Gender pay gap to be tackled with new information measures

Further measures to eradicate gender inequality in the workplace will be set out by the UK Government this week.

An announcement today in the name of Prime Minister David Cameron and Women & Equalities Minister Nicky Morgan sets out that new regulations will require employers with more than 250 employees to publish information about their bonuses for men and women as part of their gender pay gap reporting.

The reporting rules will also apply for the first time to the public sector as well as private and voluntary sector employers.

In addition, ministers will "work with business" to eliminate all-male boards in the FTSE 350 group of companies, having met the aim of getting women into at least a quarter of boardroom seats in FTSE 100 firm earlier this year.

Further plans will be set out this week to help women and BME (black and minority ethnic) groups across Britain.

A consultation which concluded in September asked employers and employees for their views on how, when and where the data should be published. New regulations which set out how this will work in practice will be published in due course.

Ms Morgan commented: "Business has made huge amounts of progress already in recent years – the gender pay gap is the lowest since records began, but it should appal us all that, 100 years on from the Suffragette movement, we still don’t have gender equality in every aspect of our society."

Ann Francke, chief executive officer of the Chartered Management Institute, added: "One of the biggest drivers of gender pay discrepancy, especially at senior levels, is the bonus gap. Bonuses are also where gender bias can creep in easily as they are amongst the least transparent forms of pay.

"There’s a tendency to reward those in our own image or to think that because men may be the ‘main breadwinners’ they deserve higher bonuses. And men often negotiate harder or trumpet their achievements more readily.

"The Government’s new reporting legislation is a welcome step forward and will be good news for business. Clearer employee data, improved recruitment and a reinvigorated focus on business culture will help unblock the talent pipeline and support more women to become senior managers and leaders."

The TUC maintained that the measures should include medium-sized businesses and be backed up with fines for non-compliance.

General secretary Frances O'Grady said that employers needed to look at why women were still being paid less than men and "do something meaningful about it".