Equality Law and the Limits of the‘Business Case’ for Addressing Gender Inequalities

How best to align the interests of society with corporate behaviour has been a contentious issue in the context of gender inequality throughout the 1990s and 2000s. In the UK context, the traditional, rights-based rationale for anti-discrimination law has had to compete with an officially sanctioned ‘business case’ for equality. The business case rests on the premise that addressing gender inequality is good for an organisation’s competitiveness and performance. Gender equality policies and practices, it is argued, can help organisations attract and retain valued employees, understand diverse customer needs, reduce costs associated with staff turnover and low morale, and minimise the reputational and litigation risks of discriminatory behaviour. Organisations can present their progressive policies of this kind as part of a wider agenda to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR).