Fawcett comments on Conservatives pledge to make companies publish gender pay gap data by ethnicity

15 MAY 2017

The Conservative Party today pledged to extend gender pay gap reporting requirements to men and women of different ethnicities. Theresa May’s plans will also include the requirement to publish information on the pay gap at different grades of staff and age.

Fawcett Chief Executive Sam Smethers said:

“Fawcett has been calling for gender pay gap data by ethnicity to be routinely collected so this announcement is welcome. The gender pay gap varies for women from different ethnic backgrounds, as our research has demonstrated. This data would help shine a light on the double discrimination BAME women experience in each workplace.

“But data on its own won’t change society. Whoever is in charge after June 8^th needs to require employers to also publish an action plan for change.

“We also need to see tough penalties for employers who do not comply. At the moment gender pay gap reporting lacks teeth.”

The Fawcett Society’s report ‘Gender Pay by Ethnicity in Britain’ was published in March 2017 and used Labour Force Survey data to demonstrate that gender pay gaps in Britain intersect with ethnicity to create a complex picture of disadvantage.

The report called for the Government to publish gender pay data by ethnicity along with several other recommendations.

Download the full report here.

Click here to read Fawcett blog posts related to women in work and the gender pay gap.

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