The main report ‘Gender equality at every stage: a roadmap for change’ highlights the main areas they consider key contributors to the persistent gendered inequalities faced by both women and men throughout their lives and careers and why the government needs to act.
The eight key drivers include:
The report goes on to discuss what actions the government will be taking in order to address these issues. Amongst them include reviewing the gender pay gap reporting system, increasing the participation in STEM subjects especially for girls, supporting employers to provide flexible working for all and funding for returners schemes.
“Promoting gender equality for all is firmly in our national interest and I am determined to keep this vital issue at the top of the agenda. Getting this right is key to shaping our shared future when no one is limited, except by their talents and the ambitions they have. This work is an important step forward in creating a fairer society where everyone can reach their full potential, and consequently our nation too.” Penny Mordaunt, Minister for Women and Equalities
Here at Skills 4 we are delighted that the government is pushing for better gender equality. We have been working for over a decade to promote gender diversity within organisations and have created our own Career Development Programme for Women in order to support the development of women and advancing their careers.
We also know, as the report suggests, one of the barriers women can face is returning to work after caring for children and gaining the right work life balance. Our own returners programme is aimed at new parents and provides them with new skills and tools to achieve continued home life and career success.
The roadmap sits alongside the ‘case for change’ which examines at a greater depth the differences in work and pay based on gender and the ‘Gender Equality Monitor’ which looks at five key areas to monitor progress:
We look forward to seeing government initiatives put in place and are keen to track the progress of gender equality in the UK.
Skills 4 are one of the UK’s leading providers of diversity and inclusion training and consultancy. Over the last twelve years, we have been working successfully with over 100 global organisations to improve the attraction, retention and progression of a diverse and sustainable workforce.
We deliver career development and leadership programmes for women, unconscious bias training and testing, inclusive leadership and management training, on-line courses for people returning from maternity and bespoke diversity and inclusion services.
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