What is Working Better?
Working Better aims to identify and promote innovative new ways of working which help meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Whether you are someone with caring responsibilities, a mother or a father who wants to be a more active parent, a disabled person who wants a fulfilling career, a younger worker who wants phased entry into work, or an older worker who wants to stay in the labour market longer – this is the big issue of our time.
As part of our consultation, we spoke to people at big and small businesses to find out how they balance work and personal lives. We talked to both employers and their staff about their personal experiences. Check out this video to hear what they had to say about flexible working.
The launch of Working Better
To mark the launch of our Working Better initiative, we partnered with Mumsnet.com and Dad Info two leading parenting websites, to launch their unique consultation, Home Front: What do mums and dads need to make life work?
Home Front will enable both fathers and mothers to tell the world how they organise work and caring - and what can be done to make life easier. The results will be presented to politicians and policy makers in the autumn.
How can I get involved?
Email us
If you would like to email us with your views then please send them to: workingbetter@equalityhumanrights.com
What's happens next?
The Home Front consultation was only the beginning. In coming months we will have additional consultations and events aimed at helping us understand the views and needs of other groups.
Working Better Seminar 20 October 2008
As part of our aim to consult and seek the views of experts, the Commission recently organised a seminar to provide a forum for discussion on some of the key ‘Working Better’ themes and questions. You can view the full report of this seminar here.
Keep checking this page for updates. In the meantime, you can email us at: workingbetter@equalityhumanrights.com
Media coverage
There was widespread national coverage of Nicola Brewer's speech to the Working Better launch. Nicola argued: 'The present rights of mothers and fathers appear to support the idea that fathers are 'optional seasoning' in children’s lives while mothers are the main carers. The division between maternity and paternity leave could be entrenching the view that women are the ones who have to pay the career price for motherhood.'
Following on from their initial front page story, the Times newpaper featured lead story with a supportive comment piece: 'Bringing up Baby'. The paper argues that by extending maternity leave rights while assuming fathers have little appetite for child rearing, the law is trying to be modern but failing. Another news story inside the paper quotes fathers organisations, who suggest that, 'paid maternity leave does us no favours either.'
The Daily Telegraph also covered the story with 'Fathers sidelined in bringing up children, says watchdog.' Further coverage continued in the Daily Mail, The Independent and the Financial Times among other papers.
The Times Alpha Mummy blog argues: 'There's been such a focus on getting more maternity leave for women that we haven't noticed that the one-sided benefits aren't always benefitting women or families in general.' On the same subject, Dr Miriam Stoppard argues in the Daily Mirror that 'Dads need more time off to bond with their babies.'
From a very different point of view, James Delingpole in the Daily Telegraph commented, 'Men are made to work not rear children'.
In the days following the launch this story, and the issues it raised, were featured in various media, including: BBC News, The Scotsman, the Edinburgh Evening News the Press & Journal, the Evening Standard, the Guardian (Comment is Free), and The Herald.
On 17 July Nicola Brewer was interviewed by the Evening Standard, where she talks about parental leave from a personal perspective as well as the Working Better initiative.