5th April 2023

Today was the deadline for organisations with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gaps, as required by law. 

The Fawcett Society's statement on this year's reporting:

The high level of reporting today is good news, but it is disappointing that progress on closing the gender pay gap has all but stagnated. If we are to see meaningful progress on closing the pervasive pay gap, employers must go further than data sharing. We want this government to require every employer to create an action plan which sets out how they will improve gender equality in their workplace. Many do, but it is not yet widespread.

In comparison to countries across Europe such as France, Belgium, and Sweden, the UK is significantly behind the curve when it comes to requiring employers to implement the well-evidenced steps that will close their gender pay gaps.

Crucially, it is disappointing to see that this government has recently chosen not to make ethnicity pay gap reporting mandatory.  Mandating gender reporting took us from thirty to thousands of employers paying attention to inequality – people of colour deserve the same focus.

Reporting is a good way of identifying pay inequalities, but taking action is key. We are calling on government and employers to do more to close pay gaps and create productive, thriving workplaces. We want to see the introduction of mandatory intersectional ethnicity pay gap reporting, salary history questions ended in the recruitment process, more men supported to take parental leave, and flexible working as the default.