[dropcap]Almost[/dropcap] eight out of 10 companies and public sector bodies pay men more than women, by the deadline passed for organisations to report their gender pay gaps on Wednesday, April 4th.
Businesses with at least 250 employees were requested to submit their data on mean and median gender pay gaps to the Government Equalities Office by midnight last Wednesday.
Of the 10,015 companies that submitted their data, 78 per cent pay a lower hourly rate to women in comparison to men. Only eight per cent of companies do not have a gender gap.
Companies who have not submitted data will face legal action which will include court orders and fines. However, they will be given a month’s grace to report the figures.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says it will write to employers after one month passes “before an investigation takes place and an unlawful act notice is issued.”
Chief executive of the EHRC Rebecca Hilsenrath said: “This is not optional; it is the law and we will be fully enforcing against all companies that do not report. Any employer not complying needs to ask themselves tough questions,” Hilsenrath said.
Ryanair comes within the top 10 companies with the worst gender pay gap, paying women almost 72 per cent less than men on average. Only eight per cent of companies did not have a gender pay gap.
Professor Anne Sinnott, Executive Dean of the Business School and member of the Steering Committee of DCU’s Women in Leadership programme said:
“Gender equality is a priority area for us at DCU Business School and we’re involved in a number of initiatives to advance gender and pay balance in the workplace.”
Gender pay gaps are a concern to students due to graduate in the coming years. Orla O’Gorman is a Global Business student in DCU:
“As part of research I did last year, it is suggested pay equity would not be reached until 2152. It does give me a pessimistic view about graduating and finding a job in which I am rewarded fairly for my work,” O’Gorman said.
By: Catherine Gallagher
Image credit: Medium.com