Shifting the starting blocks: an exploration of the impact of positive action in the UK

Despite laws in Britain permitting limited positive action initiatives to combat disadvantage faced by minority groups in employment since the mid-1970s, the subject has notoriously been a neglected and highly controversial area in the UK. In 2010, the existing positive action provisions for the individual protected characteristics were to some extent transposed into the Equality Act 2010 (section 158 Equality Act 2010). Whilst the previous legislation had been based on an accepted ‘equality of opportunity’ approach, the new section 158 could be seen as a broadening out of positive action moving towards an ‘equality of results’ paradigm (Burrows & Robison, 2006). More recently, with the implementation of section 159 of the Equality Act 2010 in 2011, positive action in the UK has moved into new territory permitting organisations to utilise preferential treatment (using McCrudden’s taxonomy of positive action) in the form of ‘tie-break’ provision. Section 159 introduced a specific exemption for positive action in relation to recruitment and promotion. Where a particular protected group are at a disadvantage or are under-represented and there are two candidates ‘as qualified as’ each other, the employer is permitted to take a protected characteristic into consideration. Although sections 158 and 159 are voluntary provisions, it may be that the Public Sector Equality Duty could arguably require public bodies at least to have due regard to positive action initiatives pursuant to the section 149 obligation. Notwithstanding the potential provided by sections 158 and 159 of the Equality Act 2010, it still appears that organizations prefer to steer clear of this opportunity to address disadvantage suffered by protected groups. Nevertheless, the recent announcement of the Judicial Appointments Commission regarding their intention to use the ‘equal merit provision’ in recruitment exercises from 1 July 2014 in order to seek to ensure diversity within the judiciary is notable (Judicial Appointments Commission, 2014; Malleson, 2009). Equally, work carried out for ASLEF (Robison, 2012) has indicated that unions in male dominated sectors are seeking to encourage employers to engage with positive action initiatives. Whilst there is a body of work considering the theoretical importance of positive action in the UK (see inter alia Barmes, 2011; Burrows & Robison, 2006; Johns et al, 2014; McCrudden 1986; Noon, 2010), there is a lack of empirical exploration of the practical implications of these provisions. Qualitative study to determine the utility of the positive action provisions is considered both timely and necessary as we approach the fifth anniversary of the Equality Act 2010. This paper will explore the theoretical context of the current positive action provisions within England, Scotland and Wales. It will also discuss the early findings of a small-scale qualitative study carried out by the authors looking at the experiences of a purposive sample of public and private organisations in light of the potential for positive action in relation to employment in the UK

Hacking through the Gordian Knot: can facilitating operational mentoring untangle the gender research productivity puzzle in higher education?

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Higher Education on 30/05/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2017.1333494In spite of a number of drivers for change in the pursuit of gender equality in higher education in the UK and beyond, the gender gap in research activity is still widely recognised across most subject disciplines. Over recent years, mentoring strategies have often been seen as the Alexandrian sword capable of cutting the gender deficit ‘Gordian Knot’. However, analysis of current practice and dialogue points to a lack of a consistent approach in addressing and implementing HE policy in this area with many initiatives providing standardised non-evidence-based provision aimed at addressing an alleged confidence deficit and exhausting an already fatigued group of successful senior women. This paper seeks to triangulate existing literature with an analysis of data collected from a funded UK-based research project ultimately proposing a five-step institutional mentoring approach aimed at providing some inroads into alleviating the gender deficit in research productivity in the academy

CHA Residents and the Plan for Transformation

This series of policy briefs presents findings from more than a decade of research on the people who lived in Chicago Housing Authority properties when the agencylaunched its Plan for Transformation in October 1999. The ongoing, multiyear effort sought to improve resident well-being by renovating or demolishing decaying public housing properties and replacing them with new, mixed-income development

Equality at work? positive action in gender segregated apprenticeships

This research explores the attitudes towards and the use of positive action aimed at addressing gender inequality in apprenticeships offered in sectors in which women are underrepresented in England. This research has been conducted as a means of following up recommendations made in research undertaken by the Young Women’s Trust (YWT) in 2016. The YWT report recommended that where it can be shown that the number of women undertaking apprenticeships in any given sector is disproportionately low employers should consider whether they can take positive action to increase the participation of women. It was therefore considered that in the context of apprenticeships, the overwhelming gender disparity in certain sectors and in particular the attitudes towards and use of positive action in resolving this gender disparity required further exploration. The engineering, ICT and construction sectors have therefore been chosen by the researcher and the YWT due to the stark underrepresentation of women in these sectors in England. This research concludes with appropriate specific recommendations on positive action in relation to gender segregated apprenticeships in England within the particular sectors explored. However, it is hoped that these may provide a foundation for the development of wider recommendations in relation to the effective use of positive action initiatives more generally across the protected characteristics and beyond apprenticeships in the UK

Gendered experiences of academic staff in relation to research activity and the REF2014

This report is based on research commissioned by the institutional Research and Knowledge Transfer Office between June 2015 and June 2016. This research has focused on generating qualitative and quantitative data as to the potential reasons why there appears to be a gender disparity in research productivity within the commissioning institution. In particular, the number of women self-selecting for representation in the REF2014 was comparatively low. This research was led by Dr Chantal Davies (as part of her broader remit in relation to the Forum for Research into Equality and Diversity) with Dr Ruth Healey as co-researcher and Anthony Cliffe as research assistant. A Steering Group made up of representatives from across the institution oversaw the process

Gendered Perspectives of Research Activity Symposium Report 2016

On the 15th-16th June 2016, The Forum for Research into Equality and Diversity (University of Chester), in partnership with the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice (Oxford Brookes University), hosted the Gendered perspectives of research activity Symposium at the University of Chester, Chester, UK. The Symposium brought 30 representatives and researchers from across Higher Education in the UK, Europe and beyond together with sector bodies and policy drivers in order to workshop the gendered barriers and obstacles to research activity in Higher Education. This report provides a summary of the discussions and findings, as well as the key ideas, themes, questions, challenges and conclusions that came out of the two-day discussion. A further goal of the report is to seek to articulate the participants’ deliberations and considerations in order to contribute to the development of an effective strategy in the UK and beyond seeking to break down gendered barriers in relation to research activity