Labour establishes new Office for Equality

The Labour government has replaced the previous Equality Hub with a new Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) which will oversee equality policy and legislation in the UK.

The OEO remains within the Cabinet Office and supports a new extended women and equalities ministerial team, led by Bridget Phillipson, minister for women and equalities.

It will cover all key areas of equality legislation, including disability policy, ethnic disparities, gender equality and LGBT+ rights.

Its immediate key priorities include:

• strengthening the new legal duty for harassment-free workplaces through the Worker Protection Act;

• championing the rights of disabled people through tackling pay discrimination at work and introducing mandatory pay gap reporting for large employers on ethnicity and disability through the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill;

• focussing on socio-economic disparities; and

• delivering a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices to be brought forward via a draft Conversion Practices Bill.

Phillipson said she will work tirelessly to address the root causes of inequalities and socio-economic disadvantage.

She expressed a wish to “drive real, lasting change because background should never be a barrier to success. Establishing the Office for Equality and Opportunity is just the first step as we ensure that every person has access to the opportunities that allow them to thrive.”