On 17th June Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality launched a new cross government drive to increase the number of women, black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people and disabled people on the boards of public bodies.
The new cross government action plan co-led by the Government Equalities Office and Cabinet Office will include measures such as mentoring and raising awareness, media campaigns and better use of the internet as well as setting targets on gender, disability and ethnicity. The aim is that by 2011, 50% of new appointments will be women, 14% will be disabled people and 11% will be ethnic minorities.
As part of the drive, The Women’s National Commission has produced a new booklet ‘Women in Public Life Today’ which explains the benefits of holding a public appointment, how they work and how to apply. This can be found at www.thewnc.org.uk.
Whilst such a campaign is admirable and there can be no doubt that discrimination of any sort whether on the basis of gender, disability or religion cannot be tolerated and should be abhorred are we in fact creating a division by campaigning on such matters? Are we almost creating a situation whereby people are treated equally out of fear rather than genuine recognition? Do you think this is positive discrimination and if so, do you think positive discrimination is justified?
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