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The Equality Act 2010 (EqA) is the first major reform to equality legislation since the wave of UK equality legislation in the 1970s. The case deals primarily with the two most innovative aspects of the EqA — the Public Sector Equality Duty (s.149) and the Dual Discrimination provisions (s.14), which have formed the basis of Hazel Conley's research. The research has involved significant impacts with notable reach in relation to: (1) the policy and best practices of five local authorities, with other authorities also drawing on these lessons, (2) trade unions' priorities, strategies and representational roles in relation to equality objectives, including prompting 30 equal pay test cases, and (3) public policy in terms of promoting social justice and public debate, and advocating improvements to government policy.
Research by Manfredi (Business) and Vickers (Law) has informed the development of equality policy and practice for to the management of human resources in Higher Education, both nationally and internationally. Work on the implementation of the public sector equality duty has been instrumental in developing the equality policy of HEFCE and the equality framework of the REF 2014. Research on the implications for the management of human resources of the abolition of mandatory retirement has generated knowledge which has demonstrably influenced organisational policy development on age equality and retirement. This has been widely applied in personnel training initiatives, legal briefings and used to develop good practice guidance for employers.
Research by Vickers and Manfredi has enhanced public and policy understanding of equality and diversity issues relating to religious belief, age discrimination and equality policies both nationally and internationally. Their work on equality has been instrumental in developing the equality policy of HEFCE and the equality framework of the REF 2014. They have advised human resources managers in relation to age equality, demonstrably influencing organisational policy development on retirement, through its application in personnel equality training programmes for a range or organisations and agencies. Additionally research by Vickers on religious equality has assisted conceptual understanding and capacity building nationally and within the European Union, underpinning legal challenges to government equality legislation.
Annapurna Waughray is the first legal scholar to examine the capacity of British equality law to address discrimination based on caste. In 2009, Waughray identified the limitations of existing discrimination law for capturing caste as a form of discrimination. Her work contends that existing religious discrimination and race discrimination provisions are inadequate to fully cover caste discrimination, and that if caste discrimination is to be legally regulated in Britain, an explicit statutory prohibition should be introduced. Waughray's work has directly informed governmental, parliamentary, academic, practitioner, UN and NGO understandings of the capacity of British equality law to cover caste discrimination.
Malleson and Barmes' research at QMUL on how to promote equality and diversity has influenced policy and legislation through its impact on a number of official bodies, including the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity in 2009/10, the House of Lords Constitution Committee Inquiry on Judicial Appointments in 2011/12, the Joint Committee on Human Rights report on the Equality Bill in 2009, the Advisory Panel for the selection of judges to the Court of Justice of the European Union (`CJEU') in 2010 and also of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (`CICC') in 2011. As founder members of the Equal Justices Initiative (`EJI') and of the AHRC research network, `Promoting Equality and Diversity through Economic Crisis' (`PEDEC'), their research has also informed public and policy understanding of equality and diversity issues more widely.
Discrimination remains a common social problem within and beyond the EU; e.g. the Fundamental Rights Agency found that in some EU states more than one-third of ethnic minorities reported experiencing discrimination when looking for work in the previous 12 months. Research by Professor Mark Bell has helped to influence EU law and policy on combating discrimination, as well as contributing to the agendas of European non-governmental organisations in this field. Specifically, his research was used in formulating proposals for a new anti-discrimination Directive. He advised several NGOs on their strategy for seeking amendments to enhance the draft Directive. This influence has contributed to the strengthening of anti-discrimination law and policy, with potential benefits for individuals in the EU facing discrimination.
The underrepresentation of women in political life, gender equality in policy making and the relationship between gender representation and gender equality, are considered in parallel within research undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM). The work has informed Labour Government commitments to promote diversity of representation in local and national government, and more recently has underscored the detrimental impact of the Coalition Government's austerity policies; informing the Opposition Labour Party, contributing to public debate and empowering those most harshly affected. Explicit policy impact can be seen in two domains. Firstly, the `Duty to Promote Democracy', introduced via Statute in 2009. Secondly, following the `Speakers Conference on Parliamentary Representation' (2010), research for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on diversity in Parliament, that continues to inform policy debate.