The need for change

As shown in earlier chapters of this book, gender equality in local labour markets is a goal not yet attained in the English economy; indeed, evidence gathered in the GELLM research programme suggests it has only very rarely been a priority for agencies responsible for implementing labour market change at local level. Given the gendered nature of participation in the overall labour market, which has long been recognised at national level, and the tendency of most workers, especially women, to work within a relatively short distance from their homes, this is both a remarkable weakness in policy making and a serious barrier to the achievement of wider aspects of gender equality (Yeandle, 2006c).

The principle of gender equality has been enshrined in European economic and employment policy since the late 1950s, and the achievement of fair access to employment for women and men has been an official aim of national public policy since Britain introduced equalities legislation in the 1970s. In the decades since, much progress has been made: in understanding how the labour market operates for women, in documenting differences in male and female engagement with the labour market, and in developing new employment rights, workplace policies and public policy initiatives. As already shown, these have sought to achieve a fairer labour market for women, addressing pay, employment protection, sex discrimination (in education, training, recruitment and promotion), work–life balance and flexible working. More recent policy initiatives have addressed labour market activation, raising employment rates, and developing the childcare system. The fiscal and benefits system has been redesigned too, aiming to ‘make work pay’ and to shift as many people as possible ‘from welfare to work’. There has also been a focus on the economic well-being of different regions, on the specific problems of rural economies, on the regeneration of deprived communities and on tackling ‘local pockets of worklessness’. Training and skills policy has been adjusted and reprioritised, and both the trade unions and employers’ organisations have adopted a stance that recognises the importance of equal rights and a level playing field for women and men at work.