WORKPLACE EQUALITY
Despite some challenges and opposition, the UK government is pressing ahead with its legislation-led agenda around inclusion. Following gender pay gap reporting, the scope of rights around flexible work and parental leave could increase with the announcement of a new review. Ethnicity pay gap reporting could also be on the horizon. Ruth Holmes reports...
“B
usiness as usual just won’t cut it.” These are the words of former Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt, announcing one of the Theresa May
government’s final initiatives to try to “tear down the ingrained and systemic barriers” to opportunity women face when it comes to equal pay, progression and equality. Launching in July, the Government Equalities
Office’s (GEO) Women’s Empowerment Roadmap included a review and call for employers to consider how they can be more flexible and transparent in their parental leave and pay policies. “I want to see every organisation thinking about
designing and offering their jobs as flexible by default; enhancing their shared parental leave and pay offers to the same extent as their maternity leave offers; and doing what they can to provide a supportive environment to those returning from parental leave,” said Ms Mordaunt of the wide-ranging proposals under review.
NUDGING EMPLOYERS INTO ACTION Ms Mordaunt’s call on employers to be part of a “bigger step change to support women and men balance work with care” came with further announcements. The government is set to review how equal pay legislation is enforced. It is also launching a national campaign alongside this to raise awareness among employers around how they can advance gender equality in the workplace. Further signalling the government’s sustained focus
and intent on inclusion and diversity, Ms Mordaunt added that the new GEO will join forces with the Disability Unit and Race Disparity Unit. These bold ambitions are framed by the most recent
set of gender pay reporting data. Figures for 2018-19 filed by the UK’s 10,000 largest firms covered by current legislation show more private-sector employers saw their gap worsen (3,387) or stay the same (645) than improve (3,736). Similarly, for public sector organisations, 703 saw the gap improve, 658 saw it worsen and there was no movement for 90 employers. Within this, some companies also saw their gap increase, despite the reporting requirement. Following the publication of these headline gender
pay gap figures in April, Sam Smethers, chief executive at equality campaigners the Fawcett Society said they were “disappointing, but not surprising”, adding the current pay reporting regulations are “not tough enough.”
LINKING PARENTAL-LEAVE POLICIES TO GENDER PAY As well as nuances within individual companies – including for some an increase in bonus and median pay gaps – the overall gender pay gap’s direction and speed of change are important at both a company and societal level.
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