Equal Opportunities Structures and Policies

Abstract

This chapter uses women’s experiences in non-traditional occupations to investigate the effects of equal opportunities (EO) policies and procedures within their occupations and specific organisations. The chapter is structured around three approaches to EO: first, the ‘level playing field’ approach, which seeks to treat women and men the same through formal bureaucratic procedures; second, the approach that treats women differently by providing support for their different needs, such as childcare; and third, the ‘hearts and minds’ approach, which attempts to go further than the previous two approaches to change the gendered culture of organisations.

There are subtle ways of favouring men.

An academic