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The number of women in part-time employment is now 5.9 million, accounting for around 40% of all female employment. The hourly rates of pay for women in part-time employment are 35% lower than those for women in full-time employment and just under 12% of part-time jobs were paid at or below the National Minimum Wage (NMW) compared with 3% of full-time jobs. Research at the University of East Anglia (UEA) into part-time employment, led by Sara Connolly (Norwich Business School), has had a direct impact on policy debate and provision in this area. Among other impacts, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) uses the research in evidence every time it debates likely impacts of an increase in the National Minimum Wage, and this has benefited part-time workers. The research has also influenced wider thinking about part-time work, and the UK government's consideration of flexible working.
Gender inequality affects workforce effectiveness. Our research has significantly increased awareness of factors which contribute to the paucity of female representation in the public sector. Notably it has shaped the policies and strategies of public sector agencies such the Scottish Government, Leadership Foundation in Higher Education, NHS and educational institutions such as universities and further education colleges. The research provided a platform for implementation of the Gender Equality Duty for the Scottish public sector.
Over the last seven years Surrey's research on the political representation and working practices of women has had significant influence on public debate about gender equality in Europe. The research has resulted in a number of high level policy and media debates about the position and role of working mothers, for example BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour. The Fabians' women network has also benefited from the work in shaping the network's presentation of key debates on women's rights in the UK.
"Gender equality in employment is recognised by policy makers and advisors (such as the Low Pay Commission) as an extremely important policy area." (Factual statement 1. Chief Economist and Deputy Secretary, Low Pay Commission); affecting as it does, all employees in the UK labour market. Research at the University of York analyses the gender wage gap at a national level, making a new contribution to the understanding of wage inequality in the UK. The three major stakeholder government departments (Low Pay Commission, Government Equalities Office, and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) have used the research findings and policy recommendations in their wage policy development to reduce the gender wage gap in the UK. The report was personally identified by the Minister for Employment Relations as making an important contribution to the development of policy.
European employment research at Manchester Business School's European Work and Employment Research Centre (EWERC) has had a significant impact on international policymaking bodies, specifically the European Commission (EC), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Demonstrated policy impact includes: the defining and strengthening of a gender mainstreaming and gender pay policy in Europe; technical improvements in the European Commission's approach to the European Employment Strategy (EES) (which all EU member states are required to report on and implement); and greater precision (regarding up-to-date data and the functioning of labour market institutions) in EC and ILO policy recommendations on low wage work, minimum wages and regulation for decent work.
Dr Kate Bedford's work has demonstrated the limits of existing frameworks for addressing gender and sexuality in development policy and has had a significant impact in four main ways. First, it has supported and influenced the work of the major NGOs (including Sexuality Policy Watch, and the Bretton Woods Project/Action Aid) in holding development institutions to account on questions of gender equality. Second, it has had substantial influence on the work of transnational public bodies (including UNRISD), challenging conventional wisdom and stimulating debate among policymakers. Third, it has had considerable impact on how development practitioners are taught, in the UK and beyond. Finally, it has enjoyed a sustained influence in shaping a new area of critical public debate, improving public understanding of sexuality and development and engaging diverse international audiences. In the light of increased global attention to gender and development (evident across several leading international institutions), Bedford's research has stimulated important debate about policy orthodoxy and has directly influenced several campaigns for policy change.
The research conducted by Dr Deborah Dean provided the first reliable benchmark study of how age and gender affects the employment realities of professional performers across Europe. The research has influenced the practices of professional bodies, resulting in trade union organisations changing their codes of practice and introducing new measures designed to address age and gender inequality. The research provided a concrete resource for international performers' unions to use in employer negotiations and contributed to political debate and led to a House of Commons Early Day motion on gender inequality in the arts. It also led to the launch of an online petition receiving over 10,000 public signatures, and triggered the creation and implementation of the EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee's Framework of Actions.
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.
Research by Professor Jacqueline Scott and others involved in the Network on Gender Inequalities in Production and Reproduction (GeNet) has influenced policy makers, government commissions and charities. It has also served to foster greater awareness of these issues amongst the general public through pro-active outreach programmes, extensive media coverage, and use of knowledge-brokers to generate policy and public debate in the UK and internationally. The international impact of this research is evident in the award of a further grant from the European Commission to identify institutional `best practice' for the promotion of gender equality in science.
Open University research has shaped how considerations of gender are factored into economic and social policy nationally and internationally by contributing to the case for Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) of policy on both efficiency and equality grounds. Many governments, international bodies, and civil society organisations now carry out GIAs, and many use, or aspire to use, methodologies developed by OU researchers. OU researchers regularly work on GIAs of UK policy, which has influenced policy making on welfare reform and on care policy. They also contribute to capacity building for GIA in the UK and abroad, and were leading members of an international project that led the World Bank, the IMF, and OECD to address the issue of gender and taxation.