Reading Time | 2 mins 12th February 2016

Pay equality increasingly important to workers

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Pay inequality is becoming one of the ways that job applicants are judging potential employers.

A survey by Glassdoor has found that 76% of women are likely to be put off by pay inequalities, compared to 59% of men.

The survey also showed that age is important when it comes to potentially not applying for a job with disparities in gender pay:

  • 80% of people aged 18-24 would not apply for a job if there was a gender pay gap 
  • as would 58% of those aged 45-54 and; 
  • 52% of people aged 55 and over.

69% of female workers believe that they are currently compensated equally, as opposed to 73% of male workers.

Women and Equalities minister Nicky Morgan announced in a speech on 10 February plans for league tables to be published of businesses. 

Under the proposals, businesses with more than 250 employees will be required to publish the difference between average pay of their male and female employees.

The pay gap will be calculated from April 2017, 12 months ahead of publishing the first set of tables.

The difference between pay for men and women working full-time was 9.4% in April 2015 according to the Office for National Statistics, compared to 9.6% in 2014.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, commented:

“League tables should not be used to name and shame firms, as data will only be able to present a partial picture, particularly given factors such as the mix of part-time and full working and sectoral differences. 

“Where reporting can be useful is as a prompt for companies to ask the right questions about how they can eradicate the gender pay gap.  

“The Government should consult closely with business to ensure that this new legislation helps close the gender pay gap, rather than ending up as a box-ticking exercise.”

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