Campaigners, led by pay gap specialists Spktral, have today called upon organisations to ‘Reset the Timeline’ on Gender Pay Gap Reporting.
The Reset the Timeline campaign, which is supported by the Fawcett Society and Women on Boards UK, is aiming to speed up the progress on closing the gender pay gap. The campaign is asking those organisations who fall under the reporting legislation to do it sooner, better and do more.
Currently, organisations with 250 or more employees must submit their Gender Pay Gap report to the Government each year by 30 March for public sector and 4 April for Private and third sector employers.
Most employers should have all the information they need to produce their 2021 Gender Pay Gap figures by the beginning of May. However, in previous years, the majority of organisations delayed publishing this data until very close to the deadline.
In 2018 less than two per cent of organisations submitted their report before the end of July. This figure is startlingly low and it is important to note that an organisation could produce their report earlier but wait until April to publish it.
Speaking about the campaign, Anthony Horrigan CEO, Spktral said, “Organisations are missing out on an opportunity to be transparent about their situation, before implementing action plans and changing things that will speed up progress on improving representation in their workforce.”
“The pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on women due to care responsibilities, furlough, job losses, etc.”
“Now, more than ever, organisations need to understand how the representation of women and men throughout their workforce is changing so that they can take the necessary steps to curb inequalities.”
Felicia Willow, CEO, Fawcett Society added, “Research has shown time and again show that employers who do better with gender equality are more financially successful.”
“Report your Gender Pay Gap as soon as possible, understand the drivers that have contributed to your Gender Pay Gap and take meaningful action to address them.”
“You will make positive difference, not just for your staff, customers and society, but also for your business.”
Fiona Hathorn, CEO, Women on Boards UK said, “The average company takes 11 months to publish their Gender Pay Gap, for me that’s not good enough.”
“Data matters and if you’re going to make good decisions you need to Reset the Timeline.”
What is the Gender Pay Gap?
The gender pay gap is the difference between a man and woman’s average weekly earnings, based on equivalent hours and job roles.
The 2020 mean gender pay gap is 6.5 per cent and the median gender pay gap is 15.9 per cent. In monetary terms, the mean hourly difference in ordinary pay is £1.65 and the median hourly difference is £4.04.
A guide to: Gender Pay Gap Reporting
The gender pay reporting regulations came into force in April 2017, and require all employers with 250 or more employees to measure and report their gender pay gaps for the first time.
Women currently earn around 15 per cent less on average than men, despite continued efforts to remove barriers in the workplace. Employers have a critical role to play to help close the gender pay gap.
Gender Pay Gap Reporting: What employers need to know in 2021
The requirement for businesses to publish gender pay gap reports was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. However, gender pay reporting is back on the agenda for 2021, so is there anything new that employers need to know?
