Government Equalities Office
Encyclopedia
The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is a United Kingdom government department
. It was created in October 2007 when the Women and Equality Unit, based within the Department for Communities and Local Government
was converted into an independent department.
It has lead responsibility for gender equality
within the UK government, together with a responsibility to provide advice on all other forms of equality (including age, race, sexual orientation and disability) to other UK government departments. The day to day responsibility for policy on these issues was not transferred to GEO when it was created.
The Equalities Office currently leads the Discrimination Law Review, which developed the Equality Act 2010 that replaced previous anti-discrimination legislation.
Theresa May
is also Home Secretary
and Lynne Featherstone
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office
.
request by MP Dominic Raab
. The enquiry also revealed that almost two thirds of the department's 107 staff were female. Raab criticised the department for double standards, stating "It undermines the credibility of the equality and diversity agenda, if bureaucrats at the government equalities office are preaching about unequal representation and the pay gap, whilst practising reverse". The diifferences between the genders became marked from 2008 under the leadership of Harriet Harman
with the pay gap almost doubling from that time and six out of seven new jobs going to women.
Departments of the United Kingdom Government
Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
. It was created in October 2007 when the Women and Equality Unit, based within the Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...
was converted into an independent department.
It has lead responsibility for gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
within the UK government, together with a responsibility to provide advice on all other forms of equality (including age, race, sexual orientation and disability) to other UK government departments. The day to day responsibility for policy on these issues was not transferred to GEO when it was created.
The Equalities Office currently leads the Discrimination Law Review, which developed the Equality Act 2010 that replaced previous anti-discrimination legislation.
Ministers
The Government Equalities Office Ministers are as follows:| Minister | Rank | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rt Hon Theresa May Theresa May Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04... MP |
Minister for Women and Equalities | Overall responsibility | |
| Lynne Featherstone Lynne Featherstone Lynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green.... MP |
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State | Equality strategy and legislation (includes gender, sexual orientation and transgender matters) |
| Key | Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... |
Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
is also Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
and Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green....
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
.
Budget
The budget for the Equalities Office reached £76 million in 2010-11. Following the spending review this is set to decrease each year, to £47.1 million in 2014-15.Controversies
In June 2011 it emerged that female staff at the Equalities Office received 7.7% more pay then males on average. The information came to light following a Freedom of InformationFreedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
request by MP Dominic Raab
Dominic Raab
Dominic Rennie Raab is a British Conservative politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Esher and Walton in Surrey and is a former international business lawyer.-Biography:...
. The enquiry also revealed that almost two thirds of the department's 107 staff were female. Raab criticised the department for double standards, stating "It undermines the credibility of the equality and diversity agenda, if bureaucrats at the government equalities office are preaching about unequal representation and the pay gap, whilst practising reverse". The diifferences between the genders became marked from 2008 under the leadership of Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
with the pay gap almost doubling from that time and six out of seven new jobs going to women.