More has to be done on gender pay gap

A significant proportion of employers have revealed an increase in their gender pay gap as the deadline looms for reporting the information, it has been suggested.

Some 9,500 of an expected 10,000 organisations had published their gender pay gap as of yesterday, indicating that one in 20 employers had still to report their figures, due by midnight.

A handful of councils, NHS trusts and universities have already missed the 30 March deadline for public sector organisations.

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “Organisations that simply provide their numbers are failing to meet the increasing appetite and expectation for transparency amongst all stakeholders, including employees, investors, and regulators.”

Jenny Gilruth, SNP MSP said: “Although Scotland has already taken great strides towards combating inequality between men and women, we still need to go further to achieve a truly equal society.

“The gender pay gap is smaller in Scotland than it is in the UK, but our economy could benefit by a further £15 billion if we had the powers to fully eradicate that gap between male and female workers.”