On 14 July 2004, the Equality and Diversity Forum, with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry, hosted a one-day conference to consider the Government’s White Paper ‘Fairness for All’ on the proposal to establish a Commission for Equality and Human Rights.
The event was attended by more than 140 individuals and representatives of organisations with an interest in the equality and human rights agenda. The Conference opened with an opportunity for participants to hear Jacqui Smith, Minister of State at the DTI, and Angela Mason, Director of the DTI’s Women and Equality Unit, speaking on the content of the White Paper. Participants were then able to put forward their own views on the White Paper in a series of workshops running throughout the day, before feeding back key points from the workshops in a plenary session attended by the Minister.
The key points in full from the Conference workshops
Text of the speech given by the Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP, Deputy Minister for Women and Equality