| It’s great to be here today. And I’d
like to start by thanking you Ben, and so many of you here, for helping us
to get to the stage where I am utterly confident that we will create a
single Commission for Equality and Human Rights and, I believe, take
forward a Single Equality Bill and gain a deeper understanding of
inequality. Of course we had our role to play in government, but we could
never have done it without you.
Today I want to briefly set out some of the
Government’s key achievements in tackling discrimination and promoting
equal rights and – more importantly - outline some of our plans for the
future.
I want to start by taking a moment to consider how
far we’ve come in just the last few years.
Five years ago we still had an unequal age of
consent for gay men. In 2001 we equalised it.
Eighteen months ago it was still lawful to
discriminate in the workplace on grounds of sexual orientation and
religion. In December 2003, we changed the law to provide - for the first
time - legal protection against discrimination in the workplace on grounds
of sexual orientation as well as religion. And the benefits are real
already. For men like Rob Whitfield who was awarded £35,000 in January
this year for being bullied and targeted at work because of his sexuality
– a case supported by Stonewall.
And just four months ago same-sex couples’
relationships were still invisible in the eyes of the law. The Civil
Partnership Act is now in place and the first couples will be able to
register their relationships in time for Christmas.
Again I would like to pay tribute to Stonewall for
their long campaign on this issue, and to my colleague Jacqui Smith who
took the Bill through parliament.
We are proud of this record. But we know there is
much more to do to ensure that all members of our society are treated
equally and with respect.
We’ve all been put in a box at some point in our
lives. You’re a woman. You’re a lesbian. You’re gay. You’re black. You’re
disabled. Your face doesn’t fit. You can’t do that job, have that service
or take your place as a full and equal member of the community.
It’s not right. And we’ve all said so. But we’ve
said so from the perspective of our individual lobbies and organisations.
In my case as an active member of the women’s movement for over thirty
years and a campaigner for human rights. And the result is that
responsibility for challenging discrimination has been sectionalised.
Different lobbies have been played off against one another. We saw a bit
of that in the Sunday Times over the weekend. Problems have been seen as
the responsibility of the groups who experience them, rather than the
responsibility of society as a whole.
And in modern Britain we’re aware that people’s
identities are multiple and complex. Creating a truly equal society is not
a minority issue. It is an issue for all of us.
So we are about to take three big steps to
establish that equal society.
First a Bill to establish a new Commission for
Equality and Human Rights.
The Commission will be a powerful and
authoritative champion for equalities and human rights. It will take its
message to employers, service providers, businesses, public bodies and all
the organisations of civil society, right across Great Britain.
It will have a range of powers to enforce
anti-discrimination legislation, including, of course, on the grounds of
sexual orientation.
Enforcement will be hugely important to its work,
but it won’t be all of it.
Building on the experience of Stonewall’s work
with its Diversity Champions, and the pioneering good practice of some of
you here today, it will go out and persuade others to do what is right,
not just what is necessary.
Second, on Friday, we announced a major Equalities
Review. Led by Trevor Phillips, but engaging with a whole range of
stakeholders.
What we are asking Trevor and his group to do is
conduct a root and branch investigation into the long term and underlying
causes of inequality and disadvantage, and make practical recommendations
on key policy priorities for Government, the public sector, employers,
trade unions, the voluntary sector and for civil society.
Third, work to correct the inconsistencies and
inequalities in our discrimination law. For example, Stonewall has
campaigned for lesbians and gays to be given the same protection in
relation to goods, facilities and services as other groups. However, this
is just one of the many discrepancies in our current legislation.
This work will again be led by Jacqui Smith to
move towards the Single Equality Act that Stonewall has campaigned for for
so many years.
So these are three big steps that mean, I believe,
we will be in a very different place in five years to where we are now.
All this is underpinned by our belief in the equal
value of all in society. It is essential that we don’t fall into the trap
of ranking different inequalities. That groups aren’t played off against
one another. The reality is that any prejudice against people for who they
are is abhorrent to us all.
Back in October David Morley was savagely beaten
to death on the South Bank in an entirely unprovoked attack. He was
targeted, it appears, because he was gay.
Just as abhorrent is the murder, on average, of 2
women a week by their partner or husband - because they are the less
powerful partner in the relationship.
And violence against members of our BME
communities, or Muslim women for wearing the hijab.
All these crimes are equally abhorrent. All of
equal concern to us all.
This belief in the equal value of everyone will
drive forward the work of the CEHR.
But promoting equality and diversity is also an
economic issue.
If Britain is to compete in an increasingly global
economy, our businesses need to draw on the talents and experience of all
the available workforce.
These days you cannot run a successful
organisation or business without being concerned about equality and
diversity.
Because equality and prosperity go hand in hand.
Equality is not a fringe issue, but increasingly a boardroom issue.
So I believe we are at a very exciting point in
working towards our common goal of a truly equal society. Together we are
going to make a big difference in the next few years.
That is the spirit in which I am here today. And
to than you all for everything you are doing to help us in this task.
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