents. Employers can and should take steps to enable equality, starting with an equality review.

But it isn't all down to employers. The road to gender segregation starts long before people reach work. Evidence shows that from as early as three or four years old, children see men and women in certain roles.This must change to give girls higher ambitions. Initiatives like Equality North East's If I Can, You Can and the Aspire campaign help with this.

We need to provide better careers advice and lifelong training for women. People are living longer and changing jobs more often. We must equip all people to be employed in a way that maximises their knowledge and skills, regardless of gender.