The pay gap holds back opportunity COMMENT

MEN should care about the gender pay gap every bit as much as women. Fathers who are thrilled at the birth of a daughter would be horrified to think that the child they hold in their arms today is likely to earn less than a boy because the system remains stacked against women achieving their potential.

This is not about greed. The reality is that women are facing financial hardship as they struggle to provide for themselves and their loved ones because of an unfair economy.

Men, women, governments and employers need to think seriously about how to eliminate this scandalous gap in earnings. This is a matter of justice.

Welsh men do not need lectures about the inequity of low wages. The average man in full-time work in Wales has gross weekly earnings of £525; this compares with a UK average of £578 and a London figure of £733.

Our economy is deeply unbalanced and it is intolerable that women in Wales suffer as a result with weekly earnings of just £449.

The Westminster Women and Equalities committee has fired a warning shot at the UK Government today, telling Theresa May and her fellow ministers that the goal of eliminating the pay gap within a generation will be missed unless they face up to evidence of where decisive action is required.

The Government cannot turn a blind eye to low pay in “highly feminised sectors” such as catering, cleaning and caring.

Equally, “flexible working” must become a reality. The absence of opportunities to combine full-time work with other responsibilities leads to a “significant bottleneck to women’s employment, promotion and progression opportunities”.

The MPs also acknowledge the pay gap will persist so long as “women continue to take the majority of responsibility for childcare and other forms of unpaid caring”.

Action here will require cultural change, and governments cannot take all the blame for a lack of progress. Men need to rise to the challenge of caring and child-rearing with an enthusiasm and dedication we have never seen before in our society.

An overhaul of parental leave may be required for this to become a reality. But men should not shy away from the task before them; they have the chance to help shape a fairer, healthier and happier country.

If more men gain first-hand experience of the unfairness parents can experience when they return to full-time work and find they are denied opportunities for promotion then demand for longoverdue changes in policies and attitudes can only intensify.

Men and women will lead more fulfilling lives if they can help both their families and their businesses thrive. For the sake of our vulnerable economy, we need to remove obstacles that stop people making the greatest possible contributions in our workplaces; for the sake of our society, we need to liberate people to love those for whom they have a responsibility to care.

This is a noble challenge.