Women and Work Commission

The Women and Work Commission (WWC), established by the Prime Minister in September 2004, considered how to close the gender pay and opportunities gap within a generation. The Women and Work Commission report – Shaping a Fairer Future, was presented to the Prime Minister in 2006.

The Government published an action plan in September 2006, The Government Action Plan – Implementing the Women and Work Commission recommendations, which sets out how the Government is responding to the Women and Work Commission's recommendations. It described actions to improve the prospects and career options of women in the labour market now, as well as those that will influence the choices of future generations of girls and achieve culture change in workplaces over a longer timeframe.

In 2007 we published a progress report, Towards a Fairer Future – Implementing the Women and Work Commission recommendations. This report gives a full update on progress against the Women and Work Commission recommendations, building on Government's initial response set out in the Government Action Plan.

The Women and Work Commission was reconvened in October 2008 to assess how well its original recommendations had been adopted by the Government. The Commission took evidence from a wide range of stakeholders including the Young Women’s Christian Association, the London Development Agency, Women Like Us, SkillFast-UK and Government Departments. They published their final report, “Shaping a Fairer Future – a review of the recommendations of the Women and Work Commission three years on” in 2009.

Government responded to the Women and Work Commission through Working Towards Equality: A Framework for Action in February 2010.