Some very interesting equality and diversity news from last week: the antidepressant Prozac is 25 years old, people blame work commitments for their lack of regular exercise, current level of recruitment of women to FTSE100 boards lower than the recommended level, and a guide to leave entitlement for same-sex parents.
Prozac, the ‘happiness pill’, is 25 this year. In these 25 years, Prozac has been consumed by 40 million people and has become a point of reference for discussion about mental health. It has also fuelled many debates on talking therapy versus prescribed anti-depressants. Prozac, launched in 1988 in US, was branded to distance it from the typical image of anti-depressants and it is popularly argued that the public image of Prozac has helped fuel social acceptance of antidepressant use.
A report from Nuffield Health and the London School of Economics, entitled ’12 minutes more’, found that 4 in 10 people blame work commitments for their lack of regular exercise. 70% of adults don’t currently meet the government’s exercise recommendations of 150 minutes a week. The report suggests that active people are 7% less likely to be obese and reduce their risk of mental health problems by 6%, reducing the burden on NHS and employers.
Research by Cranfield School of Management has revealed that there’s a 33% gap between the current rate of recruitment of women to FTSE100 boardrooms and the recommended level needed to achieve equality. Commenting on the findings of the research, Karren Brady, vice-chair of West Ham United, writes: “If every woman who got to the top brought just two up behind her, the number of women in the boardroom would triple. When I joined West Ham FC, there were no women in the boardroom and now 50% of the board are female. Rather than pulling up the ladder behind me, I created an environment where women could balance both work and family while aiming for the top.”
And finally, employment lawyer Philip Landau has prepared a guide to leave entitlement for same-sex parents. ‘Sexual orientation’ is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and an employer cannot refuse maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave on the basis of sexual orientation.
Write to us – Equality.and.Diversity@lse.ac.uk.
