‘Much remains to be done to stamp out discrimination against women’

Despite sex and race discrimination law having been in place for over three decades, much still remains to be done in order to stamp out discrimination in the work place, an expert has said.

According to Richard Linskell, secretary of the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA), although many organisations do have policies in place designed to prevent discrimination, unfair treatment does still occur.

He said: "Sex and race discrimination law has been in place now for over 30 years and whilst there has been significant progress over that time, there is also no doubt that there is still a lot of progress required."

Research released earlier this month by the Fawcett Society suggested that each year 3,000 women lose their jobs as a result of becoming pregnant and, of those who return to employment, many take on lower paid roles below their skill level.