Author: Priya Cunningham at Thompsons Solicitors (see website)
March 8th celebrates International Women’s Day. It is a celebration of women’s achievements throughout history. So, in 2017, what are women celebrating and what have they achieved?
Cressida Dick has recently been appointed to the post of Police Chief of the Metropolitan Police. She is the first woman to take up this post in the 188-year history of the Metropolitan Police Force. This is a massive achievement for gender equality given that it has taken almost 200 years for a woman to be appointed to this post. Does this mean that the gender gap is closing?
The answer is no and yes!
What is the gender pay gap? The gender pay gap is the ongoing inequality and discrimination which exists in the workplace and essentially means than women are paid less than men for doing the same or similar jobs. The gender gap also represents the lack of women in promoted and senior roles.
While Cressida Dick is in a high-powered job, where she is the “boss” and is in charge of running a large organisation, women are rarely in a similar position, both in the public sector and private sector. In 2016 figures from the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE)100 showed that 93% of FTSE bosses are men, compared to a mere 7% of women. In politics, only 22% of Government Ministers are women compared to Countries such as Finland and Sweden where up to 62% of Government Ministers are women. These are startling figures. Furthermore, according to Grant Thornton’s report from 2015, in the UK 22% of senior management roles are held by women, which is below EU average (26%), lagging behind EU leader in this regard, Poland (37%) and other CEE countries like Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Why are women in the minority when it comes to promoted and senior roles? The “glass ceiling” is an invisible, and unacknowledged, barrier that means that women reach a certain point in their careers and then are halted by the invisible glass ceiling that stops them from progressing. The glass ceiling is caused by a number of factors. These can be conscious or unconscious prejudice, work place culture that alienates women, lack of mentoring which results in lack of career opportunities, lack of understanding towards women who have childcare or other caring responsibilities, negatives assumptions of a female employee’s abilities and/or commitment within their workplace and a lack of support from senior managers to address and eliminate gender bias within a workplace.
According to statistics from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, in 2016 there is an overall gender pay gap of 19%. This means, that on average, a woman earns 80p for every £1 than a man earns. The good news is that the Government has carried out consultations on proposals to increase transparency around the differences in pay between men and women. The result of this is the introduction of new legislation which means that employers with 250 staff or more are required to calculate and publish the gender pay reporting. From April 2017, employers must publish this information on their own websites and on a Government website. The idea behind this is that this allows employers to identify pay issues and then resolve gender pay gaps.
Many negative attitudes mean that the gender pay gap exists. For example, just this week, a Polish Member of the European Parliament, Janusz Korwin – Mikke said that women “must earn less than men because they are weaker, smaller and less intelligent”. This is a disgusting and deplorable attitude from someone who is a representative and in a position of power and influence. As a representative, he is responsible for acting in the best interests of EU citizens in a way which promotes equality. Many are disgusted and outraged with this attitude and many women, and men, have called for Mr Korwin – Mikke to resign via an online petition.
If Mr Korwin – Mikke does not resign then it is likely that he will be sanctioned in the form of a fine or suspension as his conduct is a breach of the Parliament’s rules. As he is a public figure, it is open to people to make their disdain known. However, in a situation where a negative attitude comes from an individual employer, or a workplace in general, it can be more difficult to challenge such attitudes.
In many cases the reasons for the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling amount to discrimination, contrary to the terms of the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act 2010 provides that men and woman who do the same job, similar jobs and work that is of equal value should be paid the same. The Equality Act 2010 also provides that if a woman is looked over for a promotion and the reason for this is due to her gender then she can bring a claim for sex discrimination.
Claims for sex discrimination need to be brought in the Employment Tribunal within 3 months, minus a day, of the date on which the discriminated occurred. So for example, if you did not receive a promotion and you think that the reason for this is gender, then the claim must be brought within 3 months, minus a day, of the date on which you were told that you wouldn’t be promoted. Claims for equal pay must be brought within 6 months of either changing from one post to another, or leaving the employer’s employment entirely. However, equal pay claims should be raised as soon as pay disparity is discovered.
On a positive, and in contrast to the attitude of the Mr Korwin- Mikke, male actors on the American sit-com The Big Bang Theory have agreed to take a pay cut in order to give their female colleagues equal pay. This follows in the footsteps of actors from the sit-com Friends, who in 2002 took similar pay cuts to ensure that all cast members received equal pay. While this does highlight the fact that in the past 15 years the entertainment industry has not closed the gender pay gap, it does show that attempts are being made, by both men and women to achieve equality.
So, in answer to my opening question, women do have cause to celebrate the steps that are being taken towards gender equality. The glass ceiling is being chipped away, a little piece at a time and the new legislation is aimed at helping this. A change in attitudes, such as that seen from the Big Bang Theory actors takes steps towards gender equality.
For International Women’s Day 2017, the focus is on challenging bias and inequality, forging women’s advancement, championing women’s education and celebrating women’s achievements, under the hash tag #BeBoldForChange.