Employers ‘failing to narrow pay gap’

ALMOST A third of employers say their organisation has not tried to reduce its gender pay gap over the past year, new research suggests.

A survey of 800 managers by the Young Women’s Trust indicated that one in 10 admit women are paid less than men at the same level in their company.

One in 10 managers said they did not know how to cut the difference in pay between men and women employees, said the report. A previous study by the charity, which supports young women on low pay or no pay, showed that half of young women did not feel confident challenging their boss on the issue.

Young Women’s Trust chief executive Dr Carole Easton said: “Women face a gender pay gap from the moment they start work and it is not going away.

“We need urgent action to improve young women’s prospects and give them hope for the future. An easy start would be to include salary details in job adverts and ban the ‘current salary’ question in interviews, which only serves to perpetuate low pay rather than valuing women’s work for what it is.

“Action to help women into male-dominated sectors and to enable men take on caring responsibilities would also make a big difference. Without this, today’s young women will be retired before equal pay becomes a reality.”

The news comes after it was revealed around five in six employers in Britain have yet to publish their latest gender pay gap figures – with less than a month to go until the deadline.

Only 1,600 of an expected 10,000 organisations have reported their figures so far. Among those yet to publish are most supermarket chains, local authorities and NHS trusts, plus almost all universities and police forces.