I’m pleased to see that the list of suggestions for the committee already includes exploration of measures for tackling poverty both in relation to unemployment, in-work poverty, health and exclusion from participation in society. I support this and would encourage exploration of poverty by the parameters of inequality. Recent EHRC research suggests responses need to be tailored by gender and ethnicity - https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/race-report-healing-divided-britain. Different social and economic outcomes for men and women from the ‘white’ and BAME groups are leading to poverty, alienation, exclusion. 

Through WAVE we have begun to evidence the high numbers of women in low paid part time work who have multiple part time and casual jobs to ‘make work pay’ and who find that the welfare system still doesn’t reward their ambition for higher regular hours or pay progression. I would be pleased to see a debate on working hours and choice, the increase in use of fixed term and casual contracts,and measures to ensure that women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people get a good share of quality job creation. I would also be pleased to see the committee debate the impact of the Welsh specific equality duty on equal pay and whether it might be timely to update this to more explicitly cover gender pay gaps and possibly improve the guidance.  

I would like to see these issues, and others, discussed in regard to joint action within the WG Tackling Poverty Action Plan and the goal of a 'more equal Wales' contained in the Well-being of Future Generations strategy and plan. This further needs to be linked to the EHRC’s recommendations from Is Wales Fairer? 

The committee could consider whether all these plans brought together (in particular the WFG Act ambition) amounts to a public sector socio-economic duty to promote equality, as described in the Equality Act 2010 but not commenced under the coalition government.