I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
This legislation is directed at women at work. I have repeatedly stressed over the last two years that the status of women is fundamentally determined by the nature of the tasks traditionally assigned to them by society.
The prevailing prejudice of our society enshrined in constitutional social theory in this country was that a woman's place is in the home. It was not accepted that women had the same right of choice as other citizens. Whatever the merits of the social theory as laid down in Article 41 of the Constitution, what has been happening in Ireland is that there has been an upward trend in participation by women in the labour market; this matches trends elsewhere. This is notable for two groups of women in particular—those in child bearing years who are increasingly remaining in the labour force; and those in middle years with grown children who have been returning to the job market in greater numbers.
Recently, the European Trade Union Confederation had harsh things to say about the small proportion of married women in the work force in this country. We are at the bottom of the league they said, with 13.5 per cent of married women going out to work, compared with 57 per cent in Britain and 60 per cent in West Germany. They see this as proof of discrimination against women. What they have overlooked is that we have not been industrialised for as long as Britain and West Germany. For historical and social reasons the entry of women into industry here is a more recent phenomenon. Whilst I would not go along with the European Trade Union Confederation in their conclusions, I have to concede that prejudice undoubtedly exists against women in industry.
In a work force where we have 26 per cent women, the statistics of women who hold managerial positions in Ireland reveal a depressing picture but, of course, no worse than the statistics of the number of women who hold decision-making positions in any sphere of activity in Ireland, whether we take politics, the public service, trade unions or any area of administration. When we move away from the traditionally female occupations we find equally depressing statistics, for example, in the professions—only 1 per cent of engineers, 2 per cent of accountants, 3 per cent of architects and just over 7 per cent of the legal profession are women. Even in the occupations which are predominantly female, we find that the top administrative posts are held by men. For some reason women are perceived by men and, indeed, sometimes by women themselves to lack the qualities which would fit them for positions of responsibility and leadership. I think this is a misconception which has no basis in fact.
We are all familiar with the explanations which are usually advanced for the absence of women from managerial positions; first there is just plain prejudice, meaning mainly male prejudice, then there is the narrow concept of women's role —I previously referred to the reference in the Constitution to the appropriate place for women in our society—the effects of single sex schooling and, of course, the range of subjects which girls have traditionally studied at school.
A policy for the greater involvement of women in managerial positions must be developed. I do not believe that managerial ability is concentrated exclusively in the male sex. Managers, men or women, are not born; managerial talent is developed —and it is not developed overnight. The major inequality lies in the type of employment taken up by women, the lowliest jobs are those left to them and the cure for this is in the improvement in education and training which must be provided for them before they enter employment.
Very few women have come forward for training at AnCO centres but increased efforts are now being made to change this situation and the number of women taking courses has increased considerably over the last few years. In 1975 a total of 813 women, 25 per cent of whom were married, completed AnCO courses and this year up to September, 978 have been trained at AnCO centres and there are 510 undergoing training at present. I have directed that all AnCO courses be open to women and a special effort is being made to encourage more women to take up apprenticeships. Although some progress has been made in this area, as yet, possibly because of social attitudes, women have not come forward for apprenticeship training to any significant degree.
This legislation which is now before the House is intended to remedy the imbalance which exists. As I said before, it is the status of women's jobs which determines their place in the economy and ultimately their place in society. The Bill will provide women with equal opportunity with men to realise their full potential in employment when it comes to selection for a job, training within the job, or promotion or working conditions. The Bill will make it unlawful to discriminate against women in employment and it will provide for enforcement procedures under which women who feel that they have been discriminated against can avail of legal remedies. It will no longer be possible to segregate jobs, managerial or otherwise, into men's jobs and women's jobs. I might mention that the Bill will permit "positive" discrimination in favour of women in regard to the provision of special training where this is necessary to adjust an unequal balance in a particular employment. Positive discrimination of this nature, which I think is necessary if equal opportunity in employment is to become a reality, will be permitted under section 13.
The Bill defines discrimination as arising in four ways : first of all, direct discrimination where a woman is treated less favourably than a man because of her sex, then indirect discrimination, where a condition or requirement is applied equally to men and women but the requirement is such that a considerably smaller proportion of women than of men could comply with it and the requirement is not essential for the particular job; thirdly where a married person is treated less favourably than an unmarried person; and, lastly, where a person is victimised because of pursuing the legal right to equal treatment which this Bill confers.
Having defined discrimination, the Bill then sets out the employment situations in which it is unlawful to discriminate, namely recruitment, training, promotion and working conditions. While the Bill is aimed primarily at discrimination by employers it will also make unlawful discrimination in activities which are related to employment, such as, discrimination by organisations concerned with the provision of training courses, as well as placement and guidance services provided by employment agencies. Admission to membership and the benefits provided by trade unions, and employer organisations is also covered by the Bill, for the reason that such membership can affect eligibility and prospects for employment. Finally, discriminatory advertisements will be unlawful under the provisions of the Bill.
While the Bill is intended to deal with discrimination against women in employment, it will equally apply where discrimination is practised against men. It is my intention in this Bill that the coverage should be as comprehensive as possible and, consequently, exclusions from the scope of the Bill should be kept at a minimum. I have, however, accepted the case for the exclusion of employments listed in section 10; for example, the Defence Forces, the Garda Síochána, the prison service and employment in a private household. I have provided in this section that any of these employments may be brought within the scope of the legislation later by an affirmative order.
The Labour Court will have a central role in the enforcement provisions of the Bill. Officers of the Labour Court have been given various powers including the power to require persons to furnish information. It has been represented to me that employers should not be required to disclose any references or reports relating to the character or suitability of any person seeking employment, for the purposes of investigation by officers of the Labour Court. I have accepted that this should be so and provision is made accordingly. I felt it was important to ensure that the confidentiality of the system of character references, should not be disturbed.
On Committee Stage I intend to make provision for the establishment of an employment equality agency. It has been represented to me by the Women's Representative Committee, which is under the chairmanship of Deputy Eileen Desmond, and other organisations representing women that an independent agency would be the most effective way of promoting equality of opportunity in employment as well as dealing with public interest cases.
In the United States, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established in 1972. In Britain an Equal Opportunity Commission was established last year with enforcement and promotional functions under the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975. A similar commission has been established in Northern Ireland.
The agency will be concerned with eliminating discrimination in employment, promoting equality of opportunity in employment and advising on the working of anti-discrimination legislation. The task of the body would be nothing less than the removal of all traces of injustice and inequality whether in our laws or social arrangements.
The new equality agency will investigate practices that appear to be discriminatory. If such practices are found to be unlawful, the agency will use their enforcement powers to eliminate them. They will have powers of formal investigation similar to those of a judicial inquiry to require information, production of documents, attendance of witnesses, and so on. A nondiscrimination notice issued by the agency will require the person concerned to stop the practice in question. These notices will be enforceable in the courts by way of injunction.
The agency will have sole rights to deal with discriminatory advertisements, instructions to discriminate and pressure to discriminate. They will be able to assist individuals in important or significant cases which raise questions of principle. They will undertake a programme of education about discrimination in employment aimed at opening up new opportunities and trying to change public attitudes which operate against the interests of women in employment. Complete equality will only come to pass if people question the limitations put on women in the past and agree to get rid of them.
The planning of the agency must be worked out carefully. It will take a lot of work but it is hoped that the agency will become operative before the end of 1977.
In commending this Bill to the House, I am fully aware that the law can never entirely prevent discrimination but it can get rid of the more obvious forms of it. Progress towards equality of opportunity for women depends to a large extent on a change of attitude on the part of everyone— employers, workers and the public generally. The aim is that, following the enactment of this legislation, both sides of industry would work together and secure by their joint efforts the improvements in the status of women in the employment field. I hope that the Bill will create a climate favourable to change which will result in more and more able and well-qualified women reaching responsible positions on merit and in proportion to their numbers in the population.
The demand of women for equal opportunity in all areas of employment is a just demand. For society as a whole the implementation of the Bill must represent a significant advance by simply getting rid of a system of discrimination which is wasteful of talent and ability. I commend the Bill to the House.
