The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has called on companies across the UK to do more to improve workplace equality.
Figures published by the ONS show the UK’s overall gender pay gap has risen marginally to 18.4%, but the gap for full-time workers has fallen to a record low – from 9.4% in 2016 to 9.1% in 2017.
To close the gender pay gap further, the Prime Minister is calling on companies to:
- improve the pipeline to ensure progress on female representation at senior levels, including supporting women to progress to middle management and offering return to work schemes;
- publish their gender pay gap data, including companies with fewer than 250 employees; and
- make flexible working a reality for all employees by advertising all jobs as flexible from Day 1, unless there are solid business reasons not to.
“Tackling injustices like the gender pay gap is part of building a country that works for everyone,” said the Prime Minister. “Already many of the UK’s top companies are leading the way in making sure everyone’s contributions to the workplace are valued equally, and it is encouraging news that the gap has fallen this year for full-time workers.”
“But the gender pay gap isn’t going to close on its own – we all need to be taking sustained action to make sure we address this,” she added. “We need to see a real step-change in the number of companies publishing their gender pay data and offering progression and flexibility for all employees.”
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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.