Equality Is a Core Value for Our Society - Essay Example

Equality is a core value for our society. It is time to break all barriers that prevent women from achieving their potential at work. When women are in the workplace, they must be treated fairly, whether they work full-time or part-time, and whatever job or career they choose. The contours of the earnings distributions for males and females tend to differ significantly and consequently the ratio of female to male earnings vary conspicuouslyacross the profile of the distribution. The analysis of gender earnings differences undertake employs the decomposition techniques to distinguish the effects of gender specific factors from those associated with the underlying wage structure of an economy. Wage or pay means compensation or sum of amount paid for workers for their work, or labour. The Women and Equality Unit is seeking to identify the barriers to women's economic participation and to address the barriers that act as a deterrent to equality of opportunity in the workplace. (Women's Work and Pay. 2006). Gender specific effects impact on the earnings differences of men and women through their effect on the relative levels of observable productivity features such as schooling, job tenure and the distribution of employment, and through the relative treatment of men and women with the same observable features. By allowing women to maintain a stable attachment towards their work force while rearing their children, then to ensure their progress in their work they have to sustain with incentives so that they can invest them to education and training and so improving their observable productivity characteristics. The gender pay gap is not just bad news for women. It means that women's abilities and skills are not being fully utilised in businesses and in the economy. The Government is committed to reducing the gap between men's and women's earnings and making sure that woman talent are properly used and rewarded. Separate analyses by gender and education group reveal that it is women and those with intermediate-level qualifications who do best in the public sector. The large differences between the shapes of the conditional (that is, holding age and education constant) distributions of wages in the public and private sectors are demonstrated using quantile regressions estimated separately for each education group. (Disney, 1998). The gender pay gap refers to the difference in average hourly earnings of men and women. Over the last three decades, the full-time pay gap has closed considerably while there has been only a slight narrowing in the part-time pay gap. Both are now at the narrowest since the Equal Pay Act came into force in 1975. At that time, the gap between men and women's hourly average earnings in full-time employment was. "The Equality and Human Rights Commission champions' equality and human rights for all, working to eliminate discrimination, reduce inequality, protect human rights and to build good relations, ensuring that everyone has a fair chance to participate in society." (Equality and Human Rights Commission. 2007). The payment system of industries in the capitalistic countries is either in the form of wages or salaries. Salaries are paid basically to those persons, who are carrying the job with higher responsibilities and accountabilities. Wages are paid to the workers in accordance with how many hours an employee has worked. Wage payment may be of two types in industries in Great Britain i.e. time payments and payment by results. "The system to which the greatest attention has been attracted in recent years, both in Great Britain and in America, is the "premium bonus system" in its various forms, of which the two best-known are the " Halsey " and the " Rowan " premium bonus systems." (Wage-System in Industry. 2006). There are many reasons for the pay gap: the differences in the patterns of male and female employment (i.e. differences in the jobs they do), previous employment histories, levels of qualifications as well as unequal pay (i.e. the extent to which women are being treated unfairly, and not being paid the same amount for the same, similar, or equal value jobs) where it exists. The gender pay gap is measured using the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). ASHE has replaced the New Earnings Survey (NES). The main difference between the NES and ASHE methodologies is in the weighting of the results. Whereas the NES figures were not weighted, ASHE results are weighted to provide data estimates which are representative of the population, by taking into account the number and type of jobs estimated by the Labour Force Survey. The full-time gender pay gap is based on the hourly wage of men and a woman working full-time, which in this instance is defined as being more than 30 hours a week. The older the age group, the wider the gender pay gap generally becomes. This is partly because as women get older, they are more likely to have spent time out of the labour market due to responsibilities of caring for children or elderly dependants. "The pay gap differs by race, with the earnings of white women being just 78 percent of those of white men; black women making 91 percent as much as their male counterparts; and Hispanic women earning 88 percent of what Hispanic men earn." (Lorenz 2004). The increase in the gender pay gap by age also reflects the gap in qualification levels between men and women. Even though younger women have closed the gender gap in education in recent years, the difference is still more significant between men and women after forty years old. Government has made real progress in its practical response to the Commission's recommendations. New quality standards for careers advice will challenge traditional notions about gender roles that arbitrarily restrict people's choices. And new Diplomas, blending theoretical and applied learning, will encourage young people to consider and opt for non-stereotypical routes Women often face multiple barriers to returning to work after taking time out to care for children or others. The Government is committed to reducing the gap between men's and women's earnings, and making sure that women's talents are properly used a Equality Act and subsequent legislation imposed specific duties on certain listed public authorities, including central and local government. Duties involves drawing up and publishing a gender equality scheme every 3 years, which shows what authorities plan to do to improve gender equality including the gender pay gap and how they will do this. In drawing up such a scheme, authorities must gather relevant information and data, and consult employees and stakeholders to identify specific gender equality objectives. And ensuring that the impact of new legislation, policies, employment and service delivery changes on men and women is assessed.Equality and Human Rights Commission works for equality and human rights for all, reduce inequality, working to eliminate discrimination, protect human rights and to build good relations, ensuring that everyone are treated fairly. The Commission will have a range of powers and substantial resources to combat discrimination and to promote human rights "The current national incomes policy agreement includes an 'equality increment' for 2006, the distribution of which is calculated so that low-wage and female-dominated sectors are most likely to gain from it. However, some areas of the private sector have already agreed to pass the equality increment on to all wage earners. The agreement also includes a provision for implementing gender equality plans in the workplace." (Equality Pay Increment Included in National Wage Agreement. 2006). The public sector gender equality duty will mean that the providers of a range of public services will have to ensure they promote equality of opportunity between women and men, better meeting their different needs in the way they work. That includes promoting gender equality as employers through pay and working practices. One continuing challenge will be working with those organisations to ensure that implementation is a success. The minimum wage plays a part in narrowing the gender pay gap, as women are more likely to work in lower paid and often part-time jobs than men. Therefore more women than men will benefit from raising the minimum wage. "The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has produced a guidance document to assist public authorities with their compliance with the Duty." (Gender Equality Duty. 2007). The Equality Act 2006, which came into effect in April 2007, introduced a general duty on public authorities to promote gender equality and eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment. The rise in wage equality leads to discrimination of capable employees. Wage inequality indicates wage variance. If wage levels are very different across organisation, then workers are sorted on the based of their individual workers level of human capital, or on the basis of their efforts. Moreover, they can improve their living styles by gaining more payments. Furthermore, if pay increases are different across workers within the same firm, then effort and skills are being heavily rewarded within organisations. As the skills of the workers are identical, there should be a proper maintenance of wage structure. A proper wage system in an organisation will help in maintaining the system more systematically, and in a disciplined manner. "In all countries the public sector is found to pay more low skilled workers with respect to the private sector, whilst the reverse is true for high skilled workers. The effects are more pronounced for females." (Pay Inequalities and Economic Performance: The Public Sector Pay Gap in France, Great Britain and Italy. 2007) "Women's wages as a percentage of men's was 84.7 per cent in 2006. Monthly earnings were NOK 27700 for women, and NOK 32700 for men. The wage difference is amongst other reasons explained by women's choice of occupation, education and sector." (Wage Statistics All Employees: 4.8 Per Cent Increase in Norwegian Wages: Unchanged Wage Gap. 2006). In most of the industries and business houses today one of the main causes of disputes is wage inequalities, which arise when different wages are paid for comparable jobs. In order to eliminate such inequalities it is essential to develop a rationalized wage and salary structure. In a rationalized wage structure, same basic wages are paid for jobs, which are at the same level of difficulty. Therefore, it is necessary to determine equal pay with the relative worth of different jobs in the organization. Various jobs offer differ in terms of tasks involved, skill required, physical, mental strain caused, and working conditions irrespective of gender. Analytical job evaluation plays a crucial part in achieving equal pay for work of equal value and acts as an essential ingredient in equal pay reviews or audits. The public sector gender equality duty will mean that the providers of a range of public services will have to ensure they promote equality of opportunity between women and men, better meeting their different needs in the way they work. That includes promoting gender equality as employers through pay and working practices. One continuing challenge will be working with those organisations to ensure that implementation is a success. "Women employees on average receive salaries 30% below those paid to men for the same jobs," (World Fight for True Equality: Women Protest against Low Pay. (1998). The fact that men typically earn more per hour than women and also that women in full-time employment typically work on average two hours less per week than their male counterparts. CEHR- Commission for Equality and Human Rights will promote an inclusive agenda, underlining the importance of equality for all in society as well as working to combat discrimination affecting specific groups. there should be some capacity and resources for equality .The unique and complex nature and causes of each area of discrimination must be recognised in order to develop and maintain expertise and prevent competing priorities which might result in the under funding and marginalisation of work on less high profile issues. It will promote equal opportunities for all and tackle barriers to participation.The equality agenda is becoming more concerned or people in all parts of Britain. The new Commission for Equality and Human Rights will create mechanisms to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people and protect human rights in a way that reflects the complexity of individuals' lives. "Reproductive rights are central to the movement for women's equality. Using religion and "morals" to divide women is a ruling class tactic meant to shift the focus away from the class issues inherent to women's oppression." (Sadler 2005). Today, the case for equality is as powerful as ever. But over the past year Government has made real progress in its practical response to the Commission's recommendations. Government is implementing the recommendations that the independent Women and Work Commission made in 2006 for narrowing the gender pay gap. These include developing an equality check tool to help employers look at the range of issues that impact on the gender pay gap, funding, Trade Union equality reps to promote flexible working, and funding projects improving the availability of high quality part-time work opportunities. The Government has extended statutory maternity pay; maternity allowance and statutory adoption pay and remains committed to increase statutory maternity pay. It's in the interests of firms to employ more women in senior positions - recent research has shown that firms with more senior women tend to perform better. "Recent decades have witnessed major changes in education enrolment in Europe. Women now outnumber men in upper secondary and university education in most EU countries and represent 58% of graduates in the Union as a whole." (Equality between Women and Men in European Union: 2.5.1. Women in Education & Training. 2005). Recognition of the importance of human rights and especially equal pay for women is studied through this work. The Commission of Equality and Human Rights have a major Step forward for the equality. CEHR is to ensure that it can deliver on its remit, meet the needs of stakeholders, and make a real impact in terms of addressing discrimination and equality issues. Bibliography DISNEY, Richard. (1998). Fiscal Studies: Abstract: Does It Pay to Work in the Public Sector Blackwell Synergy. Last accessed 1 May 2008 at: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-5890.1998.tb00291.x Equality and Human Rights Commission. (2007). [online]. Helpline. Last accessed 1 May 2008 at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/Pages/default.aspx Equality between Women and Men in European Union: 2.5.1. Women in Education & Training. (2005). [online]. Employment and Social Affairs. P. 30. http://www.beruf-und-familie.de/files/dldata/f6d030310a7992a8bc6da500df391254/eu_equality.pdf Equality Pay Increment Included in National Wage Agreement. (2006). [online]. eironline. Last accessed 3 May 2008 at: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2006/04/articles/fi0604019i.htm Gender Equality Duty. (2007). [online]. Women's National Commision. Last accessed 3 May 2008 at: http://www.thewnc.org.uk/wnc_work/cehr.html#Gender_Equality_Duty LORENZ, Kate (2004). Equal Pay for Women Not Till 2050. [online]. CNN.com. Last accessed 3 May 2008 at: http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Careers/10/22/equal.pay/index.html Pay Inequalities and Economic Performance: The Public Sector Pay Gap in France, Great Britain and Italy. (2007). [online]. LSE. Last accessed 1 May 2008 at: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/piep/query.aspid=1 SADLER, Anne (2005). From Abortion to Labor Rights, Women's Struggle for Equality Continues. [online]. Socialism and Liberation. Inequality in the workplace. Last accessed 3 May 2008 at: http://socialismandliberation.org/mag/index.phpaid=284 Wage Statistics All Employees: 4.8 Per Cent Increase in Norwegian Wages: Unchanged Wage Gap. (2006). [online]. Statistics Norway. Last accessed 1 May 2008 at: http://www.ssb.no/lonnansatt_en/ Wage-System In Industry. (2006). [online]. Lovetoknow. Classic encyclopedia, Last accessed 1 May 2008 at: http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Wage_-_System_In_Industry Women's Work and Pay. (2006). [online]. Crown. Last accessed 1 May 2008 at: http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/pay/index.htm World Fight for True Equality: Women Protest against Low Pay. (1998). [online]. BBC News. Last accessed 3 May 2008 at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/63243.stm Read More