Gender pay gap reporting is in all our interests
SUNLIGHT is said to be the best disinfectant, just as electric lights are the most useful police officer. Both speak to transparency and visibility. Both represent progress. And both contribute to a fair, effective and healthy society.
Transparency and visibility are on the cusp of being delivered in relation to the earnings difference between men and women – which stands at 14pc in men’s favour in Ireland – with a bill steered through the Seanad this week by Labour’s Ivana Bacik on course to become law next year.
Gender pay-gap reporting “has the potential to offer a real diagnostic tool to highlight the issue” – so says Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy. The employers’ group had initially opposed the measure but has had a change of heart.
This is an equally good result for those keen to see the gender earnings gap consigned to history and those who deny its existence.
Either the gap is a propaganda myth used by militant feminists, as some claim – in which case the falsehood will be exploded by the data. Figures are, after all, impartial. Or else the data gathered and publicised will show that an earnings gap is a reality, pinpointing where it exists and to what extent.
One way or another, the truth of the matter will be laid bare.
If a problem is identified objectively, it can be dealt with – rather than dismissed as feminist ideology run amok.
The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill has cross-party support and has been accepted broadly by the Government. Obliging companies to collate and publish their salary figures will make them more inclined to address any discrepancies. Attracting high-quality staff is a priority for any well-run business, after all.
Being outed for Neanderthal hiring or promotion policies will have a negative impact – who wants to work for a colony of cavemen?
It’s hardly an enticing prospect for either men or women.
No doubt fireworks will erupt when some of the figures emerge. But publicising the data is widely regarded as a key tool to understanding what’s causing the gap and to closing it. Questions for consideration include whether a pay gap reflects fewer women in leadership roles and if unconscious bias plays a part. Equal pay for the same work has been the law since the 1970s – but in reality that doesn’t mean parity in the workplace.
Other countries, including Australia, already publish transparent information about pay differences between men and women. Similar legislation comes into force next year in Britain.
Currently, companies with 50-plus employees are included in the Irish bill, but this may be amended to 100 by the time it becomes law. Coincidentally, RTÉ has just signposted a change in workplace culture with its announcement that four of its extremely able female presenters will front the flagship ‘Six One News’ and ‘Nine O’Clock News’ bulletins. Keelin Shanley and Caitriona Perry are teaming up on the Six, while Sharon Ní Bheoláin and Eileen Dunne will rotate as anchors on the Nine.
The national broadcaster has been criticised for its failure to value female staff as highly as male employees. Only three of its top 10 earners are women – none in the top three. In addition, it emerged that Ms Ní Bheoláin was earning up to €80,00 a year less than her co-presenter Bryan Dobson – a difference which cannot simply be ascribed to longer experience or additional responsibilities on Mr Dobson’s part. This week, he told the ‘RTÉ Guide’ he saw no justification for the disparity.
Some suggestions have been advanced that RTÉ is virtuesignalling with its latest appointments. But here’s a thought.
Is it possible they selected the most suitable people without paying attention to gender? Contenders who could (a) do the job well, and (b) make news programmes seem fresh and relevant?
Consider the combination of Ms Shanley and Ms Perry. There is no doubt it sparks interest. Already, that’s a plus. The show needs to
reinvent itself and appeal to a younger audience if it is to remain relevant. Mr Dobson is the consummate professional but 21 years on the ‘Six One News’ was a marathon stint.
Retaining one of the existing presenters and adding another would have been a ‘steady as she goes’ choice. Instead, a dynamic, relatively young, female team offers the possibility of invigorating the bulletin. Let’s hope other changes follow.
The proactive position adopted here contrasts with Newstalk, where the independent radio station has reacted in a grudging and curmudgeonly way to public unease over its overwhelmingly male presenter line-up. One female presenter, Ciara Kelly, has now been added to the weekday, daytime schedule.
She is a welcome supplement but the imbalance remains noticeable. As noticeable, in fact, as the lack of any apparent desire by management to address it.
As with the gender earnings gap, the reason for shining a light on these indefensible anomalies is not to push ahead with third- or even fourth-wave feminist ideology. It is because the development of a just society is to everyone’s benefit – as a group, we all win in the long run.
Once data is collected, causes can be tackled. Senator Bacik has described women’s lower earnings for the same work as equivalent to asking them to work for a month free every year. Clearly, that’s an injustice, but what are its origins?
Is it that bete noir Mr Patriarchy? Or is embedded workplace culture to blame?
Some suggest that fairness takes a back seat when it comes to awarding bonuses and promotions. Others, that it happens when women become mothers.
Certainly, academic papers indicate that working mothers earn less than those who don’t have children. There are other workplace barriers apart from gender, including social class and ethnicity – and we should seek to remove those obstructions, too.
In general, it’s important to make the workplace more congenial, not just for women but for men.
Companies should be encouraged to let staff work from home, and be amenable to job-share and flexitime arrangements.
Another useful change would be giving men enhanced childcare opportunities. Indeed, leave for all new parents should be increased. I’d also suggest reducing childcare costs via the tax system.
As with gender pay publication, this represents enlightenment and progress. But it’s also in society’s best interests – we have an ageing population, after all. If having children is penalised today, who will pay our pensions tomorrow?
Companies should be encouraged to let their staff work from home