Equal Opportunities Commission. Comisiwn Cyfle Cyfartal. The Gender Equality Duty in Wales: Thirty Authorities Pilot the Duty

Transcription

1 Comisiwn Cyfle Cyfartal The Gender Equality Duty in Wales: Thirty Authorities Pilot the Duty

2 Contents Contents Foreword 3 Introducing The Gender Equality Duty 4 Introducing The Pilot Projects 5 The Thirty Pilot Projects 6 Setting Priorities 8 Consultation 10 Cardiff Council Case Study 11 Data 12 Gender Impact Assessments 14 Leadership 15 Involving Staff 16 Partnership Working 17 South Wales Fire Service Case Study 18 Gender Equality Schemes 19 Outcomes 20 Lessons 22 Looking to the Future 23 Full List of Pilot Authorities 24 Cover photos submitted by Pilot Projects: Female firefighter courtesy of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Secondary school pupils courtesy of Denbighshire County Council Hill walkers taking a rest courtesy of Brecon Beacons National Park Swimmer, courtesy of Cardiff County Council Contact us: Phone: wales@eoc.org.uk Website: ISBN Jan

3 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Foreword In April 2007 the biggest change to sex equality legislation since the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act thirty years ago comes into force the Gender Equality Duty. This new Duty will require public bodies to promote gender equality and eliminate discrimination in the design and delivery of services and through their employment practices. I welcome the radical new approach that underpins the Duty in placing responsibility with service providers to think strategically about gender equality rather than leaving it to individuals to challenge poor practice. Service providers will need to look at who uses their services and ask What are the different needs of women and men? Do our spending priorities reflect these different needs? Public sector employers will also be required to look at their workforce to see what kind of jobs women and men do, how much they are paid, who secures promotion and who works part time so that barriers can be identified and removed. The Gender Duty will take its place alongside the Race and Disability Duties and require public bodies to take account of the wide diversity of service users. I am really delighted that thirty public bodies in Wales have stepped forward to pilot the Gender Duty in advance of the official implementation date in April. This shows the courage, leadership and determination to deliver equality outcomes that characterises significant sections of the public sector in Wales. This report brings together the experience and the learning of the thirty pilots so that it can be shared with public sector bodies who will be rising to the challenge 3 posed by the Duty in the near future. The new Commission for Equality, and Human Rights will also be rising to the challenge. It will play a crucial role in promoting equality in Wales. Collaborative working and powerful partnerships with service providers will be the building blocks of a far-reaching strategy to ensure the public sector duties are implemented successfully. There is also some important learning from outside Wales. A clear lesson from the introduction of public sector duties in Northern Ireland is the benefit of broad consultation with service users. This will be at the heart of implementing the Gender Equality Duty in Wales and has already emerged as a key issue in the pilot projects. I would like to thank all of the public bodies who worked with us on the pilot projects and shared the lessons. I believe the public sector in Wales will gain useful insights and inspiration from these pilots. Your efforts have shown that the Gender Equality Duty is potentially a powerful catalyst for change in Wales and can deliver real benefits for the future. Dr Neil Wooding Commissioner for Wales January 2007

4 Introducing the Gender Equality Duty The new Gender Equality Duty will require all public authorities to: Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment, and Promote equality of opportunity between men and women The General Duty comes into effect on 6 April 2007 and it applies to every public authority in Wales. The Duty covers all of the functions carried out by a public authority including policymaking, service design and delivery and employment matters. Guidance on the Duty The EOC has published a Code of Practice on the Gender Equality Duty. This explains what is required of bodies covered by the General Duty and applies to public bodies in Wales. In the near future there will also be guidance for specific areas of the public sector, these guidance documents will be placed on the EOC website. Specific Duties To assist public authorities meet their legal obligations effectively, there will be a set of specific duties. These come into force in April 2007 in England and are set out in the EOC Code of Practice on the Duty. The details of the specific duties for Wales and Scotland have yet to be finalised. The Welsh Assembly Government will be drafting the specific duties for Wales once a Transfer of Functions Order has been made. The implementation date for the specific duties in Wales is unlikely to be before April A Gender Equality Scheme The General Duty does apply to Wales and to demonstrate compliance with it the EOC recommends that public authorities in Wales publish a Gender Equality Scheme. This should outline the authority's gender equality objectives and the action that is being taken to achieve them. In the interests of clarity and transparency the Scheme should be accessible to stakeholders. Including Equal Pay in the Scheme The EOC Code of Practice on the Duty says that public authorities should prioritise action to address the most significant gender inequalities within their remit and take actions that are likely to deliver the best gender equality outcomes. This would strongly suggest that authorities should include action to close the pay gap between women and men in their Gender Equality Scheme. 4

5 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Introducing the Pilot Projects The in Wales began work with public authorities during 2005 to prepare for the Duty. Thirty public bodies agreed to participate in pilot projects to determine, in practical way, what difference the Duty might make to particular areas of their service delivery or employment practice. A key aim of the pilot projects was to share the lessons learnt with each other and with a wider public sector audience. This report brings together the work carried out over an initial twelve-month period during the pilot projects. It describes the process taken by the pilot bodies to implement the Duty and it also describes the initial outcomes and benefits that were achieved. What the Pilot Bodies Did The first step the pilot bodies took was to identify their gender equality priorities and consult with stakeholders on these. They then assessed the impact of current policies and practices on equality for men and women by, for example, carrying out a Gender Impact Assessment. They also tackled the challenging issues of time and resources and how to secure commitment from staff and leaders. All of these factors were taken into account in the development of an action plan. Individual pilot project case studies are included in this report. The pilot authorities chose a wide and ambitious range of areas to address. These included carrying out equal pay audits, tackling the dearth of women in senior management, exploring the different sickness absence patterns of men and women, offering nontraditional work placements for school pupils, meeting the specific needs of women and men using our National Parks and Council Leisure Services. Already the potential of the Duty to transform public services and improve people's lives is clear. Learning Points Although the pilots have only been underway for twelve months and are still at an early stage the report describes some of the early learning points and benefits. Gathering data, consulting users and carrying out impact assessments exposed the myth that public services or work force policies are gender neutral. This is helping the pilot authorities to clarify what the different needs of women and men might be in terms of service delivery and employment practice. Translating that better understanding of users into improved services requires staff time and resources and the leadership and engagement of senior managers. It also requires an innovative approach to partnership working within the organisation and between different public sector bodies to deliver real benefits to people. This report leads you through the steps you will need to take to implement the Gender Equality Duty, illustrating each step with examples from the pilot projects. It can be used as a companion publication to the EOC Code of Practice on the Gender Equality Duty. 5

6 The Thirty Pilot Projects Thirty public sector bodies across Wales took part in the pilot. These came from a wide range of organisations delivering a huge diversity of services to people in Wales. Local Health Boards and NHS Trusts are: working in partnership on collecting data on men and women and on who uses the services they commission and deliver developing a gender audit tool for mental health aimed at exposing and eliminating gender inequalities from diagnosis to treatment conducting a gender impact assessment of the delivery of Agenda for Change examining independent living allowance and seeing whether there is an imbalance between men and women being enabled to live in their own homes developing strategies to enable more men to enter caring roles and careers working with a range of partners and professionals to tackle sex stereotyping through education, careers advice and work placements conducting a gender impact assessment of the Authority's 50+ Strategy Local Authorities are: working on strategies to increase women's representation at the higher levels of the organisation where there is a known and long standing imbalance examining leisure centre usage by men and women analysing the impact and access to training by men and women looking at adult service provision from a gender perspective reviewing the single non-emergency number service take up by gender Emergency Services are: working together to examine service delivery at road traffic accidents considering a joint emergency service induction training to tackle occupational segregation and in particular to attract women into the fire service collecting data on emergency service calls by gender and examining differences in service delivery to men and women tackling women's progression and stereotyping within the services 6

7 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Other services are: collecting gender data regarding users of National Parks developing guided walks and family friendly support within Parks collecting data regarding museum and gallery usage by men and women and planning to attract different sex audiences to non typical displays and activities tackling the gap between men and women's participation rates in sport and physical activity conducting Equal Pay Reviews analysing sick absence rates between men and women and how to tackle any discrepancies or differences The Sports Council for Wales is conducting an Equal Pay Review. The first step is to gather information about where men and women are in the workforce and what they are paid. The next step is to consider the causes of any gap between the pay of men and women and set objectives to address them. Understanding equal pay issues is critical in helping bodies understand sex stereotyping and the reasons why men and women are under represented in parts of the organisation. Further guidance on equal pay is available in the Gender Equality Duty Code of Practice and the EOC's Code of Practice on Equal Pay. 7

8 Setting Priorities The Gender Equality Duty requires all public authorities to set priorities for their organisation in relation to sex equality. The pilot bodies went about this in a variety of ways. Some of the methods used included: Using what you know. Almost all pilot bodies examined what they already knew about sex equality. Several suspected they had a gender pay gap and decided to undertake a pay review and tackle any pay inequalities. Using what others know. Some sought EOC assistance in providing data and statistics on gender issues. Flintshire County Council requested information regarding the different learning styles of women and men. Exploring what evidence is already available. Several pilot bodies tapped into the resources and data already available to them. The Welsh Assembly Government was particularly interested in the statistics it had relating to the differences in sickness absence trends for male and female employees. Testing anecdotal evidence. Some identified and explored an area where there was anecdotal evidence. The National Museums and Galleries of Wales adopted this approach, as it knew women are more likely to access fine art exhibitions and men and boys to be attracted to hands on science exhibitions. Identifying other priorities and where gender equality fits in. Many recognized a service where there was a dynamic culture of customer focus and that users of services had a diversity of needs. Carmarthenshire County Council identified at an early stage that Corporate Policy and Leisure Services could work together to have a greater impact on gender equality. Gathering data. A number of pilot bodies identified an area where there was a need to gather information on how women and men are affected by its activities. The six local health boards decided to look at data collection, as this had been a significant problem area for the race and disability duties. 8

9 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Engaging a senior management sponsor. For all this was of utmost importance in taking the work forward. Denbighshire County Council identified education services as an area of work where there was senior management engagement. Plus it was an area, where there could be specific and measurable improvements, which would have an ongoing impact. Building on existing practice. A number of pilots identified known gender champions and built upon this. Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust emphasised the benefits of being realistic and recognizing gender champions and their immense enthusiasm. Linking with other priorities. Several pilots identified areas where there was already buy-in and where the duty could be linked to other strategies and targets. Carmarthenshire County Council decided to use an Action Research Set approach with a small Heads of Service task and finish group to challenge the Authority's Performance Indicator the Percentage of Senior Managers Posts filled by Women, which is under performing and numbers were declining. The Welsh Assembly Government conducted an analysis of its sick absence by sex and found that there were significant differences, in rates of absence and in reasons for absence. These differences also varied by age and grade. This information could be used to train its managers in the sex and gender differences illustrated. The Welsh Assembly Government will consider the best way to take this forward and may look to tailor its return to work strategies and overall management of sick absence with gender specific targets and strategies. This may be ensuring that staff know about emergency domestic leave entitlements, or training managers in addressing the 'presentee' culture and how to help staff manage their work and non-work commitments more effectively. 9

10 Consultation The GED Code of Practice acknowledges that by consulting employees, service users and others, such as trade unions, you will be able to: Build a better picture of the most important gender issues in your work Gather evidence to use in determining priorities and in your gender impact assessment process Get feedback on your initial draft objectives Develop greater ownership and understanding of your gender equality objectives and improve accountability to your staff, service users and the general public. If one sex is under-represented in the formal decision-making process, consultation is particularly significant. In 2005 the gender make-up of the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Senior Officers Group was 10% female 90% male. There is no prescribed means of how you should consult. Here are some of the approaches that the pilots took: The Welsh Assembly Government will be consulting with its staff by setting up regional focus groups. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service consulted with women's external groups, such as Chwarae Teg. Men's groups were also a useful source of information. Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust consulted the views of its service users, with the support of its local MIND Group and patient advocacy service. The Trust was able to undertake 'patient stories' using a nonthreatening and patient led approach. Carmarthenshire County Council developed a questionnaire to employees to explore the cultural perceptions and perceived barriers to female progression, identify good practice and prioritise solutions. Carmarthenshire County Council has invited other Authorities to participate in the questionnaire to benchmark performance. Its female fire fighter focus group, facilitated by the Chief Fire Officer, is therefore seen as an invaluable mechanism to improve communication and allow issues to be discussed, raised and then acted upon. 10

11 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Cardiff Council Case Study Cardiff Council's pilot was in relation to older people who go through the care management process within Adult Services. This area was chosen because: Resources and commitment to gender equality could be easily identified. An EOC report highlighted the different impact on men and women of care services. It was seen a gender-neutral area which when unpicked would illustrate the gender blindness of current service delivery. The data was available, which when analysed could demonstrate any gender differences in the needs of service users. It would help make the case for the impact of the GED in other policy and service delivery areas. It would allow for a cross-strand approach as race and age could also be analysed. Who was consulted? Questionnaires will be distributed to staff to obtain the views and experiences of people working with older men and women. These will be then followed up by telephone interviews to explore these views and experiences further. A Customer Service Survey was designed and is currently being piloted to explore customer satisfaction with Adult Services. The results of this pilot will be analysed from a gender perspective. The results and recommendations from the Gender Equality Duty pilot project will be shared with the Advisory Planning Group for Older People so that any actions from the pilot can be identified. 11

12 Data Gathering your data It is vital to have sex-disaggregated data in order to gain a picture of staff and service users. Without it you will not be able to identify which of your functions have greater relevance to gender equality nor will you be able to set meaningful targets and indicators to measure the success of a policy. Our pilot bodies: Appreciated that setting up or adapting systems to obtain and monitor relevant information could improve the performance management of the organisation. Carmarthenshire County Council set up new database software allowing it to monitor leisure centre usage. This will ultimately ensure the timetable of activities in leisure centres reflects the needs and aspirations of women and men in a balanced and cost effective manner. Enabled systems to cross reference information with other equality strands, Cardiff Council collated data on the age, gender and race of older people using social care services, therefore enabling analysis to take place across equality strands. Used secondary data. The Welsh Assembly Government realised it already had a wealth of information from staff attitude surveys, stress surveys and payroll data. Some data gathered by the pilots: Gender differences in service use Balance of women and men in key decision-making bodies The gender profile of staff The extent and causes of the gender pay gap Adopted partnerships to work with similar organisations. With six local health boards collaborating they were able to identify common themes, areas and approaches plus share resources and expertise. This alliance provided a supportive environment through which to make progress. 12

13 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Analysing your data Once you have the data you will need to analyse it to identify trends. The data will help you to decide your priority actions. It will help to examine needs, expectations, barriers, satisfaction rates and outcomes by gender. Does the data suggest you need to examine further issues around gender assumptions, stereotyping or prejudices? The Duty does not prescribe what priorities should be chosen. It is up to each public authority to decide on their priorities for action. What the data showed the pilot bodies: Welsh Assembly Government found that for women, sickness absence steadily increased by age, and steadily decreased by grade. Brecon Beacons National Park did not collect data on who used its park, why, and what gender specific needs they have. Collecting data about men and women's different needs will help to provide tailored, appropriate services, such as different methods of transport at different times of the day and week to meet women's needs. Similarly it can assist in considering the need for children's activities, nature trails etc, and in helping to meet the Park's targets under the Climbing Higher Strategy for Wales in increasing women and girls physical activity rates. Pembrokeshire County Council found that men are more likely to be in residential care than women. 13

14 Gender Impact Assessments Each public sector duty requires public authorities to assess the impact of practices and policies on different groups of people. An impact assessment can be viewed as a needs assessment and requires you to assess whether there is, or is likely to be a different impact, either directly or indirectly upon different groups of people. If you do identify an undesirable impact you need to ensure that this is removed without impacting on another group. All the pilot bodies identified the importance of impact assessments. For Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust this meant engaging relevant managers to be trained in equality impact assessments and there is a plan in place to roll this out more widely. A number of pilot bodies developed a generic impact assessment tool, which could assess gender equality, disability equality and race equality. For example, City and County of Swansea identified the benefits of a generic impact assessment of its 50+ Strategy and any issues identified formed the basis of an action plan. Others used impact assessment tools that were gender specific. Gwent Healthcare NHS Service were able to draw on a growing body of national evidence that women's needs were not being adequately met in Mental Health Services. There can be significant gender differences in the type and presentation of mental illness so it is vital that there is an understanding of this and services are responsive to these needs. A Task and Finish Group was set up to facilitate the mainstreaming of gender considerations into service delivery. This has led to successfully applying a gender perspective to a new policy in relation to ensuring the safety, privacy and dignity of patients within the mental health setting. 14

15 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Leadership Implementation of the Duty cannot be the responsibility of equality staff alone. Leadership is essential and staff and managers need to understand their role. Partnership working with other organisations can help increase the impact of the work. Top Level Commitment One of the main driving forces and methods of ensuring the success of the duty is commitment from the top level. The pilot bodies found senior management support and sponsorship to be of the utmost importance. It is noticeable that bodies that were able to secure senior management buy-in at an early stage were able to progress their work further than those without it. The GED Code of Practice recommends that as a matter of good practice a senior member of staff should be given strategic responsibility for ensuring the duty is implemented. To engage with senior managers our pilots: Ensured there was a direct link to senior management. Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust agreed a project leader who regularly reported progress to the Divisional Clinical Governance Forum and to the Trust Equality and Diversity Committee, who are accountable to the Trust Board. Identified executive leads for gender equality, who were accountable for the work in service departments. Asked the senior management groups to identify a volunteer. By adopting this approach Denbighshire County Council ensured that someone with equality knowledge and expertise came forward. Invited the EOC to address key senior management groups to secure engagement and commitment. 15

16 Involving staff Unless staff understand that gender equality is everyone's responsibility, and service delivery managers take ownership, progress will be limited. Encouraging a change of attitudes towards sex equality proved a challenge for our pilot bodies. Information, training and developing the business case for gender equality helped staff and managers understand their role in promoting gender equality. Solutions for the pilots included: Inviting EOC Wales to address key managers, groups or committees to make the case. National Museums and Galleries of Wales discovered that it had no robust data on numbers of men and women using its facilities. It knew from anecdotal experience that women are likely to access fine art exhibitions and men and boys to hands on science exhibitions. It is looking at working with education establishments to provide events specifically aimed at attracting non-traditional sex groups. These might include exhibitions, which specifically provide positive images of men and fine art, with interactive opportunities, and specific strategies to promote science exhibitions to girls. Highlighting and sharing gender analysis reports from EOC Wales and Welsh Consumer Council: 'Gender and Bus Travel in Wales' and 'Gender Equality in Public Services - Care for Older People; to demonstrate how gender does affect service delivery Identifying that training is invaluable in promoting the key messages, Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust undertook an internal and external scoping exercise to identify sources of expertise that could be draw upon for training and networking purposes. Identifying and putting forward the business case and the link between the duty and a more effective targeting of policy and resources. 16

17 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Partnership working Partnership working between departments, as well as with other organisations can be a good way to share resources. Linking with other goals and strategies may be a way to draw in resources. Working jointly on consultation and analysis can help staff to develop competence and confidence. Solutions that the pilots found helpful included: Recognizing that the work needed to involve more than one individual to broaden the range of viewpoints, skills and information. Carmarthenshire County Council was successful in securing leadership support, a service manager responsible for leisure, along with an individual equipped with equality expertise and another with statistical data expertise to support the pilot Denbighshire County Council focused on its education services and the need to tackle gender stereotyping. It has successfully identified and engaged key partners, revised work experience practice and policy to ensure access to non-traditional placements and provided relevant materials for pupils and parents. Education and career staffs have been provided with appropriate training and the Authority have been able to arrange publicity and media support. As a result of this work improvements will be achieved in gender parity, e.g. work placements and subject choices and identifiable attitudinal change. Identifying how the work is contributing towards key goals and targets and that it does not necessarily involve new resources, just a better and different use of what is already available, Brecon Beacons National Park identified where there was already buyin by linking the duty to its Climbing Higher Strategy for Wales. Identifying potential areas for cross working within organisations and with partners. Denbighshire County Council now provides non-traditional work placements within the Council, and with partner organisations. For example, the Authority's building and maintenance department is to be involved in events for students. 17

18 South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Challenges tackled by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service The capacity of the Diversity Unit The diversity unit was moved from the Human Resources Department to sit centrally within the Policy, Performance and Communications Directorate. This has guaranteed top-level commitment, as it is directly line-managed by the Chief Fire Officer and ensures that gender equality is build into the core business plans. Gaps in data A collaborative approach for collating and analysing service delivery data will be explored with the police and ambulance services in Wales. Impact Assessments An equality Impact assessment tool and guidance has been developed. Forty staff have undertaken impact assessment training, three hundred policies have been screened and fortyeight have been identified for a full impact assessment. Communication within the organisation A number of mechanisms were developed to inform their gender equality objectives - Breakfast with Brian (Chief Fire Officer), Core Briefs, Chiefs Update, and female focus groups facilitated by the Chief Fire Officer. Mainstreaming gender equality Each decision-making board has an equality champion to ensure that full consideration of all equality issues is given to all new policies, procedures, initiatives, projects and decisions. Candidates for promotion must demonstrate a commitment to diversity and integrity. Attitudes, behaviours and understanding of gender equality are built into role-playing and interview questions. 18

19 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Gender Equality Schemes When you have gathered and analysed information, consulted staff and users, and identified your gender equality priorities you will need to draw up an action plan on how you will take your work forward. Even though the detail of the specific duties is not yet finalised for authorities in Wales the EOC recommends that public authorities in Wales publish a Gender Equality Scheme, This should outline the authority's gender equality objectives and the action that is being taken to achieve them. In the interests of clarity and transparency the Scheme should be accessible to stakeholders. Your schemes should contain: High-level gender targets, arrived at through consultation and involvement of your relevant internal and external stakeholders. Clear indication of what action you will be taking to meet these goals, who is responsible, how progress will be monitored and a timescale. South Wales Police, Dyfed & Powys Police, South Wales Fire & Rescue Service and Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust proposed initiatives to work on joint projects where agendas and service delivery areas overlapped. All three services attend Road Traffic Accident sites but none had considered collecting data by gender at incidents and analysing the services provided and differences experienced by men and women. Collecting data on the causes of accidents by gender and the medical services delivered at the scene will help to deliver tailored services. Training and awareness sessions in gender will be given to staff. Evidence of who you have consulted and involved in determining your goals Details of how you will ensure your relevant policies are assessed for their potential impact on women and men Details of the pay policy and action plan 19

20 Outcomes What changed as a result of this work? The Gender Equality Duty has a strong focus on outcomes. It is not expected that the outcomes will be instant but should form part of an ongoing process of identification, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust In responding positively to the request the Trust has had the opportunity to chart their journey and learn more about the specific elements required to bring about the successful culture change that will help make gender equality a reality. Here are some of the changes that might come about as a result of the Gender Equality Duty pilot work in Wales: Denbighshire County Council will aim to provide every child within the Authority with a non-traditional work experience placement. Brecon Beacons National Park intends to have a wide variety of data and information on the needs of women and men visiting its parks. The park will become more accessible and welcoming to a wider range of visitors Six Local Health Boards will work to analyse data to understand the gender quality impact of their service. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service The EOC Pilot Project has helped the service develop links with other likeminded organisations. It has sharpened our attention and encouraged us to examine how gender equality impacts on all our functions. Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust is aspiring to ensure mental health service users experience a gendered response to care, treatment and support needs. This aims to remove any inequalities on grounds of an individual's gender. 20

21 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Carmarthenshire County Council is seeking a workforce where women and men will be better represented at all levels and in all areas of work. The Leisure Division at Carmarthenshire County Council is planning to identify the different ways women and men use leisure centres. By working towards increasing use of the services from a gender perspective, women and men will have more equal access to a healthier lifestyle in a safe and comfortable environment. The Sports Council for Wales has conducted an equal pay audit and will work to eliminate the gap between women and men. South Wales Probation Service will aspire to identify and break down any stereotypical barriers to the recruitment and retention of men to the service. Hence men may be better represented across the service. Caerphilly County Borough Council's leadership programme for all grades will aim to help ensure that women have the motivation and confidence to put themselves forward for promotion. Women will begin to be better represented at all levels of the organisation Cardiff Council will have begun to see the limitations of a "one-size-fits-all' approach to social care services for older people. Gender issues will be considered in service planning so that the needs of the older person as an individual are at the heart of policy making and service delivery Flintshire County Council will have identified any barriers based on gender in access to training, therefore allowing every individual an opportunity to increase their skills. The Welsh Assembly Government will have analysed the rates of sick absence for men and women. It will develop an action plan to address areas of concern and reduce sick absence overall. 21

22 Lessons It is too early to assess fully and measure the success of this pilot work. However the range of work undertaken and the potential outcomes have been inspiring and make a strong case for the benefits of the Gender Equality Duty. Some key learning points include: Gender neutral=gender blind. This work has highlighted that policies and practices, which are assumed to be gender-neutral, are in fact gender blind and do not take into account that men and women have different roles and responsibilities. Make the business case. It is vital to identify and promote the business case for the Gender Equality Duty. This work has demonstrated better-informed decision-making and policy development, clarity of service users needs and how to meet them, how to identify and develop talent in the workforce and improvements in service delivery and public confidence. Engage senior managers. Crucial to the success of this work is support from senior management. Engaging senior management with the Duty gives it credibility and drives the work forward. In the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service the Chief Fire Officer leads in equality and diversity and manages the Diversity Unit. This sends out a clear message to staff and the public about commitment to developing inclusive services and employment practices. Work in partnership. Partnership working amongst the pilot bodies gave a more holistic approach to the gender equality duty. The NHS Wales Business Services Centre took the lead role in developing partnership working across the six local health boards. This partnership allowed a proactive approach to data collection and initial work is to be shared with wider organisations. Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust highlighted that the pilot has opened up major new avenues of advice and support both from EOC and other public bodies who were involved in the pilot. Risk factor and cost. It is apparent that the duty needs to become an integral part of the inspection and audit process. It may be useful to develop a tool that prompts inspectors to look at gender, possibly in a format that could highlight areas, which may constitute a possible breach of relevant legislation. Time and resources crucial. Pilot bodies such as the Welsh Assembly Government found it is useful to liaise with other departments and utilise existing data rather than start from scratch. Remember the collection of data on service use is a vital starting point but staff time for analysing data and expertise in doing this correctly needs to be factored into developing priorities, as it can be a lengthy and complicated process. 22

23 The Gender Equality Duty in Wales Looking to the future These pilot projects are just the beginning. Many pilot bodies have already been able to identify how this work can be extended. For example, the leisure work of Carmarthenshire County Council has looked at activities based at Carmarthen Leisure Centre, now it is planned to roll out the approach to other facilities within the County. It is anticipated that the work will continue in relation to women in senior management posts. Depending on the results of consultation and analysis of other data it is hoped that positive action will be identified as well as changes to practices and policies. It will be essential that the EOC and the forthcoming Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) continue to engage with authorities, and maintain the momentum of this exciting work if the potential of the Gender Equality Duty is to be realised in improving services for women and men in Wales and widening employment opportunities. In order to make things happen, partnership working is imperative, and this work has demonstrated the need for the CEHR to take a lead in promoting equality: issuing guidance and providing advice; encouraging collaborative learning and information sharing; developing a business case for equality; facilitating partnership working. The CEHR will also have formal powers of enforcement, which will be used if there is evidence that public authorities are not complying with the Duty. This will mean working with inspectorates to monitor progress and compliance with the Duty. Whether or not a public authority is complying with the Duty is likely to be assessed on information, involvement, transparency, proportionality and effectiveness. Getting more information Further information is available in the Statutory Code of Practice on the Gender Equality Duty. This and other guidance documents about the Gender Equality Duty can be found on the EOC website ww.eoc.org.uk. For more information about the pilot projects and issues covered in this publication contact: Jennifer Dunne, jennifer.dunne@eoc.org.uk 23

24 Thanks EOC Wales would like to thank the following organisations for participating in the GED pilot: Anglesey Local Health Board Blaenau Gwent Local Health Board Brecon Beacons National Park Caerphilly County Borough Council Caerphilly Local Health Board Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust Cardiff Council Carmarthenshire County Council Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust City and County of Swansea Denbighshire County Council Dyfed and Powys Police Environment Agency Wales Flintshire County Council Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust Higher Education Funding Council for Wales National Museums and Galleries of Wales Newport City Council Newport Local Health Board NHS Wales Business Services Centre Pembrokeshire County Council South Wales Fire and Rescue Service South Wales Police South Wales Probation Service Sports Council for Wales Torfaen Local Health Beard Vale of Glamorgan Council Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust Welsh Assembly Government Gwynedd Local Health Board 24