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Evening meetings ‘unfair to mothers’
A new code of practice designed to accompany the legislation suggests that a council could be hit by a legal claim if it holds a “consultation meeting on a weekday evening” and “discovers that fewer women than men attend”.
The document says a woman could make a reasonable case on the basis that “some women, including herself, cannot come because of childcare responsibilities”.
A spokeswomen for the commission told The Sunday Times that the example could be applied to other bodies, such as schools.
“Children’s bedtimes dictate when parents need to be at home, shift patterns mean some people are working in the evening, and older people may feel vulnerable when out after dark,” she said.
“So that it gets the broadest range of representation on which to base decisions, it’s sensible for a public body to think about who it wants to consult with, and what time of the day those people might be available.”
Graham Stuart, Conservative chairman of the Commons education select committee, condemned the guidance as “madness”.
“It’s extraordinarily idiotic when we need to be encouraging people to come together,” he said. “The last thing we need to do is put the fear of God into people who want to hold a meeting in the evening.”
The commission’s guidance also warned that private clubs, including golf clubs, could face a discrimination claim if its bar is too high for wheelchair users to access.
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