Wasted potential

Closing the gender pay gap would add £150bn to the British economy by 2025, according to the head of women’s rights charity the Fawcett Society.

During a speech at a London conference on the gender pay gap – which currently stands at 19.2 per cent – Fawcett society chief executive Sam Smethers said barriers for pay equality included discriminatory bosses and recruiters and those who think working mothers are less committed to their jobs.

Smethers said, “The gender pay gap is a productivity gap – it represents the wasted potential of women’s talents and skills. Research shows that reducing it would see over 800,000 more women in work and add £150bn to our economy by 2025, which shows the majority of women are going to be looking for employers that are taking action to address it.”

Her comments came as the government prepares to release new regulations that will compel employers with more than 250 staff to publish pay gap figures from April 2018.

Unite national officer for equalities, Siobhan Endean, said the pay gap between women and men is a complex issue with no one solution.

“The gender pay gap has to do with many different factors, including the high percentage of women in part time or low paid work, performance related pay, pay secrecy, pregnancy discrimination, high tribunal fees, the lack of flexible working hours and the fact women have the lion’s share of caring responsibilities for children and the elderly,” Endean said.

“Subsequently closing the pay gap requires a raft of initiatives, from both employers and government, such as increasing the number of women on boards, making nine to five working culture more flexible and the encouragement of more equal distribution of caring responsibilities through improved provisions for shared parental leave.”

However, Endean also agreed that gender pay audits will go some way to helping resolve inequality.

“One step that all employers – regardless of their size – can take, is to conduct gender pay audits to ensure the women in their organisations are treated fairly and not locked out of career progression. In the end a diverse talent base only benefits business, and gender pay audits are one way to encourage that,” Endean said.

“Years of austerity has exacerbated the gender pay gap, however Unite is committed to levelling the playing field for its female members at work, as well as pushing for reforms for women’s equality in society.”