The gender pay gap reporting data deadline for public sector employers was originally the 30th March 2020, and for private sector employers, charities, and voluntary organisations, it was the 4th April 2020. However, on the 24th March 2020, the Government suspended enforcement on reporting of the data for the year. Nevertheless, thus far 5,399 employers of the roughly 11,000 that were expected to submit their 2019 data by the deadlines prior to suspension have done so anyway. So what are the key finding from the limited data available from the gender pay gap reporting data?
The Gender Pay Gap Reporting Data
The key findings that have come through so far from the gender pay gap reporting data are as follows:-
- By the time that the gender pay gap reporting data requirement was suspended for the year on the 24.3.20, approximately 3,000 employers had already submitted their data anyway (roughly around 27.28% of the total). Since then, as at the date of publishing this article, a further 2,399 employers have published their data despite the fact that they are under no legal obligation to do so. Hence, this brings the number who have lodged their data to approximately 49.08% of the total.
- No analyses has yet been done in relation to the overall gender pay gap amongst those firm that have reported. Nevertheless, it is anticipated that the position will remain broadly unchanged. Last year, it was found that 78% of organisations pay men more than women (unchanged compared to the year before), 14% pay women more than men (unchanged compared to the year before), and 8% had no gender pay gap (unchanged from the year before). Across all of the organisations that reported, there was a 9.6% median pay gap in favour of men, a fall of 0.1% since the previous year. The mean pay gap in favour of men was 13.1%, a fall of 0.2% since the previous year. It was also found from last years data that men received higher bonuses than women, with a median gender bonus gap of 19.6%, and a mean gender bonus gap of 35.4%. On average, it was found from last years data that the higher up the pay scale you go, then the percentage proportion of those jobs held by men gets higher and higher and vice versa. That is, it remains the case that men considerably outnumber women in terms of senior and management roles.
- Nevertheless, data is available in relation to certain sectors of the economy. Within financial services, for instance, the average gender pay gap has risen to 23.1% in favour of men from 22.2% the year before. Of those companies that have reported so far in that sector, HSBC has the highest median hourly gender pay gap in favour of men of 47.8%. There was also an increase in the gender pay gap amongst the 18 major media companies to have reported so far, with a widening of the gender pay gap in favour of men amongst 61% of them. The Economist has the largest median gender pay gap amongst the 18 media companies, which increased from 29.2% in 2018 to 29.5% in 2019, significantly ahead of Express Newspapers in 2nd with 23.3% (considerably up from 14.6% the year before). In contrast, STV saw a fall in its median gender pay gap from 18.5% in 2018 to 11.9% in 2019. Furthermore, in contrast to financial services and media companies, architecture firms showed a fall in the gender pay gap in favour of men from 18.4% to 16% compared with the year before.
The Decision To Suspend Enforcement
The decision to suspend enforcement of the requirement to publish the gender pay gap reporting data on the 24th March 2020 was made via a joint statement from Liz Truss, the Minister for Women and Equalities, and David Isaac, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The statement said: "We recognise that employers across the country are facing unprecedented uncertainty and pressure at this time. Because of this we feel it is only right to suspend enforcement of gender pay gap reporting this year." Charles Cotton, senior reward advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), welcomed the decision. He said: "The Government’s decision to relax this year’s gender pay gap reporting deadline is testimony to the incredible and unprecedented pressure that organisations, and the HR profession in particular, are under. Keeping our workforces safe and paid, as well as supporting new working practices to help businesses survive, must remain the priority throughout this crisis. Given the reporting data is based on a snapshot date in April last year, most employers will already have the data already, and most of their narrative too. It should just be a question of delaying their reporting to when the current crisis has passed. Longer term, we urge companies to continue to honour their reporting commitments. The Coronavirus stands to have a disproportionate impact on women in the labour market, because of the high proportion of women working in retail and hospitality. This makes it more important than ever that we don’t take our eye off the ball and risk losing momentum in our efforts to close the gender pay gap." Nevertheless, the decision was criticised by some. Rachael Revesz, writing in the HuffPost, for example, argues: "Dropping the obligation to report...reinforces the view that gender equality is last on a long list of priorities....Against that backdrop, the biggest effort the UK has made in recent years to reinforce the importance of equal pay — gender pay gap reporting — has now been thrown out the window."
