By now we have all heard about the statistic surrounding the gender pay gap, which says that in the United States, women are paid just 80 percent of what men are paid – a 20 percent pay difference between the two genders. Recently, a report revealed that male employees at the Bank of England are paid a quarter more than their female counterparts.
The report clearly shows that “in terms of hourly pay men account for 70 percent of the highest quartile, and 62 percent of the second highest quartile.” Women make up about 57 percent of the employees that make the lowest hourly.
Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, believes that this gap has festered within the company simply because men make up more of the top jobs than women. Even though this is true, Carney is also confident that men and women at the bank are paid equally.
He later made sure to note that the bank is working hard to close the gender gap that this report has revealed. He said, “We are working hard to address this imbalance through inclusive and diverse recruitment, including diverse shortlists and interview panels, offering flexible working, providing continual unconscious bias training, and fostering an inclusive culture. Addressing the disparity in gender representation at senior levels will take time, but it will help close the current gender pay gap at the Bank.”
Nicky Morgan, the chair of the Treasury select committee, admits that everyone needs to make some more progress where the gender pay gap is concerned – not just the bank. She said, “The Bank’s measures to address its pay gap seem to be on the right track, but we cannot be complacent. Any gap is still too great.”
There has been a lot of concern about women in finance in the UK. Morgan noted that “by April of next year, all UK firms and public sector organizations with 250 or more employees will have to report the gap between what they pay their male and female staff.” There will be a lot more transparency when it comes to finding out just how bad the gender gap is in certain companies in the years to come. Morgan made sure to add that the Treasury committee will be monitoring these situations more closely.
She said, “We may call for organizations to give evidence to the committee to hear about best practice. Financial firms should be prepared to explain any gender pay gap that they may have.”
While we might be making more progress when it comes to pointing out gender pay gaps, we still have a long way to go before we reach pay equity between men and women. According to a report published by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), “At the rate of change between 1960 and 2016, women are expected to reach pay equity with men in 2059. But even that slow progress has stalled in recent years. If change continues at the slower rate seen since 2001, women will not reach pay equity with men until 2119.”
It is clear that changes need to be made to make sure the gender pay gap does not get any worse. The more we hear about the realities of gender pay gaps in workplaces, the more we can make a difference and eliminate the gap once and for all.
Featured Image by Dun.can on Flickr
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
