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PSA Target 9 - Gender Equality

By 2008, working with other departments, bring about measurable improvements in gender equality across a range of indicators, as part of the Government's objectives on equality and social inclusion.

Success Criteria

The target will have been met if:

• DTI [now Communities and Local Government] meets all those measures listed under Sub-targets 1-4;
  
• DTI [now Communities and Local Government] works with and influences other departments to make progress on their targets and are responsible for monitoring, reporting and following up with them those listed under Sub-targets 5-11.
  

Definitions

SEE ANNEX A for Definitions

Women's economic participation and advancement

Rationale

The Government is committed to pursuing a programme of action to reduce the pay gap - the causes of which include differences in levels of skills and qualifications; occupational and workplace segregation, part-time working; appraisal and reward systems; and wage-setting practices.  The Government is determined that women are not disproportionately penalized as a result of the choices they make, and that they are not discriminated against, as well as taking steps to open up opportunities and remove barriers to a wider range of choices. 

Ensuring that all women have the opportunity to play a full role in the economic life of the nation, benefits the individual by:

• Enhancing the lifetime incomes and economic well-being of all women and their dependants, especially those who are socially excluded
• Maximising their personal career development;
• Optimising work/life balance at all stages of their working life.
  

Measures

Sub-target 1

DTI [now Communities and Local Government] will work with other government departments to improve the labour market position of women and their overall lifetime incomes. DTI will increase the percentage of employees who are satisfied with their work/family balance. In order to do so, DTI will aim to ensure:

• (i) By 2008 there is a statistically significant increase in employee awareness of their right to request flexible working arrangements. Baseline 2003/04: 52%, increase to 60% 2008
• (ii) By 2008 there is a statistically significant increase in the percentage of employers who provide two or more flexible working time arrangements to their employees. Baseline 2003/04: 44%, increase to 54% by 2008
  

Sub-target 2

By 2007 increase from 8% to 16% the number of employers who provide childcare facilities or who provide arrangements to help working parents combine work with family commitments.

Sub-target 3

By 2008 the Government target will be to see an increase to 45% the number of large organizations that have undertaken equal pay reviews.

Sub-target 4

The Government is committed to encouraging women into sectors where they are currently under-represented and helping women to succeed once in those sectors:

• i) By 2008, DTI will ensure that women make up 40 per cent of the representation of Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) related boards and councils
• ii) By 2008, DTI will significantly increase the proportion of newly self-employed people who are women
• iii) DTI aims to reverse the serious under-representation of women in Information, Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITEC)jobs and bring their share up to the level of our competitors.
  

Sub-target 5

DfES will work across Government and with the Learning and Skills Councils (LSC), Sector Skills Councils (SSC), trade unions, Connexions, Equal Opportunities Commission and the Modern Apprenticeships Taskforce to secure a significant increase in the number of girls and boys achieving level 2 and level 3 on Modern Apprenticeships in sectors where they are currently under-represented and where employer demand for these skills is high.

Significant Increase: The numbers of men and women entering Modern Apprenticeships are broadly similar, but there are significant imbalances in specific sectors, which are related to major differences in wages. However, targets will have to be appropriate and relative to overall entry rates, and the percentage of young men and women entering skill shortage sectors. For example, a substantial cultural change would be required to 'double' the number of girls training in construction who at present account for 1%. Whilst in engineering and the motor industry they account for 2-3%. Boys account for 3% of those training in childcare and 6% in hairdressing.

Data Sources

Sub-target 1:

For (i) The Second Work-Life Balance Study employee survey, conducted by MORI on behalf of DTI in early 2003, surveyed employee awareness of the new employment rights.  See Jane Stevens, et al, The Second Work-Life Balance Study: Results from the Employees' Survey, Employment Relations Research Series No 27, DTI, URN 04/740, March 2004.

Results of the first Flexible Working Employee Survey, conducted by the ONS on behalf of DTI in 2003-04, were published by DTI in April 2004.  See Tom Palmer, Results of the First Flexible Working Employee Survey, Employment Relations Occasional Paper, DTI, URN 04/703, April 2004.  This can be used to establish a preliminary employee baseline for (i).

The second Flexible Working Employee Survey will be conducted in early 2005, and published by April 2005.
For (ii) The Second Work-Life Balance Study employer survey, conducted by NatCen on behalf of DTI between December 2002 and April 2003, surveyed employer provision of flexible working arrangements.  See Stephen Woodland, et al, The Second Work-Life Balance Study: Results from the Employers' Survey - Main Report, Employment This report can be used to provide a preliminary employer baseline for sub-target 1b). Relations Research Series No 22, DTI, URN 03/1252, October 2003. 

First findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS 2004) will be published by March 2005.  Like the Second Work-Life Balance Study, this survey draws upon a large sample frame of employers in Great Britain in workplaces with five or more employees drawn from the IDBR. 

Sub-target 2:

This will also be measured through the Work Life Balance Survey (baseline 8% from 2003 WLBS ).  DTI also plans to monitor the measures currently passing through Parliament regarding tax and National Insurance breaks for employer-assisted childcare (which will help employers who wish to provide a voucher-scheme or establish workplace provision).

Sub-target 3:

This will be measured using the EOC survey following initial research 'Monitoring Progress Towards Equal Pay' published early 2003. Baseline in 2003 was 18%.

Sub-target 4: 

For (i), Baseline data was established using Cabinet Office data in "Public Bodies" and statistics compiled by the University of Warwick.  In 2002 this figure stood at 23%. In the future, data collection will be co-ordinated through the new "Resource Centre for Women in SET."

For (ii) The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey. Data on length of time continuously self-employed will be used to identify those who have been self-employed less than three months at time of interview. The measure covers all people of working age with self-employed status in their main job. Data from four quarterly surveys will be aggregated to provide annual estimates. Baseline data: Summer 2003 to Spring 2004 of those newly self-employed, 32% are women.

For (iii) this will be measured by the indicator that will track progress of women through the IT workforce:

• Women in the IT workforce (Number of people in ITEC professions in the UK is 1.2m this has risen 50% in 5 years.  But the proportion of women has shrunk, to 23%.)

DTI will work towards attaining the level of the UK's competitors.

Sub-target 5: 

The data source is the National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ). For 2001-02 it looked at the differences of three sectors:

• The number of girls awarded an NVQ level 2 in family care/personal development/personal care and appearance is 20,100 and 5,400 in Level 3. This compares with 1,700 of boys who were awarded an NVQ at any level in these subjects;
• The number of girls awarded an NVQ level 2 in Health care/medicine/health and safety is 28,200 and 24,300 were awarded a Level 3 NVQ.  This compares with 3,400 and 5,300 boys respectively;
• The total number of girls awarded an NVQ at any level in construction and property (built environment) is less than 1,000.  This compares with 20,600 boys awarded an NVQ at level 2 and 11,500 awarded at level 3.
  

This will all be compared to the findings of the EOC investigation into the causes of occupational segregation in Modern Apprenticeships.

Territorial Scope

Sub-target 1: Great Britain
Sub-targets 2, 3 and 4: UK
Sub-target 5: Devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Women's Social and civic inclusion

Rationale

Economic inclusion and power will add weight to women's voice, but to achieve the Government's goal of a more equal society a diversity of experiences and voices must be reflected in all areas of public life. Women must be encouraged and supported to make their voices heard and their experience felt through full and active participation in civic life. The central aim here is to eventually see all institutions with power and influence reflecting the diversity of the population as a whole. However for the purposes of this PSA objective DTI has chosen to focus on two areas of concern.

Measures

Cabinet Office will work with other Government departments to improve the representation of women in public appointments.

Sub-target 6: 

Cabinet Office will work with other Departments so that by 2008 a clear majority of departments have over 40% of women in public appointments for which they are responsible.

Sub-target 7: 

By April 2008 Cabinet Office will work with other Departments to build the capacity of the Civil Service to deliver the Government's priorities, by improving leadership, skills and diversity.

Meeting the specific targets for Diversity:

• 37% women in the Senior Civil Service (SCS);
• 30% women in top management posts (Pay bands 2&3).
  

Data Sources

Sub-target 6: 

Cabinet Office publication: Delivering Diversity in Public Appointments 2003 (published December 2003 this is an annual publication). These are the  public appointments diversity action plans for each central government department. Baseline:  individual Government departments' diversity action plans in relation to public appointments were first published in 1998.

Sub-target 7: 

Cabinet Office data collection exercise, which is conducted twice a year:

• A full diversity data collection is made each April (including experience and pay data);
• Limited collection in October to cover gender, ethnicity and disability.
  

Data on gender in the SCS and Top Management Posts is published on a six monthly basis, so new figures should be available in the next performance update. The baseline figures from the Cabinet Office, for April 2003 show that:

• 26.4% of the Senior Civil Service are women;
• 22.9% of those in the very top management posts are women.  This includes 3 women at Permanent Secretary level.
  

Territorial Scope

Sub-target 6: Public bodies and appointments sponsored by the UK government
Sub-target 7: UK

Women's access to and experience of public service delivery

Rationale

Equal opportunities can be denied if important public services fail a group of citizens, or restrict their access. The Government is committed to reforming public services with education, health, the criminal justice system and transport at the heart of its programme. The Government wants to see reform driven by the needs of service users - all service users. The Government wants to see equal access to our public services. For the purposes of this PSA objective DTI has focused on 4 areas of concern - childcare, the criminal justice system, transport and income beyond employment.

Measures

DTI will work to influence other government departments to make progress on women's access to and experience of public services.

Sub-target 8:

By 2008 the Government will as a contribution to reducing the proportion of children living in households where no one is working:
(i) Increase the stock of Ofsted-registered childcare by 10%;
(ii) Increase the take up of formal childcare by lower income working families by 50%;
(iii) Introduce, by April 2005, a successful light-touch childcare approval scheme.
 The above is a PSA target for DfES and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Sub-target 9: 

The Government is committed to: taking action to reduce domestic violence, which currently accounts for 18 per cent of violent crime; bringing more perpetrators to justice; and providing better support to victims.
The Indicator being reported on in this PSA is: percentage of reported domestic violence incidents where there is a power of arrest where an arrest is made. The target will be to increase this percentage. It is envisaged that baseline data will be set in the coming year.

Sub-target 10: 

Increase the coverage of second tier pensions for women. Around 24% of women are not accruing either the State Second Pension or a contracted out equivalent.

Sub-target 11:

Deliver Improvements to the accessibility, punctuality and reliability of local public transport (bus and light rail) with an increase in use by men and women of more than 12% by 2010 compared with 2000 levels, with growth in every region.

Data Sources

Sub-target 8: 

For (i) the indicator will be measured by reference to data provided by Ofsted about registered childcare places.

Baselines:

• 250 000 new childcare places in 2003; places for 1.8 million children by April 2004.
  
• For (ii) the indicator will be monitored by reference to Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data drawn from the DWP's Family Resources Survey.  This is about the proportion of children in lower income working families who use formal childcare. This is a proxy measure of the contribution of childcare to enabling low-income families to obtain and retain jobs. Data comes from the survey where parents answer whether they use regular/formal childcare.
• For (iii) [the aim is to create a scheme for approving carers who are not required by the Children Act to be registered. This allows a greater number of parents access to the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit and Employer Supported Childcare Tax and National Insurance Contributions exemptions. Subject to final decisions based on the outcome of the current consultation, the types of care eligible to be approved by the scheme are:
• Childcare in the parents home (this to include people referred to as nannies or au-pairs);
• Childcare for children over the age of 7;
• Childcare provided for less than 2 hours a day or that is activity based.
  

The timetable for the Childcare Approval Scheme is that an approval service will be in place, again, subject to final decisions following the conclusion of the public consultation:

•  To accept applications from individual home-based carers whose 'parents/ employers' are in receipt of Employer Vouchers, from January 2005. This will be treated as a live pilot of the systems that the Approval Body puts in place; and
• To have a fully operational approval service for all individual home-based carers and childminders for Over 7s only by end March 2005;
• To introduce the approval of clubs, and other groups by July 2005 at the latest.
  

Measurement of Progress

The criteria for successful introduction are:

•  Introduction of the scheme to the timetable above;
• Ability to provide an efficient service with 80% turn round time of six weeks (including the 4 weeks it takes to get an enhanced disclosure from the CRB);
• Ability to achieve this at a fee for individuals not higher than £125 per approval;
• 15,000 approvals  during the year ending March 31 2008.
  

Sub-target 9: 

Ministers have agreed a basket of indicators against which to measure the success of the cross-government domestic violence strategy. The arrests indicator is the current indicator, which focuses on police performance. This basket of cross Government indicators has been in place since April 2004. Baseline data will be available for some indicators chosen; for others it is envisaged that a baseline will be set in year 1. 
Data on these statistics has previously been required from police forces as part of the Best Value Performance Indictors (BVPI). From April 2004 this indicator will become part of the new Policing Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF). The data, which will be received quarterly from police forces will now be quality assured to ensure that the data supplied under this indicator has been accurately recorded in the correct BVPI category. The proportion of arrests is a proxy for the response to domestic violence.

Sub-target 10: 

Data source Family Resources Survey, Baseline 2001/02: approximately 26% of males and 24% of females are not accruing a Second State Pension or a contracted out equivalent.

Sub-target 11: 

To be built on Local Transport Plans and Local Accessibility Plans.
Patronage and physical accessibility are measured annually using data from the Department for Transport (DfT) annual survey of bus and light rail operators. Bus reliability is measured through quarterly returns to DfT by a sample of bus operators. National measures for punctuality and access to services are still being developed.

Territorial Scope

Sub-target 8: England Only Sub-target 9: England and Wales Sub-target 10: UK Sub-target 11: England

ANNEX A Definitions

Gender Equality: refers to a situation where discrimination based on an individual's sex (male/female) does not exist and where there is equality of opportunity between men and women.

Measurable improvements: a decrease in the disadvantage experienced by (usually) women.

Flexible working:  The right for parents of children under 6, or disabled children under 18 to request a flexible work arrangement from their employer. Part of the new employment rights introduced on 6 April 2003.

Flexible working time arrangements: The Second Work-Life Balance Study asked employers in workplaces in Great Britain with five or more employees whether seven working time arrangements were used by at least some of their employees in the past 12 months: part-time working, job sharing, flexitime, annualised hours, term-time working, compressed working weeks and reduced hours working.

Statistically significant increase: An increase in statistical estimates based on a sample survey that have at least a 95 per cent probability of not having occurred by chance.

Employer assistance: includes financial assistance through vouchers, or through providing information to employers; signposting to local Children's Information Service (who can provide a list of local provision); or maybe appointing a part-time co-coordinator.

Large organisations: those with 500 or more employees

Managers: in the LFS, the use of the category "Managers and senior officials" rather than "Managers and administrators", relates to the revised Standard Occupational Classification SOC 2000, which offers a tighter definition of managerial occupations and replaces SOC 90 from Spring 2001.
Part Time: a working week of less than 30 hours.

Public Bodies: bodies which have a role in the process of national Government. It is not a government department or part of one. It operates at arm's length from government. Such bodies are often referred to as non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) or 'quangos' (quasi autonomous non-government organisation). For (i) this includes 'policy committees' and 'SET related public bodies', NDPBs from other Government departments and public bodies in the devolved administrations.

Equal Pay Review:  An equal pay review involves: comparing the pay of men and women doing equal work; explaining any equal pay gaps; and closing any gaps that cannot be explained on grounds other than sex. Whatever kind of equal pay review process is used and whatever the size of the organisation, the essential features are the same. While employers are not obliged to carry out and equal pay review, only a review can ensure that they are providing equal pay.

Childcare Place: A childcare place is a new place offering a minimum of 3- 3.5 hours of continuous care (4 hours from 1 April 2004) This is deemed an appropriate period for any parent wishing to undertake training, further education or employment.

Public Appointments: See definition under sub-target 1

Senior Civil Service :  Created in April 1996 following the continuity and Change White Papers, the Senior civil Service (SCS) is made up of some 3,800 senior managers,  specialists and policy advisers, managed within a central personnel management framework.

Domestic Violence: is defined by the Home Office as "any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality."

Pensions: In the past, women tended to build up lower levels of state pensions income in their own right than men because the state system did not recognise caring responsibilities. This changed in 1978 when the Government introduced Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), which reduces the number of qualifying years needed for the basic State Pension. Prior to 1978, married women were able to pay a reduced rate of National Insurance. This meant that they would not build up their own basic State Pension entitlements but rely on a State Pension calculated on their husband's contributions. The effects of the pre-1978 system are still feeding through in to female pensioners' incomes now and will continue to do so for some time.

Only 41% of today's current female pensioner population has private pension income, compared to 73% of current male pensioners (2001-02 figures). Women end up with far less private pension income than men because women have historically had much lower levels of participation in the labour market and, on average, lower rates of pay. This means that as well as lower levels of private pension coverage, women also end up with lower levels of private pension income. The gross average private and occupational pension income for single male pensioners is £71/week. For female pensioners this figure is £42/week.

Women have tended either to withdraw from paid employment altogether, or work part-time, in order to care for children, whereas men's labour market participation does not change as they become parents. Among certain groups of women this is less likely than it has been in the past so future pension provision is improving for many women. However, in general it is still the case that women with dependent children have lower employment rates than men.
The Second State Pension:  The State Second Pension (S2P) extends second-tier pension rights for the first time to people without earnings who are caring for young children or a disabled adult. A significant number of future women pensioners will benefit from this. Almost all of the 2.5 million carers who will benefit from the State Second Pension are women. Moreover 70% of the low earners receiving S2P are women. State second pension is at least twice as generous as SERPS for low earners.