Employment Rights Bill: Will things change for women?

As the Employment Rights Bill makes its way through Parliament, there are hopes its pledges - such as strengthening maternity rights - will break down some of the barriers which hold women back at work.

In London's traditionally male-dominated industries such as city finance, improvements are being made but progress is much slower for the top jobs.

It's a problem which stretches back decades, as Moni Mannings OBE and Meagen Burnett confirmed when they told BBC Politics London about their experiences.

"It's been hard and so it, for me, is really important to make sure that those who are coming behind have the door kept open for them," Ms Mannings said.

Ms Mannings is from a working class background and at the age of eight moved to London from Pakistan with her family.

She said when she was interviewed for a law apprenticeship she realised her professional journey would not be easy.

"I turned up to an interview and one of the barristers said to me: 'Oh, we do not usually offer pupillages,' - which is like the apprenticeship to lady barristers - 'because we tend to find they go off and breed.'"

After decades working as a banking and finance lawyer, she is the senior independent director at the Co-op and at Landsec, one of the country's biggest property developers.

"There were very few women, there were certainly no women of colour.

"But even more than that, so few people from working class backgrounds, which actually felt like an even bigger barrier," she explained.

"[But] you keep going forwards, you keep going forwards."

While the proportion of women on boards for the FTSE 350, the largest public companies in the country, has increased significantly from 9.5% in 2011 to 43% in 2024, women make up 33% of FTSE 100 executive committee roles.

One such executive is Meagen Burnett, chief financial officer for asset management company Schroders.

Nearly two thirds of their board members are women; one of the highest proportions of FTSE 100 companies.

"It's really important for the diversity of thought that we bring, and there's a historical stereotype in terms of work hours and the type of person that was needed in the financial services industry, but I think that is changing," Ms Burnett said.

"It's a slow grind to change and I would love to see more young female talent."

The government says the measures in the Employment Rights Bill mark the "biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation" and if passed in its current form, it would see several key changes to rights for workers.

Flexible working would become the "default" for all workers, with employers required to say yes to requests from staff from their first day starting in a job unless they can prove it is "unreasonable".

The government defines flexible working as a way of working "that suits an employee's needs", for example, having flexible start and finish times, or working from home.

Those on zero-hours contracts will also be entitled to "reasonable" notice ahead of any changes being made to their shifts, as well as compensation if a shift is cancelled or ended early.

Unpaid parental or bereavement would also become a right from "day one" in employment.

However, some business groups have expressed concern at the plans, while others have argued that the government has watered down or delayed certain elements to try to keep both employers and employees happy.

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