On cover and title page: Equality Act 2010 code of practice

This publication sets out the gender equality duty code of practice for public sector managers in Scotland. One of its principle aims is to help the public sector understand and address the different needs of women and men, leading to more user-friendly services, as well as making better use of the talents of both women and men in the workforce. The gender equality duty came into force in April 2007, and can be seen as the biggest change in sex equality legislation in 30 years, since the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act (ISBN PGA 1975 Chp. 65, ISBN 9780105465751) itself, and also reflects the aims of the Equal Pay Act 1970 (PGA 1970 Chp. 41, ISBN 9780105441700), along with incorporating amendments made through the Equality Act 2006 (PGA 2006 Chp. 3, ISBN 9780105403067). The introduction of the duty forms part of a radical new approach to equality in general, one that places more responsibility with service providers to think strategically about gender equality, and help make Scottish public authorities meet the duty

The gender equality duty came into force on 6 April 2007. This is the result of the amendment of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 by the Equality Act 2006 (ISBN 9780105403067), and it places a statutory duty on all public authorities, when carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment, and to promote equality of opportunity between men and women. The duty is intended to address the fact that, despite 30 years of individual legal rights to sex equality, there is still widespread discrimination and persistent gender inequality. This code of practice gives practical guidance to public authorities on how to meet the legal requirements of the general duty, and the specific duties required of certain authorities by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (SI 2006/2930, ISBN 9780110752822).

The World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law examines laws and regulations affecting women’s prospects as entrepreneurs and employees across 190 economies. Its goal is to inform policy discussions on how to remove legal restrictions on women and promote research on how to improve women’s economic inclusion.

2nd version of a 1994 publication.

"Violence against women undermines women's core fundamental rights such as dignity, access to justice and gender equality. For example, one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15; one in five women has experienced stalking; every second woman has been confronted with one or more forms of sexual harassment. What emerges is a picture of extensive abuse that affects many women's lives but is systematically underreported to the authorities. The scale of violence against women is therefore not reflected by official data. This FRA survey is the first of its kind on violence against women across the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU). It is based on interviews with 42,000 women across the EU, who were asked about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including incidents of intimate partner violence ('domestic violence'). The survey also included questions on stalking, sexual harassment, and the role played by new technologies in women's experiences of abuse. In addition, it asked about their experiences of violence in childhood. Based on the detailed findings, FRA suggests courses of action in different areas that are touched by violence against women and go beyond the narrow confines of criminal law, ranging from employment and health to the medium of new technologies."--Editor.