ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates how far the Gender Equality Duty (GED) made a difference to the development of women’s and gender equality work in local government. The legal duty to promote equality and good relations as well as to eliminate discrimination lent legitimacy to the proactive approach already taken by equalities teams and committed managers and politicians in each of our case study organisations. The women’s officer in the main trade union branch was a key player in the implementation and development of women’s equality policy and practice and a participant in the independent network. Equality legislation and national audit benchmarking instruments assumed more importance to protect and to sustain commitment to the gender equality agenda. Equality work was led by a corporate management board (CMB), made up of executive directors one of whom, as equality champion, held a corporate equality and diversity leadership brief.
