EEO briefs
Law firms in the UK have set up an umbrella diversity network to connect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender networks at individual law firms. A total of 80 delegates from 24 firms met to collaborate on recruitment, commission research and benchmarking exercises and organise social events.
More women are securing top jobs in English local authorities, according to union research. A study by the GMB union shows that in 22 English councils more than half of the top 5% earners are women, up from 16 councils a year ago. While women have made progress, this represents just 15% of English councils, despite women forming around 75% of the local government workforce.
Compare that to the New Zealand position where only 5% of CEOs jobs are held by women. The four female CEOs of 85 are located within the provincial sector (councils with populations between 20,000 and 90,000) in Franklin, Papakura, Rodney and Whakatane. There were five women in these top jobs in 1999.
Despite the big growth in numbers of managers in local government and of the number of female managers, these are largely confined to second tier managers where women are 24%.
Want someone to stay the distance? Mature-age workers stay in jobs longer, with 50 % in a Hays’ study indicating they had been in the same job for the past four years compared with 34% of the rest of the population.
Several local authorities in New Zealand are preparing Positive Ageing Strategies and progressive city councils such as Nelson have considered older worker employment issues as part of their consultation.
A groundbreaking new campaign in to break down sexism in the City of London targets lapdance club licensing. The Fawcett society says its Sexism and the City campaign “joins the dots between women’s experiences in the workplace and a wider culture in which women are subject to sexist stereotypes and are and are increasingly sexually objectified.” The campaign has a manifesto aimed at flexible work options, ending the long work hours culture, addressing stereotyping and discrimination. www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
The rules of masculinity mean it is men who have to teach other men about gender equality, according to speakers at a recent Catalyst conference in New York. The barriers to men’s commitment to gender equality were identified as:
• Fear of being blamed or making mistakes
• Fear of other men’s disapproval
• Lack of awareness of the cost of inequity- especially personal costs to me
• Apathy
The conference heard that men’s fear of being “less masculine” by mentoring or supporting women was one of the last frontiers to moving gender equality forward.