Gender pay gap
ePolitix.com stakeholders comment on figures from the Chartered Management Institute showing the gender pay gap widening for the first time in over a decade.
The figures, from a survey of 42,205 individuals, show that women's resignations have hit a five-year high as men's pay rises out-pace women's for the first time in 11 years.
The findings, released by the Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics, also show resignation rates amongst women stand at 7.8 per cent. Representing managers from trainee level to chief executive, this figure is the highest since 2002.
Stakeholder response: The Chartered Management Institute
To send a comment to the CMI, click here
Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, said: "It is clear that the pull of promotion is not being matched by parity in pay.
"Despite the weight of legislation and the reality that reward should match responsibility, gender bias seems to be getting worse, not better."
Val Lawson, chair of the Women in Management Network, said: "The fact that the proportion of women in senior positions continues to grow is encouraging, but their increasing likelihood to resign is a cause for concern."If employers allow this trend to continue the knowledge gap in UK organisations will be exacerbated at the very time we are trying to challenge the skills crisis."
Stakeholder response: CIPD
To send a comment to the CIPD, click here
Dianah Worman, CIPD diversity adviser, said: "Legislation is often seen as the main lever for change with reference to discrimination in the workplace but that it is not always the answer.
"It can often lead to lowest common denominator solutions to complex problems.
"Legislation alone will not change culture and attitudes, and is likely to lead to a minimalist, box-ticking approach that does not tackle the underlying problem or provide true fairness for women at work.
"Smart employers will already carry out regular pay audits.
"Research shows that treating people fairly is a key factor in improving employee satisfaction and employee attitudes – both contribute to better business performance.
"So it is in the interest of employers to explore the underlying issues that are often highlighted in equal pay audits, such as poor diversity training, weak performance management systems and biased appraisal processes in order to create a culture based on fairness.
"Employers should begin from the principal that all individuals, not just women compared with men, should receive equal pay for work of equal worth.
"Equal pay reviews must therefore look beyond gender and explore other diversity dimensions such as age, ethnicity, and disability for example.
"This will help employers spot circumstances where individuals are paid unfairly, for no justifiable reason."
Stakeholder response: National Equalities Council
To send a comment to the Equalities National Council, click here
Chief executive of the ENC Julie-Jaye Charles said: "I am not at all surprised that the new figures are showing an even wider gap in "Gender pay".
"As a woman, ministerial advisor and chief executive of the National Equalities Council, I am often in the company of senior officials, many being white males who no doubt work extremly hard and deserve the large salaries they receive.
"However, what is not being made obvious to me is the level of women in official senior leading roles, whereby investment has been made by government to enhance their roles further, both by a salary which reflects their positions and efforts, but also through leadership programmes which reach further out to women in third sector and community organisations so to share capacity development and learning across sectors.
"Until innovative programmes of investment are formally mainstreamed across society and central government departments, the Agenda for Real Sustainable Change for women, across our diverse communities, will continue to widen. The impact of this will be a further growth in deprivation in the UK."
