Businesses are to be urged to give women and ethnic minority job candidates preference under new plans unveiled today by equalities minister Harriet Harman.

The Equalities Bill, due to be introduced in December’s Queen’s Speech, would allow employers to appoint people specifically because of their race or gender. However, the proposals would only apply when choosing between applicants equally qualified for the job.

Harman hopes that the new measures will help to create a more balanced workforce, but is likely to face resistance from employers and organisations who see this as just more red tape introduced by the Labour government.

The bill will also include measures to tackle the gender pay divide. Although statistically, the gender pay gap has been declining since 1997, recent figures show that for every pound earned by a man per hour in the UK, a woman earns 87 pence.   

One of the measures includes outlawing secrecy clauses in employment contracts designed to prevent staff from discussing remuneration. Speaking yesterday Harman said that “the British reserve about discussing pay” has contributed to a “lurking entrenchment of discrimination”.

While largely approving of the bill, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warned that the government must “ensure that they spell out exactly how the proposals will function so that employers don’t unwittingly fall foul of the law”.

Dianah Worman, CIPD diversity advisor continued: “To lead in the diversity field, employers have to deliver legal obligations and implement systemic change in all business practices.”

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