Companies to be named and shamed for gender pay inequality following new legislation
Companies who have a pay imbalance between male and female employees will soon be named and shamed following changes in legislation designed to tackle pay inequality in the UK.
London
Women and Equalities Minister Nicky Morgan confirmed that from next year companies with more than 250 employees will be forced to calculate their pay gap between men and women for publication in a new league table.
From April 2017 private companies and voluntary organisations will be required to calculate the pay gap for the 12 months ahead, including details of the number of men and women in each pay range to highlight where pay gaps are at their worst. The inaugural league table will be published in 2018.
Firms will also be made to publish their gender pay gap on their own websites each year and senior executives will have to personally sign off the figures.
Morgan said that the legislation changes would mean there was “nowhere for gender inequality to hide."
"I'm calling on women across Britain to use their position as employees and consumers to demand more from businesses, ensuring their talents are given the recognition and reward they deserve," she said.
One such company which would be affected is WPP-owned media agency Maxus. Chief executive of the company, Nick Baughan, told The Drum: “Any move that changes the secrecy over salaries should be embraced wholeheartedly by progressive businesses. It’s time that pay joined the rest of us in the 21st century.
Baughan said that “beyond the obvious ethical imperative” to address the problem, businesses would also benefit by “attracting and retaining talent”.
He added that: “In the media and advertising industry, the big gap still happens around child-bearing age; government and business together must make it easier for parents to share child-rearing responsibilities.”
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in November that the gap between men and women's pay for full-time workers was 9.4 per cent.