Making a difference to the Gender Pay Gap

Nick Goddard

Where are we with the Gender Pay Gap?

Gender pay gap reporting has been mandatory in the UK since 2017, for any organisation with 250 or more employees, but has been suspended for 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Under Gender Pay Gap legislation ordinarily employers must both:

Publish their gender pay gap data and a written statement on their public-facing website
Report their data to the UK government, using the gender pay gap reporting service.

The UK Government’s decision to suspend the gender pay gap deadline has allowed many organisations to delay publishing their 2019/20 data, while they focused on their response to Covid-19. Around half of in-scope organisations have reported anyway, particularly many larger employers.

A key method for closing the gap is to increase the number of women in senior roles. While there remains much to be done, it’s encouraging that the latest Hampton-Alexander Review Update in September 2020 showed that women now make up more than a third of overall UK FTSE 350 board members for the first time. Though, it’s far less impressive that more than 100 of the UK’s top companies have so far failed to meet the Review’s target of having 33% of women on their boards by the end of 2020.

So what actions are having the most impact?

A recently published study of the Gender Pay Gap reports of 100 of the biggest employers in the UK, by HR DataHub, looked to understand the impact that the introduction of various measures have had in reducing the Gender Pay Gap. One of the key findings of the study was:

“In terms of effectiveness, the measures focused on preparing women to be successful through development and subsequently providing the right opportunities appear to have the greatest impact on closing the gap”

Succession planning and creating the right opportunities was the No 1 measure. It also showed that Development Programmes are one of the top measures in companies who have shown the largest increase in the number of women in their top quartile of earners. Flexible working also continues to be a key contributor to reducing the gender pay gap.

Covid-19 has accelerated flexible working in many ways. However, it’s also been reported that the pandemic is having negative impact on women because of factors such as home schooling and childcare potentially resulting in a regression of the progress made in recent times. Companies must take care not to let the pandemic set back the corporate progress of recent years.

What about the ethnicity pay gap?

The Parker Review update earlier this year made for dismal reading, with FTSE 100 Boards making ‘slow progress’ on increasing ethnic diversity. The report emphasised that ‘minorities are still glued fast to the corporate floor, caught in the lower echelons of a leaky talent pipeline’.

Since then public support for the Black Lives Matter campaign has permeated through to the corporate agenda in a way not previously seen and is high on many Board and HR priority lists. It has also increased the call for mandatory Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting and legislation, with employers being encouraged to start collecting data in the hope that Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting will create greater transparency, accountability and equality, as it has helped to shift the dials for gender pay. Many companies have started - although ethnicity reporting is considered more complex, nuanced and sensitive - so it will be interesting to see if this develops in a similar way, with government drive and backing.

How can ABSTRACT help?

Since 2013, ABSTRACT has been helping companies with their plans to accelerate the number of women into leadership positions and, compared to then, most organisations now have evolved plans in place for supporting initiatives that will impact the Gender Pay Gap.

We can help in several ways:

Through ACCELERATE and AMBITION, our Career Management Development Programmes, that encourage participants to remove barriers and take control of their careers.
Through our Cultural Change, Leadership and Managerial Development Programmes, that focus on building a pipeline of strong, considerate and inclusive leaders.
Through Improving Diversity of Thought and Respect for Others, available as part of our webinar series or as a standalone module.

In 2020, we have seen a jump in interest in our programmes from FTSE350 companies and international clients. Due to Covid-19, our programmes are being delivered virtually, which is proving attractive to geographically spread organisations and employees working from home.

ABSTRACT’s CEO Andy Nicol says “We know that this time of year is when budgets are set for next year and that, this year especially, there may be difficult decisions to be made. However, the research is resounding and I would strongly urge business leaders and budget owners to invest in your people at this time”.

To find out more about how we can help get in touch.

Sources

HR DataHub

Alexander Hampton Review

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