Fawcett comment on new equal pay figures (04/09/07)

The pay gap is sadly not yet history as two sets of figures published today indicate.

The Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics published figures showed:

• a rise in resignations: 78 per cent of employers admit  they have staff retention problems. Added to this, more women (7.8  per cent), than men (6.4 per cent), are resigning across the UK
• a widening pay gap: in real terms the pay gap amongst female and male managers is £6,076.  It's a 12.2 per cent gap, up from 11.8 for the same time, last year (for all full-time employees, not just managers, the figure is 17%)
• women enjoying promotion at a faster rate than men. Aged 37, the average female team leader is 5 years younger  than her male equivalent.

Also today new figures from the Tribunals Service show a rise of 155% in the number of equal pay cases being lodged in tribunals over the past year.

Fawcett Director Dr Katherine Rake said: "This shows us once again that not only is the pay gap not yet history as women continue to battle for justice. There are also worrying signs that it’s widening.

"With little flexibility at work to enable women, especially in key positions, to enable women to balance work at home, it’s little wonder that employers are more likely to lose their female employees than their male employees. Women’s faster promotion rate may reflect the fact that women feel pressure to advance as quickly as possibly early on – as they know that once they have children their career may well stall.

“What we need for women as well as for employers who want to retain their workers is greater flexibility in the workplace to allow parents to balance work and home, including in senior positions. We also need stronger action against employers who do discriminate.

"It's time for firmer action from the Government to stop women being shortchanged thousands of pounds a year.