Kevin Rowan column

May 22 2006 By Kevin Rowan, The Journal

Last week the TUC published its own challenges to be met in the White Paper on pensions reform expected this week.

Toward the end of the week, the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions announced a key measure.

For generations, women have missed out on the chance to accrue a full State pension due to career breaks to have children or care for relatives.

John Hutton's pre-White Paper announcement that the number of years' contributions necessary to achieve a full State pension is to be reduced to 30 (previously 39 for women, 44 for men) will be welcomed (even if the implementation date is still some way off).

More significant, perhaps, might be another feature - that years taken out of work for maternity or other caring responsibilities will count as full contributions. This is a massive policy statement, indicating that Government recognises the value of caring and is prepared to legislate to ensure those who take a break from work will not be penalised, at least not by the State. There is no doubt this change to State pension for women will have a significant impact, in time. From 2020, women will no longer enter retirement already handicapped by the State pension. The basic State pension, however, is increasingly only a small part of an individual's retirement income and women will remain burdened by the inequality they experience prior to retiring.

Despite 30 years of legislation, women are still getting a pretty raw deal in the workplace.

Over the course of their working lives, women earn millions less than men, access less training, are less likely to be promoted and are expected to do most of the domestic caring.

In most workplaces men are managers and senior staff while women do administrative jobs or the cleaning.

It's not easy to address this. Gender stereotyping starts early in a child's life - before school even. And there is a mixture of barriers - attitude issues that undervalue work women do and a lack of flexibility that would prevent individuals who have responsibilities outside work progressing to the highest highs in work.

Until opportunities in the workplace and responsibilities in the home are more equally shared, despite the changes to the State pension, women will still be the poorer relations.

Kevin Rowan is regional secretary of the Northern TUC