22/08/2017

Update 20th July 2023.

The Chamber of Commerce has published an updated report on the gender pay gap that offers valuable insights and current data. You can find it here: https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/gender-pay-gap

Original 2017 Article: Strategy for Reducing Pay Gaps

Flexible working should be advertised as available in all jobs, urges one of  six key recommendations in a comprehensive new strategy from the Equality and Human Rights Commission for tackling gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps.

‘Fair opportunities for all: A strategy to reduce pay gaps in Britain’ is based on new evidence that, according to the Commission, provides “the most detailed and comprehensive analysis to date of pay gap data and the drivers behind them”.

In particular, it highlights the complexity of pay gaps, which is not apparent in debates that focus on the headline figures – currently 18.1% (gender) 5.7% (ethnicity) and 13.6% (disabled).

Research from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, for example, reports startling figures and surprising pay gaps within specific groups, including

  • the largest ethnicity pay gaps are male Bangladeshi and Pakistani immigrants, at 38% and 31% respectively
  • while most female ethnic minority groups have an advantage over white British women, female Bangladeshi and Pakistani immigrants both experience a 12% pay gap with white British women
  • men with epilepsy experience a pay gap of almost 40%, while it is 20% for women with epilepsy
  • men with depression or anxiety have a pay gap of around 30%, while for women it is around 10%

In addition to pressing for flexible working to be available for all jobs, the strategy recommends that government and employers should take action to

  • unlock the earning potential of education
  • improve work opportunities for everyone
  • encourage men and women to share childcare responsibilities
  • increase diversity at all levels and in all sectors
  • report on progress towards reducing pay gaps

Reporting on the Gender Pay Gap

In a statement welcoming the EHRC research and reiterating its own advice that employers who want to make sure that women with children don’t miss out on top jobs should introduce flexible working, Acas included a reminder of the package of support it has produced for statutory ‘Gender pay gap reporting’.

Regulations that came into force in April gave employers with 250 or more employees 12 months to publish calculations to show how large the pay gap is between male and female employees.

The Acas support package includes a guide, a mini guide, two fact sheets and a ‘gender pay gap reporting notification template’.