Women shortchanged on equal pay

The Fawcett Society has said the Women & Work Commission’s report has shortchanged a generation of women by being too timid.

The UK’s leading campaign for equality between women and men supports many of the Women and Work Commission’s proposals as small steps in the right direction, but stronger measures are needed to speed up the pace of change. At the current rate of change, it will take 140 years to close the part-time pay gap – we are simply not prepared to wait that long.

Fawcett today issues a challenge to the Government – if it truly believes such measures will work, it should set dates for closing pay gaps.

Dr Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society, said: “This report has shortchanged a generation of women. These measures alone will not bring change quickly enough for women up and down the country who are currently being paid too little.

“If this Government wants to go down in history as having closed the pay gap, it’s going to have to try a lot harder.  It’s not enough to encourage employers to change – that’s been happening for years, but change is too slow. The time is long overdue for rigorous measures that will actually work.”

Fawcett's recommendations

At the current rate it will take 40 years to close the full-time pay gap and 140 years to close the part-time pay gap. That's why we need strong measures now, including:

• Compulsory gender pay audits for all organisations. As the pay gap is wider in the private sector than the public sector, it is important that compulsory audits are introduced to the private sector as a matter of urgency.
  
  
• Measures to combat the long hours working culture that limits women with caring responsibilities from competing on an equal basis with men, including full sign-up to the Working Time Directive
  
  
• Government and employers to encourage men – not just women - to engage with work-life balance issues and improved pay and employment for part-time workers, who face the largest pay gaps.
  
  
• Urgent action to help those women facing the greatest inequality in the workplace, particularly some groups of Black and Minority Ethnic women. Bangladeshi and Pakistani women earn 44% less an hour than White men.

How you can get involved

Fawcett is a membership organisation - when we call on Government for change, we speak on behalf of our members.

Join our movement for change by adding your voice -  click on the 'Join us now!' link on the right hand of the page to find out more.

Background notes

The Women and Work Commission was set up by the Government in July 2004 to investigate the gender pay gap and other issues affecting women's employment. It published its final report today ~(27/02/06).

In the private sector, men working full-time earn 23% more an hour than their female counterparts and 45% more than women working part time. In the public sector, the respective figures are 13% and 34%.

Since 1997 the median full time hourly gender pay gap has closed by just 3.6% (from 20.7% to 17.1%). At that rate of change it would take more than 40 years to close the full time pay gap completely.

The part time gap has narrowed by only 2.5% (from 41% to 38.5%) in the same period meaning it would take around 140 years. Since 1997 the Government has introduced some measures that have benefited women in work, for example the minimum wage, greater rights for part time workers and gender pay audits for the public sector, but much more is required.