The Commission's new report, Sex and Power 2011, shows a continuing trend of women being passed over for top jobs in Britain. More than 5,400 women are missing from Britain's 26,000 most powerful posts. Commissioner Kay Carberry said: 'If Britain is to stage a strong recovery from its current economic situation, then we have to make sure we're not wasting women's skills and talents.'
Read more about Sex and Power
The Commission has written to the Prime Minister to say it will 'help to dispel myths that may have built up' about human rights and to help crime victims understand their human rights. Commission Chair, Trevor Phillips, wrote: 'The perception that law breakers can hide behind the protections of human rights serves no one, in fact it holds back our progress towards a society which respects rights and responsibilities.'
Read more about myth-busting human rights
The Inquiry's final report will be launched on 12 September. We will share our findings and recommendations at events with disabled people, their organisations, and the criminal justice, education, health & social care, housing and transport sectors. Follow the launch event on Twitter using the hashtag #disbelief and pose questions for the panel's Q & A session. Watch the event live on the day and download the report at www.equalityhumanrights.com/dhfi.
Read more about the Disability Harassment Inquiry
We have continued our conversation with national stakeholders this month, following the useful input received during our July roundtables. Earlier this month, we met with the Independent Police Complaints Commission to present and discuss relevant themes from the Review. In September, we will share a draft report with government, regulators and inspectorates.
Read more about the Human Rights Review
The Commission has published a report that shows current privacy law is failing to stop breaches of personal data privacy and is not keeping pace with the rapid growth in personal data collection. The Commission wants the government to bring in changes that will better protect personal information.
Read more about our Information Privacy report
The Commission is carrying out a range of activities across Britain to fulfil its role as one of the designated independent bodies which promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the Convention in the UK. We have produced a briefing document to communicate our work and to encourage participation and involvement.
Read more about the UNCRPD
The specific duties regulations are still in draft form. We anticipate that they will be approved by parliament in September 2011. In preparation for this we are updating our non-statutory guidance and drafting Codes of Practice on the duty for England, Scotland and Wales. We aim to consult on these draft Codes in the Autumn.
Read more about the public sector equality duty
In response to comments made by Housing and Planning Minister Grant Shapps about human rights in social housing, a spokesperson for the Commission said: 'There is no human right to satellite TV. The human right in this example is the right to practise your religion. It is only an illustration of how the law might apply in exceptional circumstances, nor should it be taken out of context.'
Read more about our statement on human rights
There can be no let up in ensuring Scotland continues to tackle prejudice so that we can live up to our ideals of tolerance and fair play, says the Commission in Scotland. These comments follow the publication of the 2010 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey report on attitudes to discrimination and positive action, on 11 August.
Read more about the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey
For the first time, a bilingual glossary with standardised equality and human rights terminology has been produced in Wales. This free resource is available for everyone to use and is a collaboration between the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Welsh Language Board, in Welsh known as Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg.
Read more about the glossary
In the Commission's June e-mail newsletter we incorrectly stated that Phillip Davies MP had said in a House of Commons debate that disabled people 'should' be paid less than the minimum wage. The wording should have said that Mr Davies had argued that disabled people 'could' be paid less than the minimum wage.
In the debate, Mr Davies contended that that employers often chose non-disabled people over disabled people when recruiting, since they were forced to pay the minimum wage to all potential employees and therefore would not take on a disabled candidate who 'cannot, by definition be as productive in their work' as a non-disabled candidate who would be 'more productive and less of a risk'. He went on to argue that disabled people should therefore be able to offer to work for less than the minimum wage if it would help them get a job.
While the Commission disagrees strongly that disabled people are by definition less productive or more of a risk than non-disabled people, we accept that Mr Davies did not suggest that they should be paid less than the minimum wage. The Commission would therefore like to apologise to Mr Davies for the misinterpretation of his remarks in the e-mail newsletter which did not accurately reflect his views and whilst not intentional, was not a fair comment.
One of the Commission's aims as a National Human Rights Institution is to raise awareness on international levers that can contribute to strengthening a culture of human rights and advance the enjoyment of human rights in the UK. As part of this work, we are currently inviting interested parties to quote for an awareness raising project in view of the UK examination under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The aim of this project would be to raise awareness of the UPR process and facilitate VSO engagement. For more information please email international@equalityhumanrights.com indicating UPR in the subject line.
Date: Wednesday 21 September 2011
Location: Nomura, London
The conference will launch the findings of a major national research project from Opportunity Now and Shapiro Consulting Ltd exploring what makes a great inclusive leader and practical recommendations as to how organisations can grow and develop their own inclusive leaders.
Read more about the Inclusive Leadership Conference
Date: 5 October 2011
Location: Glasgow
The Equality Act 2010 simplified equality laws by bringing them together into one practical act while adding new provisions. One year on from the introduction of the Act, the Scottish legal team are hosting this event which will focus on individual protection against discrimination and explain the implications of the legislation. It is aimed at people who give advice or assistance directly to the public from voluntary, community and educational organisations.
Read more about the Equality Act event
Date: 14-15 September 2011
Location: Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), Glasgow
Naidex Scotland is Scotland's homecare, disability and rehabilitation exhibition. The Independent Living in Scotland (ILiS) project and its partner organisations are jointly hosting a panel discussion which will explore what Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs) are, what they do and why they are so important to making independent living a reality for all disabled people. The ILiS project is grant funded by the Scottish Government and hosted by the EHRC in Scotland. The project aims to support disabled people to have their voices heard and to grow and strengthen the disabled people's own Independent Living Movement in Scotland.
Read more about Naidex