Freya Johnson Ross examines the influence of legislation on gender equality practice in local government since the 1980s. She draws on council documents and interviews with council workers to explain that the impact has been a positive one, but argues that the law is only part of the solution

Johnson Ross, Freya

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Gender	equality	in	local	government:	what	differencedoes	legislation	make?Freya	Johnson	Ross	examines	the	influence	of	legislation	on	gender	equality	practice	in	localgovernment	since	the	1980s.	She	draws	on	council	documents	and	interviews	with	council	workersto	explain	that	the	impact	has	been	a	positive	one,	but	argues	that	the	law	is	only	part	of	thesolution.What	difference	does	legislation	for	gender	equality	make,	and	what	happens	at	local	level	where	itis	put	into	practice?	In	the	UK,	post-feminist	narratives	can	at	times	undermine	efforts	to	addressgender	inequality	–	presenting	the	very	existence	of	legislation	as	evidence	that	equality	has	already	been	achieved.More	strongly	still,	legislation	has	also	been	painted	as	an	unnecessary	burden	–	‘red	tape’	hindering	the	smoothrunning	of	public	and	private	sectors	alike.	Alongside	this	though,	feminists	have	continued	to	publically	highlight	theways	in	which	men	and	women	remain	unequal,	including	targeting	this	attention	at	the	level	of	national	policy	andlegislation.	The	relationship	between	the	state	as	legislator,	and	those	who	want	to	influence	what	it	does	is	animportant	one.	But	the	creation	of	legislation	is	arguably	just	the	beginning.	The	impact	legislation	has,	at	least	inpart,	depends	on	what	happens	around	its	enactment.Historically,	local	government	in	the	UK	has	been	an	important	site	for	the	development	of	work	seeking	to	addressgender	inequality.	During	the	1980s	the	creation	of	specific	units	and	initiatives	was	notable	as	‘municipal	feminism’.This	involved	work	to	change	both	the	internal	(for	example	employment	practices)	and	external	(for	example	serviceprovision)	working	of	councils	in	order	to	make	them	impact	positively	on	equality	between	men	and	women.	In	thesubsequent	decades,	significant	changes	have	taken	place	–	in	both	the	organisation	and	funding	of	localgovernment,	and	the	ways	in	which	they	try	to	address	inequalities,	including	gender.	Although	much	reduced,councils	remain	one	of	the	largest	public	sector	employers,	and	as	public	bodies	have	to	respond	to	equalitieslegislation	such	as	the	2010	Equality	Act.When	we	look	back	at	the	work	of	‘municipal	feminist’	women’s	initiatives	in	local	government,	there	is	somereference	to	national	legislation	on	equality	–	but	this	varies.	There	were	some	councils	which	sought	to	use	nationallegislation	in	order	to	leverage	change	in	their	area	–	for	example	about	the	provision	of	better	services	to	women,	ortreating	their	workforce	equally.	But	there	were	others	considerably	less	engaged	with	this,	and	working	in	verydifferent	ways.Moving	forward	to	the	2000s,	although	women’s	initiatives	don’t	exist	in	the	same	form,	councils	still	have	some	typeof	work	to	address	gender	equality,	and	we	can	look	at	the	relationship	this	has	with	national	legislation.	My	researchfound	that	over	the	years,	gender	equality	legislation	has	had	a	standardising	influence	on	what	and	how	councilswork	on	gender	inequality.	In	particular,	the	Gender	Equality	Duty	has	been	important	here.The	general	duties	of	this	required	public	bodies	to	have	due	regard	in	carrying	out	their	work	to:	eliminatediscrimination	and	harassment,	and	promote	equality	of	opportunity.	The	specific	duties	required	public	bodies	to:prepare	and	publish	a	gender	equality	scheme,	showing	how	it	will	meet	its	duties	and	setting	out	its	gender	equalityobjectives;	consider	the	need	to	address	the	gender	pay	gap;	gather	and	use	information	on	how	the	publicauthority’s	policies	and	practices	affect	gender	equality	in	the	workforce;	consult	stakeholders	to	determine	its	genderequality	objectives;	and	assess	the	impact	of	current	and	proposed	policies	and	practices	on	gender	equality.	It	alsorequired	them	to	implement	the	actions	set	out	in	the	scheme	within	three	years,	report	on	the	scheme	every	year,and	review	the	scheme	at	least	every	three	years.	In	some	ways,	the	councils	I	looked	at	now	work	on	genderequality	in	ways	much	more	similar	to	each	other	than	in	previous	decades,	having	been	shaped	by	these	specificrequirements.Analysing	council	documents	and	interviews	with	council	workers	reveals	the	detail	of	how	legislation	can	shapewhat	they	do.	Workers	reflected	positively	and	negatively	on	the	role	legislation	plays	in	their	work.	For	example,	theytalked	about	the	way	they	could	use	it	to	hold	other	parts	of	their	workplace	to	account,	or	the	way	they	usedtechniques	like	monitoring	or	impact	assessment	to	set	and	steer	work	in	the	right	direction.British Politics and Policy at LSE: Gender equality in local government: what difference does legislation make? Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2018-02-06Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/gender-equality-in-local-government/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/Moving	forward,	the	2010	Equality	Act	led	to	the	replacement	of	the	Gender	Equality	(and	race	and	disability)	Duties,with	the	Public	Sector	Equality	Duty.	Council	workers	reflected	positively	on	the	way	this	change	harmonized	andequalised	nine	different	equality	strands	–	age,	disability,	gender	reassignment,	pregnancy	and	maternity,	race,religion	and	belief,	sex,	sexual	orientation,	and	marriage	and	civil	partnership.	The	potential	to	expand	their	areas	ofwork	was	also	discussed	positively.But	workers	also	reflected	on	challenges	they	faced	in	defending	work	specifically	with	particular	groups	in	the	faceof	legislative	developments.	For	example,	services	or	initiatives	specifically	for	women.	Alongside	this,	the	flip	side	ofbeing	able	to	use	technical	tools	such	as	data	analysis	or	impact	assessment	was	that	this	increasingtechnicalisation	could	work,	in	a	context	of	increasingly	stretched	resources,	to	narrow	the	scope	of	work	which	couldbe	justified	and	take	place.Lastly,	the	potential	for	taking	an	intersectional	and	holistic	approach	to	equalities	work	is	something	which	wasdiscussed	hopefully	in	the	development	of	the	Public	Sector	Equality	Duty.	Although	early	days	in	the	implementationof	this	when	I	carried	out	my	research,	my	field	work	suggested	there	was	important	work	to	be	done	to	supportthose	tasked	with	enacting	it.	For	example,	how	should	a	situation	where	the	interests	of	different	protected	groupsclashed	be	resolved?	Without	explicit	and	clear	approaches	to	this	complex	area,	the	positive	hopes	for	thislegislation	may	have	little	impact.Looking	at	what	happens	to	gender	equality	legislation	at	local	government	level,	and	doing	so	over	time,	is	aworthwhile	exercise.	This	is	a	level	at	which	significant	practical	gains	or	losses	can	be	made.	By	looking	at	this	indetail,	and	over	time,	we	can	see	both	the	positive	impact	a	legislative	change	can	have,	the	value	in	defending	this–	but	equally	understand	the	legislation	itself	as	just	one	part	of	a	story,	dependent	on	various	actors	(and	contextualfactors)	following	it._____Note:	the	above	draws	on	the	author’s	work	published	in	Women’s	Studies	International	Forum.About	the	AuthorFreya	Johnson	Ross	is	a	Research	Associate	at	the	UCL	Institute	of	Education.	Drawing	on	herexperience	in	NGOs,	social	research	and	academia,	her	research	interests	are	focused	aroundgender	and	equalities,	young	people,	policy	and	social	change	in	a	range	of	contexts.	In	particularthe	production	and	translation	of	ideas	about	gender	into	legislation,	policy	and	practice,	and	thedifferent	organisational	and	individual	actors	that	enact	this.	All	articles	posted	on	this	blog	give	the	views	of	the	author(s),	and	not	the	position	of	LSE	British	Politics	and	Policy,nor	of	the	London	School	of	Economics	and	Political	Science.	Featured	image	credit:	Pixabay	(Public	Domain).	British Politics and Policy at LSE: Gender equality in local government: what difference does legislation make? Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2018-02-06Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/gender-equality-in-local-government/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/

Gender equality in local government: what difference does legislation make?

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Gender equality in local government: what difference does legislation make?

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