Letter: Signs of progress towards equality

Sir: Barrie Clement's report ('Workplace parity between sexes 'will take 25 years' ', 17 January) presents a rather misleading impression.

Yes, I did say that it would take 25 years to ensure parity between men and women at work, but the 25 years I referred to was a forecast I had made in 1975 when I was deputy chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission. This forecast, as you will appreciate, brings us up to 2000, which is also the year Business in the Community's Opportunity 2000 has targeted in its campaign to improve the balance of men and women in the workforce.

Certainly, it is unrealistic to expect major results - such as 50 per cent of all chief executives to be women - within just one year. However, we are beginning to see real signs of progress and the build-up of middle/senior women approaching a critical mass. Also, much has changed since the 1975 legislation, not least the fact that there is now a clear acceptance of the business case for women at all levels in the workforce.

The very real changes that have taken place encourage me to believe that it is not unrealistic to expect a great deal more by 2000.

Yours faithfully,

ELSPETH HOWE

Chairman

Opportunity 2000

Business in the Community

London, EC1

20 January