Knight and Latreille (2001) reported on research they carried out into the gender effect in unfair dismissal cases dealt with by UK employment tribunals. Some if their results were:

• 69% of unfair dismissal cases were brought by men;

• 71% of cases that reach a full hearing were brought by men;

• Women were considerably more likely to be offered a settlement by their employers prior to the tribunal hearing;

• 51% of cases brought by women resulted in a settlement, compared with only 44% in the case of male claimants;

• 49% of the women won their cases, only 37% of men won their cases;

• Men represented themselves at the hearing in 34% of cases, for women the figure was only 19%;

• Women won 57% of cases in which they represented themselves, the figure for men was 36%.

Questions

1. Why are men more likely than women to bring unfair dismissal cases to the tribunal?

2. What could explain the apparent success of women claimants relative to men?