Businesses should tackle gender pay gap, says Young Women’s Trust

Businesses need to take action to help tackle the gender pay gap, according to Young Women’s Trust.

The charity, which provides support for women aged 16 to 30 who are on low or no income, is calling for more support as new reporting requirements are set to be put into action this week.

Action

Under the new requirements, which come into effect from Thursday 6th April, businesses that have over 250 employees will have to record their pay data and report their gender pay gap in 2018. Currently, businesses that do not record data or close their gender pay gaps do not face any penalties.

Young Women’s Trust is now calling for action to be taken under the new regulations, as the charity believes that whilst it is a step forward, it does not go far enough to help close the gender pay gap.

Amongst the steps that the charity is urging the Government to take are making it a requirement for businesses to publish their gender pay gap data annually, making provisions for enforcement to make sure that businesses follow the regulations and extending the requirements to small businesses.

The charity is also calling for the Government to investigate the causes of low pay amongst young women and to make it an obligation for businesses to close any gender pay gaps.

Flexible

Young Women’s Trust Chief Executive, Dr Carole Easton OBE, said: “Gender pay gap reporting is a great step forward but does not go far enough to close the gap.”

Commenting on what action needs to be taken to support women in male-dominated areas and close the gender pay gap, she added: “Making apprenticeships work for women, including by providing more part-time and flexible apprenticeships to help them balance work and family life, would be a great start.”