Women at Work: 90 Years Since the Representation of the People Act 1918
a conference
Wednesday 3rd December 2008
10.00am – 4.00pm
at the NUT Hamilton House,
Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD
organised by
The Institute of Employment Rights

About the conference

The last 90 years have been marked by some enormous challenges for women at work. Despite having had the right to vote for 90 years, women still face massive hurdles in gaining proper representation, not least in the workplace. The Equal Pay Act and sex discrimination legislation have had only limited impact on inequality, and while recent moves to place positive equality obligations on public authorities are to be welcomed, trade unions will remain instrumental in driving equality in the workplace.

The pay gap between men and women remains vast, with part-time women earning less than 65% of the hourly rate of full-time men. The gender pay gap is intimately linked to child poverty, and is in part the result of the under-utilisation of women’s skills which is estimated to cost the economy more than £11bn a year. Prior to its absorption into the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission calculated that, an average woman would “lose” £330,000 over the course of her working life to the gender pay gap. Nor is the problem of discrimination limited to pay: the Fawcett Society estimates that an eye-watering 30,000 women lose their jobs because they are pregnant and virtually all of the 100 top companies’ directors are men.

The challenge now is to ensure that we work for a robust framework for implementing equality in the workplace. This conference will bring academics, NGOs, trade unions and legal professionals onto a platform celebrating the last 90 years of working for fairer representation for women at work. We open the conference with a brief introduction from our main speakers on the issues to be discussed throughout the day. We then focus on four particular aspects of inequality in the workplace, with case studies providing real life examples of the problems currently facing women.

programme

• 10:00 Registration and coffee
  1. 10.15 Welcome from Chair
  2. 10:20 Overview: Panel of 5 minutes each from primary speakers
  3. 10:40 Topic: Women at Work
     Primary Speaker: Prof Aileen McColgan
  4. 11.05 case study 1: Mary Davis, UCU
  5. 11:20 case study 2: Kat Banyard, The Fawcett Society
  6. 11:35 Tea and coffee
  7. 11:40 Topic: EHRC: promoting Flexibility and Fairness
     Primary Speaker: Victoria Phillips, Thompsons Solicitors
  8. 12:10 case study 1: Requesting time off, Diana Holland, Unite
  9. 12:25 case study 2: Sandra Bennett, NUT
• 12:40 LUNCH
  1. 1.40 Topic: The Gender Equality Duty- are women at work catching up?
     Primary speaker: Sarah Veale, TUC
  2. 2:10 case study 1: PCS: Lessons from the Civil Service – Pat Campbell, PCS
  3. 2:25 case study 2: Jo Morris- The Story of Equal Pay: Scenes from a Turbulent History
  4. 2:40 Tea and Coffee
  5. 2:45 Topic: Women at Work: the law and equal pay
     case study 1: Barry Smith, GMB
  6. 3.00 case study 2: Adele Baumgardt, Women’s National Commission
  7. Concluding speaker: Bronwyn McKenna, Unison
  8. 3.45 Discussion
  9. 4.00 Close

Who should attend

The seminar will be of great interest to trade unionists, employment
lawyers, equality officers, academics and students and those concerned
with the development of public policy.

How to book

To reserve your place, complete the form below and send your cheque,
made payable to IER, to Institute of Employment Rights, The People’s
Centre, 50-54 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool L3 5SD.
Tel 0151 702 6925; fax 0151 702 6935; office@ier.org.uk

CPD, NPP and EPP accreditation

This seminar counts for 4 credit hours under the Law Society’s Continuing
Development Scheme and the General Council of the Bar’s New
Practitioners’ Programme and Established Practitioners’ Programme.

Additional Information

Details of nearby hotels are available from the office. Name changes are
accepted up until the time of the event. Delegates who advise IER of their
cancellation more than 15 working days in advance will receive a credit
note with 10% deduction for administration.

How to get there

Nearest stations are: Kings Cross and St Pancras and Euston
(tube and British Rail)

Cost

IER subscribers and members £75.00
Trade unions £90.00
Commercial £220.00

Booking form

Please reserve places at the Women at Work Conference at £
Name
Address
email
Organisation
Please invoice me/I enclose a cheque for £
Return completed form to IER, The People’s Centre, 50-54 Mount Pleasant,
Liverpool L3 5SD. Fax 0151 702 6935.

Venue

NUT, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD
Nearest tube and train: Euston and King’s Cross
Map

Register for this Seminar