Research

December 2010

On 20 December 2010, Government-commissioned research into the opportunities and barriers faced for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB&T) people in public and political participation was published. The research was conducted by the Office for Public Management and forms part of the Government’s work programme ‘Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality’, which was launched in June 2010.
The research and the wider work programme contribute to one of GEO’s key aims - to promote equal participation in civil society. By using the talents of everyone, we can make sure that our communities and institutions benefit from the whole range of experiences and skills of society. This report and its recommendations will enable us to develop targeted actions to improve the opportunities for, and tackle the barriers faced by, LGB&T people who want to participate in public, political and community life. A summary to this report is available.
The Government-commissioned research into the prevalence of caste prejudice and discrimination undertaken by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research with a summary
Research by ISER's Alita Nandi and Lucinda Platt published by the Government Equalities Office concludes that ethnic minority women experience excess poverty. The report Ethnic minority women's poverty and economic well being is a detailed account of the inequalities found among women and between women and men. The research findings are here.

As part of the development of the Equality Measurement Framework, we commissioned research on "Measuring Inequality: Autonomy - The degree of empowerment in decisions about one's own life". This research report develops survey questions to capture and measure individuals’ autonomy: the degree of choice and control they have in key areas of their lives. Review of the theoretical literature led to the identification of three components of autonomy: (i) self-reflection, (ii) active or delegated decision-making, and (iii) a wide variety of high-quality options. The report develops a template of questions for the three components, which has been cognitively tested. This project found that, despite limitations, survey measurement of the complex concept of autonomy is possible and revealing. You can read the summary here. If you need a Level 3 accessible PDF format of the report, please follow this link.

The UK has one of the highest levels of part-time working in Europe. Evidence shows a significant pay gap between women working full time and women working part time, and also a continuing gender pay gap with women working part time faring particularly badly in relation to men.

In response to the Women and Work Commission’s recommendations in 2006, the Government funded a Quality Part-time Work Fund programme aimed at achieving culture change so that more senior jobs, particularly in skilled occupations and the professions, would be open to part-time and flexible working. The report "Quality part-time work: an evaluation of the Quality Part-time Work Fund" is an evaluation of this programme.