Gulf Growing In Gender Pay Gap

A Report issued by one of the Big Four Accountancy Firm, PriceWaterHouseCoopers has discovered that between 2021 and 2022 in excess of forty per cent of businesses surveyed were of the view that disparities on gender pay had grown significantly.

Our Survey Said…

The leading Accountancy firm approached in excess of ten thousand businesses and made a number of discoveries such as:

• forty-five percent increase in the gender pay disparity
• for balance, just over a half-century of those questioned considered there to have been a decrease in the gender pay disparity
• just shy of five per cent of those businesses who answered the questions responded to the survey with their sentiment that there had not been any discernible change in the gender pay disparity and
• the report highlighted that twenty per cent of those employed by businesses are considering terminating their employment within the next year

How Large Is The Gender Pay Gap?

The statistics issued by PriceWaterHouseCoopers were alarming, they claim that:

• since the year 2020-21 they pay gap has reduced by around 0.3% and has fallen to nearly thirteen pence.
• this equates to a decline in the median earnings of females in the workforce
• for every pound received in pay by their male counterparts, females earn on average eighty-seven pence
• since gender disparity recording became compulsory began back in the year 2017 the median disparity has declined by half a percentage point
• their findings found that if the changes in gender disparity continue at the same somewhat glacial way, the disparity in gender pay would not reach the low desired levels for in excess of one hundred and thirty years.

So…Why Should Businesses Care About The Gender Pay Gap?

The issue surrounding the gender pay gap is becoming more and more of a focus for businesses as time goes on. PriceWaterHouseCoopers communicated its belief through comments made by Katy Bennett, a consulting director who specialises in inclusion and diversity. She said that affected organisations were at the coal face of this situation and battling numerous problems in the current economic climate such as:

• climbing inflation
• robust regulations
• technological advancements and
• internal and external pressures from a variety of interested stakeholders and third parties.

Mrs Bennett commented that organisations need to be improving their scorecards in this area because this will give them a serious competitive business advantage. Mrs Bennett opined that if they do so, it will give allow businesses to distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace.

Way Forward?

The Fawcett Society commented on the findings of the PriceWaterHouseCooper’s Report by commenting that there was an acute need for steps to be taken to deal with the gender pay disparity. Campaign Manager Emma Liddell suggested:

• employers proposing flexible working options to workforce members automatically when colleagues commence employment
• providing more opportunities for career progression
• support this forward-thinking by introducing and providing access to policies, regulations and procedures and
• terminating the tradition of requesting the historical details of colleague pay.

Mrs Bennett from PriceWaterHouseCoopers suggested strategic steps organisations could pursue following the publication of this Report. She commented that organisations should be looking to get ahead in the market by highlighting the positive aspects of the steps they are taking in their concerted efforts to narrow the gender pay gap. They should do this by attracting, appointing and holding onto members of the workforce by communicating this on their websites, brochures and in their verbal communications with staff.

The Fawcett Society warned that if these steps are not taken the gender pay gap is likely to grow.

Written By Adam Green

ASSESSING FIRMS

THE ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN USING THE FOLLOWING SOURCES

[1] PriceWaterHouseCoopers – Mandatory UK Gender Pay Reporting – Managing the transition to global reporting on fairness – June 2022 - June 2022 GPGR report (pwc.co.uk)

[2]Urquart, Jasmine – Two in five companies reported wider gender pay gaps last year – People Management – 27 June 2022 –Two in five companies reported wider gender pay gaps last year, report finds (peoplemanagement.co.uk)

[3] Urquart, Jasmine – Half a million female manager ‘missing’ from UK workforce – report finds – People Management - Half a million female managers ‘missing’ from UK workforce, report finds (peoplemanagement.co.uk)

[4] Cholteeva, Yoana – Caribbean employees face widest ethnicity pay gap, research finds – 22 June 2022 – People Management – 22 June 2022 - Caribbean employees face widest ethnicity pay gap, research finds (peoplemanagement.co.uk)