1. The Commission on Gender Equality Amendment Bill [B36-2012] was referred to the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children and People with Disabilities on 30 October 2012. 2. The Committee published a notice in the press on 3 March 2013, inviting the public to make submissions on the Bill by no later than 22 March 2013. The Committee received two submissions from the civil society organisations and held public hearings on 17 April 2013. One organisation made an oral presentation to the Committee on 17 April 2013. 3. On 24 April 2013, the Committee deliberated on the submissions received from the public and noted that some of the recommendations made by the public were beyond the scope of the Bill. Notwithstanding that, the Committee noted that the recommendations will be taken heed of in due course. 4. The Committee agreed that the Bill seeks to effect technical amendments to the Commission on Gender Equality Act, 1996 and that substantive issues raised in the submissions will be dealt with at a later stage. Conclusion and recommendation