Gender pay divide

Transparency a welcome step

NEW FIGURES revealing the extent of the gender pay gap in many businesses across this country will make uncomfortable but necessary reading for many businesses.

The data from more than 1,000 organisations with over 250 workers show almost three-quarters are paying male employees more than their female counterparts.

The Government has recently made it mandatory for all organisations of this size to report their gender pay gap and a further 8,000 firms will be publishing their figures in the next couple of months, with similar results expected.

The gender pay gap is different to “equal pay”, which deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, and in some cases firms such as fashion retailer Phase Eight have offered explanations for their figures which show the picture is more complex than the data makes out.

The company, which pays men 54 per cent more than women, makes the point that as a women’s fashion retailer, the staff in its stores are mainly female, whilst more highly-paid workers in the corporate head office are more evenly split between men and women.

While there will undoubtedly be individual reasons for pay differences within companies, it is clear that there is a general trend for women to be in lower-paid and less senior jobs than their male counterparts.

Addressing this decadesold problem will not be easy but the Government’s push for greater transparency is undoubtedly a welcome step; with scrutiny comes greater pressure to act more equally. Those who reform have nothing to fear from openness.