We hear it again and again – women are not treated fairly in the work place.
Yet another report, this time from the BBC and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, shows that 12 years after becoming mothers – male readers please note this could actually be your mother, sisters or daughters – women are paid 33% less per hour than men. They are also left behind in the promotion stakes with men 40% more likely to be promoted to management roles, according to research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR.What is it going to take to finally sort this out?
Clearly, the 1959 Labour Party Manifesto proposal for ‘equal pay for equal work’, the 1965 Trades Union Congress resolution ‘to support the principles of equality . . .’, the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike, the 1970 Equal Pay Act, the 2010 Equality Act and two female Prime Ministers have clearly not cracked it!From April 2017, organisations with 250 plus employees will need to publicly report their gender pay gap information on their websites and to the government. Are you ready to report? CMI offers guidance on the regulations, preparing for reporting and the role of leaders in changing the status quo.
Surely, the time has come as we set ourselves apart from Europe to finally give women in the workplace the opportunities they deserve, working alongside men, doing the same work and earning the same pay?
Gandhi encouraged us to 'be the change that you wish to see in the world'. So, as a manager, what are your own priority actions to bring about this change? For advice and relevant articles go to the CMI website and search on ‘gender’.
Blog by David Sullivan, CMI Southern Board Chair
Join the discussion on Twitter @CMISouthern using the hashtag #mindthepaygap
External links
Mothers' pay lags far behind men (BBC story)Gender pay gap to remain until 2069, says new report (BBC website)
