Discrimination against women, both in terms of promotional prospects and pay, continues to be a feature of our society. Because of that, the Equality Action Programme announced last week by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, is to be welcomed. The initiative involves the establishment of guidelines for local authorities on both equal opportunity employment and sexual harassment and it reflects recommendations made by the Oireachtas Committee on Women's Rights.
On the face of it, local authorities have a long way to go in the establishment of equal opportunities for women. And this is particularly true at the most senior management and professional levels. In spite of the lip-service paid to gender balance down the years, statistics issued by Mr Dempsey show the persistence of "no go" areas for women within local government structures. In that regard, not a single county or city manager, or any of their assistants, is a woman. The same holds true for the positions of finance officer, county and city engineers and architects, development officers and waterworks caretakers. Less than a quarter of county secretaries and town clerks are women. And while almost 60 per cent of assistant librarians are women, that figure falls to 40 per cent for the more senior position of county/city librarian.
The Minister came out with his hands up. He fully accepted the report by the Oireachtas Committee on Women's Rights and its recommendation that active equality policies should be introduced. In setting deadlines for the appointment of Equality Officers and terms of reference for Equality Action Teams in all local authorities, Mr Dempsey hoped to inculcate a culture of equal opportunity. And he recognised that the system of appointment to the grades of senior staff officer and administrative officer had to change because they represented the springboard grades for senior management. In that regard, the Minister spoke of the need to create a level playing field for women in order to broaden the base of management talent and to create an environment in which their rights and dignity were protected.
Dealing with sexual harassment within the workplace, new policies and procedures were laid down in an approach designed to deal with such matters speedily and seriously. All staff are to be familiarised with policy through induction and training programmes. Contact persons will be designated to provide advice, guidance and support to staff who experience sexual harassment. And the victimisation of complainants or witnesses will be considered a disciplinary offence.
It was all very positive and progressive. The Minister is to be congratulated for giving effect to reforms that will go some way towards treating women equally while, at the same time, making better use of the skills and brain power available within the local government system. As the policy document noted: "To give of their best, staff must have a sense of their worth and the value of their work and must feel confident of fair treatment. Equality of opportunity is one of the means of bringing this about."