Written Answers. - Gender Equality Policy.
Jan O'Sullivan
Question:
87
Ms O'Sullivan
asked the
Minister for Finance
the main features of the recently launched Civil Service Gender Equality Policy; the steps being taken to implement the objectives of the policy within his Department and the public service generally; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25358/01]
The new Gender Equality Policy for the Civil Service Policy was formally launched by the Taoiseach and myself on Tuesday, 25 September 2001.
The policy is designed to bring a more strategic focus to the achievement of gender equality in the Civil Service.
In the first instance, it clearly restates the commitment of the Civil Service to gender equality and the principles under which the policy operates. These key principles state that equality of opportunity directly or indirectly affects all aspects of everyone's working life, that inequality of opportunity is illegal, that it is morally and socially unjustifiable, and is wasteful of the main asset of the Civil Service, namely, the people who work in it. As part of the new approach, the policy requires individual Departments to set strategic objectives and equality goals for increasing women's representation at all levels. However, there is a problem at management levels. There are very few women at higher management in Departments, although they are the majority in the clerical and executive grades and in the Civil Service as a whole. Women form 69% of staff in the lower grades, but make up only 23% at management grades.
The policy requires Departments to implement a programme of affirmative action to deal with obstacles to career progression for women identified in their own organisations. These initiatives will be taken in the main human resource man agement areas of recruitment, placement and mobility, training and staff development, promotion, work and family issues, language and harassment.
To give a particular focus to Departments' planning, the Government has set a target for the key assistant principal grade. Departments must work to ensure that, by 2005, 33% of assistant principal posts are filled by women. At present, women fill 27% of these posts. By increasing the number of women at that grade, there will be a larger number of women who can be promoted to the more senior levels.
The inclusion of strategic objectives and equality goals for assistant principals and other grades in each Department's statement of strategy is a key to the achievement of gender equality in the Civil Service.
Under the strategic management initiative for the modernisation of the Civil Service, each head of Department is required to report annually to his or her Minister on progress in relation to all the strategic objectives, goals and action plans specified in the Department's strategy statement. These annual reports are presented to Government and laid before the Oireachtas. Progress on gender equality in the Civil Service will therefore be monitored on an annual basis and at the highest level.
The policy documents also sets out the responsibilities of everyone involved in achieving gender equality, from the head of Department to individual staff. Detailed guidelines on accountability for the policy are also provided.
Within the Department of Finance, targets have been set which, over the next five years and subject to the number of vacancies arising, should see the representation of women increasing from 28% to close to 35% in the assistant principal grade and from 14% to close to 25% at the principal grade.
A policy is being prepared for the Department which will address a wide range of equality issues in accordance with the Government's policy.
Other Departments are adopting broadly similar strategies.
