Equal Opportunities Policy-Making in the Civil Service since ‘Next Steps’: Policy and Practice in a Large Government Agency
| Published date | 01 January 1997 |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207679701200105 |
| Author | Rosie Cunningham,Lesa Delaney,Anita Lord |
| Date | 01 January 1997 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Equal
Opportunities
Policy-Making
in
the
Civil
Service
since
'Next
Steps':
Policy
and
Practice
in
a
Large
Government
Agency
Rosie
Cunningham,
Anita
Lord
and
Lesa
Delaney
University
of
Northumberland
at
Newcastle
Introduction
This
paper
examines
the
changing
nature
and
scope
of
equal
opportunities
policy
in
a
large
government
agency
employing
approximately
10,000
staff.
It
looks
particularly
at
the
changes
that
have
taken
place
in
policy
and
practice
since
the
implementation
of
the
'Next
Steps'
initiative
in
1988.
The
fragmentation
of
the
Civil
Service
semi-autonomous
departments
and
agencies
was
one
element
of
a
whole
raft
of
policy
measures
introduced
in
the
public
sector
in
the
1980's
as
part
of
the
shift
towards
what
has
been
termed
the
New
Public
Management
(NPM).
NPM
embraced
Initiatives
such
as
the
implementation
of
flatter
managerial
structures,
devolved
budgetary
arrangements,
efficiency
savings
and
varying
forms
of
competition
policy,
all
aimed
at
strengthening
organisational
accountability,
improving
responsiveness
to
clients'
needs,
and
placing
a
new
emphasis
on
providing
market
solutions
for
an
efficient
and
cost-effective
service
delivery.
All
of
these
organisational
initiatives
were
incorporated
into
or
followed
on
from
the
introduction
of
the
'Next
Steps'
reorganization
programme.
Our
concern
in
this
paper
is
to
highlight
the
significance
of
'Next
Steps'
in
relation
to
the
development
of
equal
opportunities
(EO)
in
one
government
agency
and
from
this
to
draw
some
tentative
conclusions
about
the
future
of
EO
in
the
Civil
Service
as
a
whole.
Drawing
on
data
gleaned
from
qualitative
research
carried
out
in
1995,
we
argue
that
the
fragmentation
of
the
Civil
Service
into
semi-autonomous
agencies
has
left
the
process
of
implementation
of
EO
more
and
more
to
the
discretion
of
senior
and
middle
managers
within
individual
departments
and
agencies.
The
strengthening
of
managerial
autonomy
under
'Next
Steps'
has
allowed
managers
a
greater
freedom
to
accept
or
reject
EO
initiatives
formulated
within
the
Cabinet
Office
and
thus
to
enact
or
evade
their
responsibilities
for
EO
in
the
workplace.
Following
on
from
this
development
it
is
becoming
clear
that
'agencification'
has
considerably
eroded
the
ability
of
the
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
12
No.1
Spring
1997
53
centre
to
monitor
and
uphold
EO
practice
on
a
service-wide
basis
-
a
development
that
has
implications
for
staff
across
the
whole
Civil
Service.
We
begin
by
outlining
the
neglect
of
EO
in
the
general
analysis
of
the
'Next
Steps'
programme,
and
go
on
to
trace
the
aims
and
objectives
that
have
underpinned
EO
policy
and
practice
in
the
Civil
Service
over
the
last
decade
or
so,
and
focus
on
the
structure
and
process
of
EO
policy-making
on
a
service-
wide
basis.
A
brief
description
of
the
'Next
Steps'
initiative
and
the
challenges
and
opportunities
this
has
created
for
departments
and
agencies
is
followed
by
an
analysis
of
the
ways
in
which
the
managers
in
the
agency
we
investigated
set
about
formulating
and
implementing
an
agency-specific
EO
policy.
In
examining
managerial
strategies
in
this
area
we
explore
the
relationship
between
managerial
attitudes
and
the
organisational
changes
brought
about
by
'Next
Steps.'
We
also
examine
the
underlying
managerial
sub-culture
which
has
long
been
hostile
to
EO
and
the
ways
in
which
some
aspects
of
organisational
restructuring
appear
to
have
exacerbated
this
hostility.
These
negative
attitudes,
we
conclude,
reflect
the
broader
context
within
public
sector
organisations,
where
organisational
and
cultural
change
has
created
a
difficult
environment
for
equal
opportunities
generally.
For
Civil
Service
employees
in
particular,
this
has
resulted
in
a
substantial
redrawing
of
the
boundaries
of
equal
opportunities.
The
neglect
of
equal
opportunities
in
the
analysis
of
the
'Next
Steps'
programme
Academic
analyses
of
the
profound
implications
of
the
whole
range
of
organisa-
tional
and
managerial
changes
brought
about
by
'Next
Steps'
have
been
numerous.
They
cover
key
issues
such
as
the
increased
managerial
control
and
discretion
over
budgets
(see
for
example
Walsh,
1995:
165);
the
disruption
of
traditional
patterns
of
accountability
(see
for
example
Jordan,
1994:
150;
Common,
1995:
151);
the
undermining
of
the
value
of
a
public
service
ethos
enshrined
within
a
non-partisan
bureaucracy
(Chapman,
1995);
constitutional
aspects
(O'Toole
&
Jordan,
1995)
and,
from
the
employees
perspective
in
particular,
the
impact
on
Civil
Service
trade
unionism
(Fairbrother,
1994).
Within
this
wealth
of
scholarship
there
is
scant
attention
paid
to
the
potential
impact
such
organisational
change
is
likely
to
have
on
equality
of
opportunity
for
civil
servants.
The
importance of
studying
EO
in
the
Civil
Service,
however,
should
not
be
underestimated.
First,
the
state's
own
commitment
to
equality
of
opportunity
in
employment
has
been
demonstrated
by
the
lead
taken
by
the
Civil
Service
since
the
early
1980's
in
actively
promoting
a
range
of
policies
designed
to
open
up
opportunities
for
women,
ethnic
minority
staff
and
staff
with
disabilities.
Second,
the
Civil
Service
philosophy
and
approach
to
EO
issues
has
been
instrumental
in
defining
the
equality
agenda
in
a
number
of
initiatives
endorsed
by
central
government,
such
as
Opportunity
2000
(See,
for
example,
Equal
Opportunities
Review,
1992).
Third,
this
approach
has
also
had
a
strong
influence
on
the
formulation
and
implementation
of
equality
policies
in
other
major
public
sector
organisations
-
most
notably
the
National
Health
Service.
Finally,
and
most
important
in
the
current
context,
the
drive
to
achieve
efficiency
savings
and
improve
managerial
authority
and
accountability
within
departments
and
agencies
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
12
No.]
Spring
1997
54
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