Rights Here, Rights Now
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I am very proud of the progress we have made, but there is more to be done. Much has changed in Britain since the 1970s, when the first race and equality laws were introduced to make race and sex discrimination unlawful. And significant challenges lie ahead. The minority ethnic population accounts for 8 per cent of the total UK population and is rising.
By 2014, there will be more people over 65 than under 16 in the UK. There are more than 10 million disabled people still working to secure full rights in education, employment, transport and services, and we will all still be struggling to balance the demands of work and family. But we need to remember that it is discrimination that is the issue, not the communities who face it.
For these reasons, we need a new, authoritative and independent voice against discrimination and for social justice. But the CEHR cannot tackle these issues alone. It must harness the expertise already present in industry and share and encourage best practice.
The new equality body needs to develop close partnerships with business and employers. It will help business to attract and retain employees from diverse backgrounds. It will also bring equality and diversity into the mainstream of working practice, placing it firmly at the top of the HR agenda.
