Gender pay gap in the UK
The gender pay gap also referred to as the gender wage gap is the average difference between the compensation and payment issued to male and female employees. Organizations are required by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to report the figures they make as a way to assess how they treat their employees. The responsibility of verifying the authenticity of the data provided however falls on the equalities and human rights commission. There have been problems within the EHCR which have led to women being discriminated against especially in terms of payment and compensation for the work done. There is, therefore, a need for unions and the various women’s groups to pressure the responsible organization to call attention to the disadvantages an unfair gender pay gap poses to not only women but society in general.
In the year 2018, firms in the United Kingdom with 250 employees or more were requested to submit data on the pay gap within the organization or risk facing legal consequences (Woodburn, 2019). The data revealed that the pay gap had increased by 50 percent and that in 80 percent of the firms assessed, the gender pay gap favored male employees with only 14 percent favoring women more than men (Woodburn, 2019). This meant that men were paid 11.8 percent more than women on average in the United Kingdom. From the data collected, Ryanair Inc. emerged as the worst performer as its gender pay gap had reached 64 percent favoring men. The high gender pay gap can, however, be attributed to the low number of female employees hired as pilots by the organization. In the aviation industry, there are more male employees than females and this greatly contributes to the existence of the undesirable gender pay gap. Although there has been an increase in the number of women employed as pilots, the number is still low and the gender pay gap continues to be poor in the aviation industry.
The low number of senior women in some professions is often used to explain the alarming gender pay gap in such industries. Take the case for Credit Suisse as an example. The company had a gender pay gap of over 29 percent in the United Kingdom (Woodburn, 2019). Organizations that attempt to close down the gender pay gap find it difficult especially because of the lack of female that can fill up the top positions. Both the organization and the employees must work together to bring about the changes needed to achieve a desirable gender pay gap.
Despite the existence of challenges in balancing the gender pay gap, some organizations have achieved great success in their attempts to close the gender pay gap. Take the case for Chanel for example. The company employs the use of various initiatives aimed at creating an inclusive environment for its male and female employees and this has greatly reduced the gender pay gap within the organization. Unlike most organizations in the United Kingdom, women in Chanel occupy 40 percent of the executive positions in the company and employees are given equal pay for the same work done regardless of their gender (Clarke, 2018). The company further has equal hourly pay for all its employees working in the middle pay category. Chanel has a gender pay gap of 2.85 percent and unlike most organizations in the United Kingdom, the pay gap favors women more than men.
The company has invested a lot to ensure that the discrepancy between salaries and compensation for male and female employees is addressed. Since the gender pay gap also addresses the average earnings that both men and women receive across the labor market or within an organization, it helps to ensure that employees’ needs are catered for. It not only addresses the issue of equal pay but also other advantages and opportunities that may be denied to employees solely based on gender (Clarke, 2018). It further addresses issues such as the appointment of women to higher positions, the ratio of men to women in the top positions and other actions that could discriminate women based on gender if not resolved.
Most of the success enjoyed at Channel 4 is as a result of the organization’s commitment towards doing away with issues of gender bias within the organization. The decision to offer equal opportunities to all employees regardless of gender serves a larger purpose other than establishing a desirable gender pay gap (Petter, 2019). The company tries to establish an ideal workplace environment by ensuring that the needs of all employees are met. Since each individual has a role to play towards ensuring that the company objectives are met, the organization in return ensures that they have an ideal environment to work in (Petter, 2019). The relationship established between the organization and its employees ensures that each party plays its part and that accomplishing the organizational objectives helps individuals meet their personal goals. In the process of maintaining equality, the organization can maintain the desirable gender pay gap.
Other than the corporate culture, the bad gender pay gap in the United Kingdom is as a result of the different needs that exist for employees of both genders. Women, for instance, have to take maternity leaves and also time to rear children. While maternity leave is offered to both male and female employees, women are at a disadvantage because their leave is necessary unlike for men which is optional (Nevitt et al, 2019). As such, men have more opportunities to increase their knowledge and experience while women are at home. In the case a top position opens up, men have an advantage in that they have more experience and are present to apply. Women who take sick leaves may miss out on an opportunity if the job opening occurs when they are away on leave. They also face stiff competition from men who gain more work experience during their absence (Nevitt et al, 2019). An organization may make all the necessary arrangements to avoid an undesirable gender pay gap but the different characteristics possessed by employees of different genders make it difficult to attain the desired gender pay gap.
The government, along with other organizations have tried to close the gender pay gap in the United Kingdom. A good example is the introduction of shared parental leave where both male and females employees are given maternal leaves equally. The approach ensures that men and women are treated equally and that women do not lag while their male counterparts continue improving their skills (Nevitt et al, 2019). Extending parental leave to include men further helps reduce the time spent at home during maternal leaves. When both partners are given maternity leaves, women get more assistance from their husbands and this shortens the recovery time, allowing women to get back to work faster.
Also, the government has made the provision for women to request flexible working hours while they undertake their parental leaves. The working hours are flexible enough to allow the mother to take care of the family and still get some work done. The advantage of such provisions is that mothers do not take longer periods than necessary off work (Taylor, 2019). Female employees are therefore able to look after the family and still get some work done. The provision is beneficial to both the employee and the organization in general as it ensures that the flow of work does not get interrupted as much. The female employees benefit by gaining more experience in a conducive environment (Clarke, 2019). They are not only able to take care of their wifely responsibilities but also improve their skills and reach a position where they can comfortably compete with their male colleagues for top job positions.
Channel incurs little to no cost in its attempt to close the gender pay gap as its projects mostly focus on creating equality. The company tries to bring equality by showcasing how both men and women can perform any task and both qualify for the benefits that arise from performing one's duties. Equality is not only practiced when assigning duties but also when compensating employees through promotions and other rewards. Take the case of maternal leave as an example (Silverman, 2018). Both men and women are given maternity leaves even though it is the women who carry the pregnancy. While such leaves mostly favor women, men also have a role to play in taking care of their newborns. Issuing maternity leaves communicates to the employees that such leaves are not just for women but men alike (Silverman, 2018). By doing so, male employees are placed in the same position as men and this helps to do away with the misconception that women are inferior, or that they do not work as much as their male counterparts.
Another cost-effective way that Channel uses to close its gender pay gap is through the internal succession plan used by the organization. Whenever a vacant position opens up within the organization, the management first informs the current employees in case they want to apply (Whitehead, 2019). This not only speeds up the hiring process but also improves employee commitment to the organization. Promoting in-house gives women an equal chance to get the top positions because there is less competition and the existing employees already know how the corporate culture works and are therefore more competent compared to hiring new people with no prior experience working for Channel (Clarke, 2019). It also encourages more women to apply for top management positions and compete with men because the organization has made it possible through the elimination of gender as a factor in the hiring process. Employees are selected on their qualification as well as abilities and the position vacated is available to anyone who applies and meets the qualifications the management is looking for.
The gender pay gap is a good way to determine the approach that an organization takes when trying to promote equality. In the United Kingdom, most organizations tend to favor women more than women and this has led to the undesirable gender pay gap that exists in the country. However, attention from the media and calls for change from various lobby groups and influencers is likely to push organizations to treat women as equals and offer them the same opportunities that their male counterparts receive. There is however need for more engagement by the government and policymakers to ensure that women are not discriminated against and that whatever opportunities one benefits from is a result of the work they put in and not just because they were born male.
References
Clarke S, (2018) “Discovery finds gender pay gap of 13% for salaries, 49% for bonuses at its largest UK unit” Variety, retrieved from, https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/discovery-uk- gender-pay-gap-report-1202739008/
Clarke S, (2019) “U.K films and TV firms show improvement in gender pay gap but little equality” Variety, retrieved from, https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/uk-gender-pay-gap- film-tv-bbc-itv-nbcu-turner-endemol-sky-viacom-2018-1203180668/
Nevitt C, Shannon E, Tilford C and Wisniewska A, (2019) “Gender pay gap: Women still short changed in the UK” Financial Times, retrieved from, https://ig.ft.com/gender-pay-gap- UK-2019/
Office of National Statistics, (2019) “Gender pay gap in the UK: 2018” retrieved from, https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworking hours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2018
Petter O, (2019) “Gender pay gap: What it is and how it is different from equal pay” Independent, retrieved from, https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/gender- pay-gap-equal-pay-women-paid-less-motherhood-a8856121.html
Silverman R, (2019) “The British companies with no gender pay gap” The Telegraph, retrieved from, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/british-companies-no-gender-pay-gap-did/
Taylor C, (2019) “Gender pay gap widens at almost half of UK firms” CNBC, retrieved from, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/05/gender-pay-gap-widens-at-almost-half-of-uk- firms.html
Whitehead J, (2019) “New feminist monopoly gives women players more money than men: But not everyone is convinced” Independent, retrieved from, https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/monopoly-new-game-feminist-gender- pay-gap-inequality-equal-pay-men-women-a9100266.html
Woodburn D, (2019) “Gender pay gaps of the UK’s top resellers broken down” CRN, retrieved from, https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/uk-gender-pay-gap-film-tv-bbc-itv-nbcu-turner- endemol-sky-viacom-2018-1203180668/
