Letter: Labour wobbles over equality

Sir: We, the undersigned women's organisations, participated in a two-year process of consultation with the Labour Party which resulted in their document Governing for Equality.

We are surprised and concerned that what has happened so far is not in line with those proposals which envisaged the entire secretariat for women's equality being located in the Cabinet Office. Rather we are witnessing a fragmentation of responsibilities which is likely seriously to undermine the work of implementing the Beijing Global Platform for Action, CEDAW (the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women) and our own equality legislation.

Furthermore, the promise to strengthen and guarantee the independence of the Women's National Commission appears to be compromised by the proposal to move it to the Department of Social Security where the Minister for Women currently has her major portfolio. We consider this is likely both to marginalise it and affect its independence.

There are no "women's issues" but there are issues of special concern to women: they all have to do with continuing inequities and inequalities. Fragmentation of responsibility is not what is needed.

PAT ZADORA, National President, Business and Professional Women UK; ANNETTE LAWSON, Chair, Fawcett; SANDRA HARRIS, President, League of Jewish Women; ROZ FRASER, Chair, National Alliance of Women's Organisations; GRACE WEDEKIND, President, National Council of Women of GB; SUSAN KNOX, National Vice- Chair, National Federation of Women's Institutes; KANCHAN JADEJA, Director, Sia; OLIVE NEWTON, President, Soroptomist International of GB and Ireland; IRIS SHANAHAN, National Chairman, Townswomen's Guilds; LUCILLE HUGHES, Chair, Welsh Assembly of Women; LIZ BAVIDGE, Co-Chair, VALERIE EVANS, Co-Chair elect, Women's National Commission

London W9