2.Discuss the extent to which Equal Opportunity policies and practices Essay

2.Discuss the extent to which Equal Opportunity policies and practices are an important aspect of people management practices in organisations across Europe - Essay Example Disability Discrimination Act was passed in 1995 and was amended in 2005, Age Discrimination Act in 2006 while Gender Equality Act came into action in 2007. The European Union has put in place various statutory bodies to ensure the legislations are enacted such as the equal opportunity commission, disability rights commission and the equal and human rights commission which covers all the other equality policies (Klarsfeld, 2010). Most organizations across Europe have put in place equality policies but in some other organizations especially the small scale firms lack equality policies. Despite all these measures put in place it is still evident that inequalities exist at workplaces. For example, the European working conditions survey of 2005 revealed that men dominated senior management positions with 79% compared to 29% women (Eurofound, 2008). The same survey also revealed existence of sectoral segregation with majority of women in the service sector and men dominating manufacturing and construction sector. European countries have put various measures in place to ensure organizations implement the equal opportunity policies in their management practices. In Finland, funds are channelled to the female dominated sectors to enhance pay increments so that women can have same pay as men. The UK carries out voluntary pay audits to ensure equal pay policies are adhered to. Equality plans are enacted in Sweden while France strives to narrow the gender pay gap and address labour market segregation by use of national intersectoral agreements (Eurofound, 2008). The extent to which organizations in European countries attach importance to equal opportunity policies varies. Some view the policies and practices as a means to achieve business success while others perceive the policies as a burden as they favour employees thus some companies have