The Equality Act 2006 created a "general duty" on public authorities to:
- Eliminate unlawful sex discrimination and harassment, and
- Promote equality of opportunity between men and women.
Further "specific duties" were placed on some public authorities to enable the better performance of the general duty.
The gender equality duty came into force on April 6, 2007.
The UK Government's Equality Act 2010 replaced previous equality legislation. The gender equality duty was replaced with a new single equality duty covering age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. This new duty came into force in April 2011.