There is new legislation (since April) which affects all public bodies in the UK around gender equality - the GED (Gender Equality Duty) requires assessment and action to ensure people (staff and service users) are not discriminated against because of their gender, including trans-sexuality.

The equal opportunities commission has some useful information about this - important whether you are a public body, a service user (we all are really) or a private company wishing to ensure the highest levels of gender equality in your organization.

http://www.eoc.org.uk/default.aspx?page=15016


This is of course on top of the current sex discrimination legislation, which has been around for years.

However I will keep the poll and discussions around whether all organizations should follow suit rather than how far we have actually moved forward with gender equality.

Do give your views.

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Dr Stephanie Morgan
Crosslight Management
www.crosslight.co.uk

Thanks for this, I voted but I have to say I am still trying to get my head around the difference between the old legislation and the new...

As I understand it public bodies have to comply with even stricter guidelines, actively promoting equality. However, companies who wish to do business with the public sector may also be asked to adhere more strictly to these codes.

Here is a note from the equality & human rights website about the public organization's duty:

Public authorities must uphold and promote human rights in everything they do.

All public authorities have legal duties relating to race, gender and disability. Their obligations within each area focus on:

promoting equality of opportunity
promoting good relations
promoting positive attitudes
eliminating harassment, and
eliminating unlawful discrimination.
These obligations are set out in the race equality duty, the gender equality duty and the disability equality duty.

The three equality duties are similar in spirit as they all place the onus on public authorities to actively tackle discrimination and promote equality. However, the duties do have slightly different requirements, which will need to be met in order to satisfy legal obligations.

See the commission website:
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/e...s/default.aspx

__________________
Dr Stephanie Morgan
Crosslight Management
www.crosslight.co.uk