"Sex discrimination a persistent problem" says West Midlands Liberal Democrat MP

2.24.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 24th May 2006

Lorely Burt MP

Responding to statistics released today by the Equal Opportunities Commission, Liberal Democrat Women and Equalities Spokesperson, Solihull MP Lorely Burt, has called on the Government to ensure that the Equality Bill establishes laws that promote sex equality.

The statistics show that there have been a quarter of a million Employment Tribunal cases involving sex discrimination and 67,000 cases related to equal pay in the 30 years since the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts came in to force.

Mrs Burt said: "The number of cases going to a tribunal in the last thirty years shows that the workplace is still not equal. Women who work part-time still earn thirty-eight percent less per hour than men who do. Not only is the Tribunal system expensive and time-consuming, but it doesn't address the real problem. I hope that the Equality Bill will allow for a new approach to sex discrimination and ensure that employers and employees work together effectively to promote equality."