1.0 Introduction

1.1
The new Gender Equality Duty (GED) came into force on April 6th 2007 through the Equalities Act 2006. The GED has both general and specific duties with which NHS Lanarkshire, as a public body, is required to comply.

It is the general duty which lies at the heart of the GED, and it is in meeting this duty that true progress can be made and measured.

The general duty amends the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and places a legal duty on all public bodies, including NHS Lanarkshire, to have due regard to the need:

To eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment
To promote equality of opportunity between women and men, including transsexual people

The purpose of the specific duties is to help public bodies to better perform the general duty. Specific duties, set out in The Sex Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) (Scotland) Order 2007, require listed authorities, of which NHS Lanarkshire is one, to :

Publish a Gender Equality Scheme (GES) by 29 June 2007;
Review its scheme and prepare and publish a revised scheme every three years;
Publish a report annually summarising the actions that the authority has taken towards the achievement of the objectives identified in their scheme.

The GED also asks public bodies:

To publish and equal pay statement which outlines that authority’s policy on equal pay between men and women by 28 September 2007;
To review its equal pay statement and publish a report on its equal pay policy every three years.

1.2
The GES is an overarching document that contains a set of objectives for NHS Lanarkshire in eliminating unlawful discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity for men, women and transsexual people.

1.3
The GES includes a Gender Action Plan that shows how the objectives will be delivered, resourced and monitored.