# Office for Equality and Opportunity

The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO, formerly known as the Government Equalities Office) is the unit of the British government with responsibility for social equality. Based in the Cabinet Office, it is led by the Minister for Women and Equalities.
The OEO also contains a smaller equalities team within it known as the Women and Equalities Unit which has lead responsibility for gender equality within the UK government, together with a responsibility to provide advice on all other forms of equality (including age, race, sexual orientation and disability) to other UK government departments.

## History

Prior to April 2019, the GEO was led concurrently by Cabinet Secretaries at the Home Office, DFID and DfE. The day-to-day responsibility for policy on these issues was not transferred to GEO when it was created. The Equalities Office currently leads the Discrimination Law Review, which developed the Equality Act 2010 that replaced previous anti-discrimination legislation.
In November 2018, the GEO announced that the unit would move to be part of the Cabinet Office in April 2019.
As of July 2024, the ministers responsible are Anneliese Dodds (Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)) and Bridget Phillipson (Minister for Women and Equalities). Phillipson as Secretary of State for Education fulfils constitutional requirements to have a minister at full cabinet level.
In October 2024, the unit was renamed the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

## Ministers

The Government Equalities Office Ministers are as follows:
| Minister | Office | Portfolio |
| Bridget Phillipson | Minister for Women and Equalities | Strategic oversight of the equalities legislative framework and government equality policy for women, ethnicity, disability and LGBT+; sponsorship of the Social Mobility Commission and Equality and Human Rights Commission |
| Baroness Smith of Malvern | Minister of State for Women and Equalities | Equalities framework; legislation and policy on women, disability, LGBT+, and race; equality data and analysis; sponsorship of the Equality and Human Rights Commission |
| Stephen Timms | Minister of State for Social Security and Disability | Oversight of Disabilty Unit including disability elements in equality legislation; disability policy and benefits; oversight of Health and Safety Executive |
| Seema Malhotra | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equalities | Race and ethnicity elements in equality legislation; race and ethnicity policy |
| Nia Griffith | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equalities | LGBT+ legislation including on conversion practices, and the Conversion Practices Bill |
| Lord Collins of Highbury | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equalities | Government spokesperson in the House of Lords. |
| (vacant) | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equalities | Government spokesperson in the House of Lords. |

## Budget

The budget for the Equalities Office reached £76 million in 2010-11. Following the spending review this is set to decrease each year, to £47.1 million in 2014-15. The budget has continued to decrease year-on-year, with £16.7 million being allocated in 2019-20.

## Governance

The GEO has had different forms over the years since its creation. It was created in October 2007 when the Women and Equality Unit, based within the Department for Communities and Local Government was converted into an independent department. Since that time it has had various ministerial sponsors and has been housed within several ministerial departments:
| Dates | Cabinet Minister | Unit status |
| October 2007–May 2010 | Harriet Harman | Independent department |
| May 2010–September 2012 | Theresa May | Home Office |
| September 2012–April 2014 | Maria Miller | Department for Culture, Media and Sport |
| April–July 2014 | Nicky Morgan (for women) Sajid Javid (for equalities) | Department for Culture, Media and Sport |
| July 2014–July 2016 | Nicky Morgan | Department for Education |
| July 2016–January 2018 | Justine Greening | Department for Education |
| January–April 2018 | Amber Rudd | Home Office |
| April 2018–April 2019 | Penny Mordaunt | Department for International Development |
| April 2019–September 2019 | Penny Mordaunt | Cabinet Office |
| July–September 2019 | Amber Rudd | Cabinet Office |
| September 2019-September 2022 | Liz Truss | Cabinet Office |
| September 2022-October 2022 | Nadhim Zahawi | Cabinet Office |
| October 2022 - July 2024 | Kemi Badenoch | Cabinet Office |
| July 2024 - present | Bridget Phillipson | Cabinet Office |

## Controversies

In June 2011, it emerged that female staff at the Equalities Office received 7.7% more pay than males on average. The information came to light following a Freedom of Information request by MP Dominic Raab. The enquiry also revealed that almost two thirds of the department's 107 staff were female. Raab criticised the department for double standards, stating "It undermines the credibility of the equality and diversity agenda, if bureaucrats at the government equalities office are preaching about unequal representation and the pay gap, whilst practising reverse". The differences between the genders became marked from 2008 under the leadership of Harriet Harman with the pay gap almost doubling from that time and six out of seven new jobs going to women.
In an interview about her role, director Hilary Spencer said:
   I offer one-off career chats to people, including many women, who are trying to work out whether they can make the leap to the senior civil service and whether that’s compatible with family life. Interestingly, I have very few conversations with men who wonder whether getting to Deputy Director is compatible with family life. There is still a point when women have children where they tend to take the brunt of the childcare and responsibilities.