The government has scrapped plans to make it compulsory for employers to publish equality data about their workforce and is now asking for submissions on a voluntary basis. The move will result in the relevant clause in the Equality Act 2010 simply not being implemented.

The proposal is aimed at companies that employ 150 or more people and follows a similar commitment for the public sector announced earlier this year. The government will also enact the Equality Act’s rules on positive action in relation to recruitment and promotion. This means that, if employers have two or more job candidates of equal merit, they will be able to choose a female in preference to a male in order to make their organisations more representative. The Government Equalities Office (GEO) will also be disbanded as a separate organisation and become a unit of the Home Office in a move intended to bring equality into the heart of government.

However, equalities campaigners were skeptical and pointed out that in the 40 years since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act, voluntary measures had failed and women were still paid an average of 16% less than men.