Equality Strategy aims to make workplace fairer

Employers will be asked to voluntarily publish equality data relating to their workforce, according to the new Equality Strategy set out by Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone.

The plans have come about as a result of findings which showed that the number of women on the boards of the UK's biggest firms have shown little increase over the past three years.

Alongside the expected publication of equality data, which will affect firms with more than 150 employees, Featherstone also plans to enact the Equality Act's regulations covering recruitment and promotion.

These regulations will allow firms to have more option to select a candidate from an 'underrepresented workforce group' when it comes to choosing between two similar candidates.

However, the government has stated that these proposals do not mean that someone will get a job purely because they are a woman, disabled or from an ethnic minority. "Positive discrimination is not acceptable and remains illegal," said the government.

Featherstone said, "We want to move away from the arrogant notion that government knows best to one where government empowers individuals, businesses and communities to make change happen.

"Different organisations face different challenges in promoting equality so if we are to get this right for everybody a much more flexible approach is needed.

"These plans are absolutely not about political correctness, or red tape, or quotas. They are about giving individual employers the tools they need to help make the workplace fairer," she added.