14 October 2020 

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Fawcett has partnered on a new report on the approach to gender pay gap reporting in ten countries around the world. This report analyses how the UK's response compares with other nations. 

Fawcett joined forces with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, and was supported by research provided on a pro bono basis by law firms Latham & Watkins, Castrén & Snellman and BBA Fjeldco, with facilitation by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. 

The report finds that the UK is light touch in the way it asks employers what actions they'll take to address any identified gender pay gaps when compared with other countries. 

While gender pay gap reporting has been suspended for this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, in previous years it has not been a requirement for private sector employers in the UK to publish an action plan to tackle their pay gaps - estimates suggest that in 2018/19, only 50% chose to do so. Only one other country in the study - Austria - does not make it compulsory in at least some circumstances. Other countries have more robust systems in place which require employers to publish details on their work to reduce the pay gap. 

The report encourages a move to more meaningful pay gap reporting in the UK - looking at how this can be used to tackle pay discrepancies and therefore deliver greater equality.

Click here to read the full report