Closing the Gender Pay Gap
Responding to this Government consultation
Before completing this form, please refer to the Government consultation on closing the
gender pay gap that provides background detail to all of the questions:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/closing-the-gender-pay-gap
Depending on your views and experiences, it is estimated that this survey will take
approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
The closing date for responses is 6 September 2015. Responses received after this date
will not be considered.
Disclosure of responses
Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be
subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the access to information regimes
(these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 [FOIA], the Data Protection Act
1998 [DPA] and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
The Government may publish responses received from organisations. If you want other
information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the
FOIA, there is a statutory code of practice with which public authorities must comply and
which deals, among other things, with obligations of confidence. In view of this it would be
helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as
confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account
of your explanation but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained
in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system
will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the department. The Department will process
your personal data in accordance with the DPA and in the majority of circumstances this will
mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.
1
YOUR DETAILS
Please complete the following:
Name
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Address
Arndale House
Address 2
Arndale Centre
City
Manchester
Postal Code
M4 3AQ
Country
UK
Email address
David.Coulter@equalityhumanrights.com
Contact number
0161 829 8542
Are you completing this consultation as an (tick one):
Individual
Organisation
2
If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, please complete the following:
Company name
As above
Company address
Address 2
City
Postcode
Country
Email
Contact number
Number of staff in company
Please select what type of company it is (tick one):
Business representative organisation/ trade
body
Charity or Social Enterprise
Business
Legal representative
Local Government
Professional body
Public Sector
Trade Union or Staff Association
Other, please specify
The Equality and Human Rights Commission
is a statutory body established under the
Equality Act 2006.
It is the National Equality Body for Great
Britain and a National Human Rights
Institution.
3
YOUR RESPONSES
Q1: Publication of gender pay information will encourage employers to take actions
that will help close the pay gap. Do you:




Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Do you want to provide any further comment in relation to your answer above (Q1)?
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (the Commission) welcomes the Government’s
intention to implement the duty under section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 to publish gender
pay information.
The publication of pay gap information is a useful way of encouraging employers to address
pay gaps in their organisations. By itself the publication of a single figure does not diagnose
or resolve any pay problems, but increased transparency about companies’ gender pay
differences will enable employees and potential employees to compare employers and to
encourage responsible companies to:




understand the reasons for any gap, such as the possible impact of a company’s
approach to recruitment and promotion and on progress made in relation to the
opportunities open to men and women, and in relation to its pay structure for men and
women
communicate with employees and trade unions about the causes of significant pay gaps
and discuss potential remedies
be transparent with the public and shareholders about significant pay gaps and the
company’s progress on remedying it, to protect the company’s reputation as a fair
employer
reduce their gender pay gap so as to attract and retain talented women in their
workforce.
Surveys by the Commission in 20101 and the Government Equalities Office in 20152, found
that larger companies did not believe that a pay gap between men and women was
justifiable. The 2015 research found that 63 per cent of companies stated that ensuring there
is no pay gap between men and women was a high or fairly high priority for them. However,
two thirds of companies had no strategy at all for reducing the gender pay gap, and just 15
percent had a planned strategy.
The requirement under section 78 to publish gender pay information is likely to spur many
such companies to analyse their pay gaps, undertake pay audits to ensure they are not
contravening the equal pay provisions, and begin to consider how company policies on
recruitment, promotion and progression may have an impact on the pay gap.
Pay reporting is a timely and appropriate intervention that will support employers in
identifying, understanding and addressing their pay gaps. This will contribute towards
reducing the pay gap among all employees which is currently 19.1 per cent.3
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Q2: Transparency on gender pay will have an impact on (tick as appropriate):
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Neither
Agree nor
Disagree
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Don't
know
Encouraging
girls and women
to consider
working in a
wider variety of
occupations and
sectors





Encouraging
employers to
develop their
female talent





Encouraging
employees to
take up flexible
working or
shared parental
leave





Encouraging
employers to
support flexible
working or
shared parental
leave





Encouraging
employers to
adopt good
practice on how
to manage/
support a
multigenerational
workforce





Helping those
who have a
stake in the
organisation
such as
investors,
shareholders
and clients





Helping
employers to
address equal
pay in their
organisation





5
Further commentary in relation to the answer above (Q2)
Research by the Commission in 20104 found that the lack of transparency, or pay secrecy,
can mask discrimination. If employers do not monitor pay rates and gender or if pay levels
are confidential, managers may be unaware, for example, that they are more likely to
negotiate higher salaries for men, or to award higher performance payments to already highearning men. The research found that transparency may encourage better quality decisions
about reward and remuneration, employee confidence in the reward process and an
enhanced corporate reputation.
Recent research suggests that many companies do not have transparent pay and
remuneration policies. In 2015, the Government Equalities Office surveyed private sector
employers with 150 or more employees5. The research found that around seven per cent of
organisations make staff formally aware of how much their colleagues in the same role are
paid, and 35 per cent make staff aware of their pay bands. However, 42 per cent provide no
information on pay bands or information about other colleagues’ pay; and 13 per cent
discourage staff from talking with colleagues about pay.
Publishing pay gap information is likely to encourage discussions within companies about
the impact of their remuneration policies on the pay gap. It may also promote discussion
between employers, employees’ representatives, and employees about the pay gap, its
causes and possible remedies by the company. Given the current lack of transparency about
pay within many companies, the Commission is of the view that as a matter of good practice
companies should be encouraged to share with employees, unions and shareholders pay
gap statistics and any accompanying narrative the company has provided.
Additional information on these issues can also be found in answers to questions 17, 18 and
19
Q3: Employees or other interested parties (e.g. shareholders) may want to gauge how
an employer's gender pay gap compares with similar organisations. How important
do you think comparability is (tick one)?




Not at all important
Very unimportant
Somewhat unimportant
Somewhat important
Very important
 Extremely important
 Don't know
Do you want to provide any further comment in relation to your answer above (Q3)?
6
Comparability would enable employers, employees, unions and other interested parties to
assess their own organisation’s performance against that of similar organisations in the
same sector, or of a similar size. Comparability requires that all companies use a consistent,
standard approach to calculating their pay data.
Q4: Do you think the regulations should specify where the employer publishes their
gender pay gap information - for example, a prominent place on their public website?
Yes
 No
 Don't know
Further commentary in relation to the answer above (Q4)
The Commission is of the view that only publishing pay gap information on the company’s
website may be of limited effect in encouraging transparency:
•
It does not create a permanent record of the pay data because the usual practice is to
remove published data once more up-to-date data becomes available. This would
preclude the possibility for individuals to assess a company’s pay gap over more than one
year.
• Unless a period of mandatory retention of the published data on the website is specified
by regulation, companies would technically be at liberty to remove the data at any time
after publication.
• Most importantly, it would be difficult to state with any certainty that a company had failed
to comply with the publication requirement without the input of considerable resource,
particularly in the case of conglomerates or company websites that are difficult to search.
The Commission’s experience of monitoring public bodies’ compliance with the
requirement to publish equality objectives indicates that locating materials published on
websites is time-consuming and hit-and-miss.
In our view, for the above reasons, there should be a requirement for companies to include
the gender pay gap information in their next annual report sent to Companies House. This
method would provide a permanent record, together with certainty as to whether a company
had complied or not.
The aim of transparency will be further advanced if employers are encouraged to share the
information with employees, relevant unions and employee representatives.
Q5: Which of the following measures showing the difference in the pay of male and
female employees are you currently able to calculate from existing data and
systems?
7
Tick all that apply
An overall gender pay gap figure
Gender pay gap figures broken down by fulltime and part-time employees
Gender pay gap broken down by grade or
job type

None of the above
Further points about measures for calculating the gender pay gap:
A single figure calculated in a standard and consistent way will allow for comparisons
between a company and the national average, between companies in a sector, and between
sectors.
However, a single pay gap statistic has limitations:
•
•
It does not explain the causes of a pay gap in a company.
It masks the impact on the pay gap of the profile of the workforce at different levels of
seniority and pay.
Employer representatives have informed us that some employers consider that publication of
a single figure without accompanying explanation may be misleading and damaging to their
reputation, as employees and the public may wrongly perceive a pay gap as synonymous
with discriminatory pay practices.
The Commission is of the view that at a minimum a single pay gap figure should measure
the difference between the median basic hourly pay for all male and all female ‘employees’
(as defined by the Equality Act 2010). This will include both full and part time employees. In
addition companies should provide statistics on the distribution of men and women at
different levels in their organisation to provide a context to the single figure.
The regulations should also specify whether assessment of pay includes or excludes other
contractual benefits. The Commission’s inquiry into sex discrimination in the finance sector
in 2009 found that differences in bonuses awarded to men and women significantly
contributed to the pay gap6.
For a more thorough understanding of the causes of a pay gap, the Commission’s research
in 20107 suggested that companies could use additional quantitative measures, such as:
•
•
•
•
•
female participation rates at various levels of the organisation and in specific job families
or areas
the difference between the median basic pay (and total median earnings) of men and
women for different grades and job types.
In the absence of consistent job grading structures, the median pay in each quartile, and
for companies of more than 1,000 employees, in each decile.
other payments and terms by job grade or seniority: this would include bonuses
(consolidated and non-consolidated), shifts/ overtime pay, pensions and benefits
(including non-financial benefits such as a company car or health insurance)
the difference between men’s and women’s starting salaries as an hourly and weekly
figure to clarify employers’ decisions on pay at recruitment and promotion.
This approach is similar to the Think, Act, and Report framework.
8
Q6: Do you think that any additional narrative information published by employers
should be:
Tick one
Voluntary and not set out within the
regulations or non-statutory guidance

Voluntary, not set out within the regulations,
but set out in the non-statutory guidance
Set out within the regulations

Other, please specify

Further commentary in relation to the answer above (Q6)
An employer may have justifiable reasons for a pay gap unrelated to sex discrimination or
equal pay issues. The Commission’s research suggests that many employers would like the
opportunity to explain any pay gap.8 Factors that might contribute to a pay gap in an
organisation include: the age profile and length of service of employees, occupational
segregation, the proportion of women in senior roles, the rate of retention of women
returning from maternity leave, and the proportion of women working part-time (together with
any difference between part and full time pay rates)
A narrative approach would allow an employer to explain the causes of its pay gap unique to
its organisation.
We recommend that the recommended factors for inclusion in the narrative be set out in
non-statutory guidance and be voluntary. In our view, if the narrative requirements were set
out in regulations, they would need to provide such precise definitive terms for the narrative
as to make it a bureaucratic measure or tick-box exercise. This could hinder companies from
identifying and describing the unique causes of pay gaps in their organisations.
In terms of ensuring compliance with regulations, it would be difficult to enforce a
requirement to publish a narrative which involved making a qualitative judgement about the
adequacy of the information published.
Q7: How often do you think employers should report gender pay gap information?
Tick one
Every year
Every 2 years

Every 3 years

Other

9
If you responded ‘other’ to Q7, please specify how often employers should report
gender pay gap information below:
The Commission recommends that companies report pay gap information annually, on the
same date. This would create an expectation and public awareness of Pay Gap Day for
companies, and provide a reputational incentive for employers to comply. It would also
enable them to measure progress clearly from year to year.
Q8: What is your assessment of the costs of conducting gender pay analysis and
publishing results?
The Commission does not have data on this.
Q9: What is actual/estimated time taken by the lead person assigned to the activity of
analysing and publishing a gender pay gap estimate?
N/A
Q10: Private and voluntary sector employers in Great Britain with at least 250
employees may fall within the scope of the proposed regulations. Do you think this
threshold is appropriate?
Yes
 No
 Don't know
If you said ‘no’ to Q10, do you wish to provide any further comment below?
Q11: The cut off period for any calculation of the gender pay gap will need to be
specified in the regulations. Which of the following do you consider preferable (tick
one)?
 1 January




6 April
1 October
The year-end date for each organisation
No preference
Other
If you said ‘other’ to Q11, please specify which date you would prefer and why below:
A standardised date for publication aligned with the financial/tax year would facilitate both
comparisons of pay data and monitoring of compliance.
10
Q12: The Government is considering a number of actions to help support employers
implement the proposed regulations. How helpful do you think the following
measures would be?
Very
unhelpful
Not very
helpful
Neither
helpful or
unhelpful
Somewhat
helpful
Very
helpful
Don't
know
Helping
employers to
understand the
new regulations
e.g. through
workshops and
seminars





Helping
employers to
calculate their
organisation's
gender pay gap
e.g. through
access to
software





Helping
employers with
other types of
supporting
analysis e.g.
analysis of
representation of
women at
different levels
within the
workforce





Helping
employers to
address the
issues identified
by a pay gap
analysis





Other, please
specify






Q13: Do you think there are alternative ways to increase transparency on gender pay
that would limit the cost for employers, for example reporting to the Government via
the existing PAYE system?
The Commission does not have information on which to base a response to this question.
11
Q14: Do you think that introducing civil enforcement procedures would help ensure
compliance with the proposed regulations?
Yes
 No
 Don't know
Further commentary in relation to the answer above (Q14)
In our view some form of civil enforcement procedures would be essential to ensure
compliance. The absence of such a procedure would risk undermining the
Government’s aim of increasing transparency of gender pay differences in the private
and voluntary sectors and would be unfair to those who comply voluntarily.
The Commission is responsible for encouraging compliance with and enforcement of the
Equality Act 2010. We see our regulatory role as helping organisations achieve what
they should, not trying to catch them out if they fall short. The Commission only resorts
to using its enforcement powers when persuasion, advice and reminders have not
proved effective.
There will be cases where enforcement is needed, particularly against those who are
not seeking to comply. However, our experience is that the potential for enforcement
powers to be used is an important factor in enabling the Commission to persuade
organisations to comply with the Equality Act 2010.
The Commission would however require additional powers, and resources, to enable it
to enforce compliance with the regulations, because its current powers are not suitable
for enforcing, in a proportionate manner, a failure to publish.
Q15: What, if any, do you consider to be the risks or unintended consequences of
implementing section 78?
The Commission identifies three risks:
 Employers and the public may be unclear about the difference between pay gaps and
equal pay requirements. To clarify this, alongside the introduction of these regulations,
employers should be reminded of the Commission’s equal pay guidance and statutory
Code of Practice on Equal Pay. (The Commission is currently updating its non-statutory
guidance.)
 Some companies may choose not to comply with the legislation if the sanction is limited
to a fine. On a simple costs approach, the potential costs of undertaking a job evaluation
and/or pay audit in the event of a significant pay gap may greatly outweigh the cost of
the initial pay gap analysis and any fine for non-compliance.
 The regulations will be difficult to enforce without a mechanism to identify easily whether
companies covered by the regulations have complied with the requirement to publish
their pay gap.
12
To mitigate these latter two issues, the Commission recommends that the annual publication
of pay gap data also be made part of the Companies House (CH) notification process.
Q16: Do you consider there are any risks or unintended consequences that warrant
dropping or modifying the implementation of section 78?
 Yes
No
If you said ‘yes’ to Q16, please explain why you think this is:
13
Q17: How do you think the Government can most effectively encourage young girls to
consider the broadest range of careers?
The Milburn Report, Unleashing Aspiration (2009) on fair access to the professions9,
concluded that careers education should begin in primary school to challenge stereotypes
about gender and work. An Ofsted report, Girls’ Career Aspirations (2011)10, showed that
from an early age girls held conventionally stereotypical views about jobs for men and
women. They retained those views throughout their schooling despite being taught about
equality of opportunity in access to future careers. A Commission report on the equality
impact of careers education and guidance on young people’s destinations post-16 (2011)11
also showed that primary school children had high educational aspirations but gendered
influences began very early, with boys in primary school interested in sports and girls in
performance arts, hairdressing and nursing.
Given that gendered perceptions about work emerge at primary school, it is difficult to
determine the impact of greater transparency about pay rates on career decisions of young
people. However, research suggests that young people may make career decisions without
taking into account the likely impact on their lifetime earnings. Research in 2006 for the
Equal Opportunities Commission on occupational segregation12 found that 67 percent of
women surveyed were not aware of differences in pay rates between jobs usually done by
men and women, and 57 percent said they would have considered a wider range of career
options if they had known. This figure rose to 67% of women in the 16-24 age group.
The Commission welcomes the Department for Education’s publication in March 2015 of
statutory guidance on careers, which states that schools should consciously avoid gender
stereotyping to ensure that boys and girls from all backgrounds and diversity groups
consider the widest possible range of careers, including those that are often portrayed as
primarily for one or other of the sexes. We also welcome Ofsted giving greater priority to
inspecting careers guidance in schools, and whether guidance tackles gender stereotyping.
However, it is the Commission’s view that the delivery of age-appropriate careers education
and guidance should begin in primary school. In addition the Commission recommends that
career guidance and information also provide young people with information about pay rates
in different sectors and jobs.
In 2012 the Commission produced Equal Choices, Equal Chances, a free online education
resource to deliver careers and equality-related learning to Key Stage 2 students in England.
It can be accessed at:
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/educationproviders/primary-education-resources
Q18: How do you think the Government can work with business to support women to
return to work and progress in their career after having children?
Much is already known about the causes of gender pay gaps: inflexible work schedules can
mean that having children affects women’s career progression. Women often choose to
work reduced hours or work below their potential to balance their work and caring
responsibilities because of the lack of flexibility in jobs and career pathways, and the lack of
part-time work in high level jobs13.
14
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Commission published the
first findings of research to investigate the prevalence and nature of pregnancy
discrimination and disadvantage in the workplace14. The research found that higher earners
(mothers paid over £30,000 a year) were most likely to report less favourable experiences in
relation to career progression or financial reward while on maternity leave:
 Six per cent said they failed to gain a promotion they felt they deserved
 Six per cent said they received a pay rise or bonus that was less than their peers
 Five per cent said they had a reduction in their salary or bonus.
The research found that the majority of employers were positive about managing statutory
rights associated with return to work. Almost nine in ten (88 per cent) employers felt that the
right to request flexible working was reasonable and two thirds (67 per cent) of employers
found this right easy to facilitate.
However, half the mothers who had their flexible working request approved said they
experienced unfavourable treatment as a result:
 Around one third (29 per cent) said they were given fewer opportunities than other
colleagues at the same level
 Around one in six said they received negative comments from colleagues (16 per cent);
were given more ‘junior’ tasks than previously (15 per cent); or felt their opinion was less
valued (16 per cent).
BIS and the Commission will be publishing a final research report containing results of
interviews and focus groups with employers and female employees and in-depth analysis of
survey data in Autumn 2015.
The Commission will separately produce a report containing recommendations to address
the issues raised by the research. This will be launched to coincide with the final research
report. The recommendations are likely to address how business can best support women to
return to work and progress in their career after having children.
Q19: How do you think the Government can make sure that older women are able to
fulfill their career potential?
Women may take breaks from work to care for children or older relatives. Access to different
paths to career development may help alleviate the longer term impact on pay and seniority
that results from career breaks or part time work.
Government can promote new ways of working amongst employers to ensure that women
fulfil their career potential and their talent is not wasted. Research15 highlights that many
women want to progress their careers later in life and that employers can play a role by
supporting female employees to remain in touch with the workplace and progress their
careers. For example, employers can organise keeping-in-touch days, provide ‘bite-size’
chunks of work or interim work for women out of full-time work, provide opportunities for
upskilling, refresher courses, and mentoring on return from time out. Employers should also
consider how to offer management opportunities and high level roles as flexible full-time or
part-time opportunities.
The Commission will report on its Inquiry into the appointment and recruitment of women to
FTSE 350 boards in the Autumn. This will consider company initiatives to develop their
15
pipeline of female talent and open and fair approaches to executive and non-executive
board director recruitment.
Thank you for your time in completing this consultation.
You may email or post your completed response as follows:
By email: GenderPayGapConsultation@geo.gov.uk
By post:
Gender Pay Gap Consultation
Government Equalities Office
4th Floor
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ
1 Proposals for measuring and publishing information on the gender pay gap: EHRC (2010).
2
Company Reporting: Gender Pay Data. IFF research (2015).
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2014 Provisional Results. Office for National Statistics. Link:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/annual-survey-of-hours-and-earnings/2014-provisional-results/stbashe-statistical-bulletin-2014.html#tab-Gender-pay-differences
4 Proposals for measuring and publishing information on the gender pay gap: EHRC (2010).
5 Company Reporting: Gender Pay Data. IFF research (2015).
6 Financial Services Inquiry: Sex discrimination and gender pay gap report of the Equality and Human
Rights Commission, EHRC(2009).
7 Proposals for measuring and publishing information on the gender pay gap: EHRC (2010).
3
8
Proposals for measuring and publishing information on the gender pay gap: EHRC (2010).
9
Panel on Fair Access to the Professions (2009) Unleashing Aspiration. London: HMSO
Girls’ Career Aspirations, Report no. 090239. Ofsted, April 2011.
11 Hutchinson, J; Rolfe, H; Moore, N; Bysshe, S; Bentley, K (2011) All things being equal? Equality
and Diversity in careers education, information, advice and guidance; Equality and Human Rights
Commission Research report 71.
12 Free to choose: Tackling gender barriers to better jobs. One year on progress report –
EOC’s Investigation into training and workplace segregation of women and men
(2006). Equal Opportunities Commission.
http://websarchive/sitearchive/eoc/Defaultc3b0.html?page=15461#xxx_endnotetext1
13 Metcalf, H (2009) Pay Gaps across Equality Strands: a Review. Equality and Human Rights
Commission (EHRC), Manchester.
14 Pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantage: first findings, surveys of
employers and mothers. BIS Research Paper No. 235. IFF Research (2015). Equality and Human
Rights Commission and Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
15 Enter the time lords: transforming work to meet the future. EOC 2007
10
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