Comment: The coalition is stalling on equality
The government’s decision to shelve key parts of the Equality Act sets back the cause of equal pay. Given impending cuts which will impact more on women, the coalition needs to rethink its stance.
By Preethi Sundaram
Forty years since the struggle for equal pay began, women in the UK still earn less, own less and are more likely to live in poverty than men. The stubborn gap in pay between men and women is one of the starkest examples of inequality in the UK today. Nationally, women can expect to earn roughly a sixth less than men, with the size of the gap varying according to location and sector. At the current rate of progress yet another generation of women face earning less than men for the duration of their working lives.
We know what the root causes of unequal pay are, and we know how to effectively tackle it. Key to closing the gap once and for all is making sure employers – and workers – are vigilant. Last week, government announced that they would not enact Section 78 of the Equality Act. This would have given government powers to require big business- those employing more than 250 people – to measure and publish any gaps in their male and female pay rates, if voluntary progress is not forthcoming by 2013.
In sidelining section 78, the coalition government dealt a real blow to the fight for equal pay, and the cause of equality more generally. This is a kick in the teeth for the 45,000 women currently bringing claims against their employers on the grounds of equal pay, and the thousands who have signed Fawcett’s petition to call for enactment of this law.
Fawcett urge the government to think twice about abandoning section 78: all the evidence shows measuring and publicising the problem is key to effectively tackling it. Monitoring pay rates isn’t difficult; done right it can be a simple and inexpensive process that can happen alongside annual accounts.
Enacting this piece of legislation would also send a strong signal to employers that unequal pay has no place in the 21st century workplace. If, as seems likely, the government give up on section 78, their message will be that tackling discrimination against women is a choice not a requirement. However, all’s not lost. This does not mean that big business can wash their hands of ensuring that they pay their female and male employees equally. The government is putting in place measures to encourage employers to voluntarily measure and publish information on their gender pay gap and Fawcett will continue to put pressure on government to re-visit and implement the Act in full.
Aside from section 78, effective action on unequal pay means changing dominant working practices. Extending the right to request flexible working to all employees and reforming the parental leave system have the potential to make a huge difference to employer practices and women’s opportunities in the workplace. We very much welcome the coalition programme for government’s commitments in these areas, and look forward to seeing the details.
With job losses in the public sector and spending cuts already threatening women’s overall economic independence, robust action on equal pay is more not less important. Progress on equal pay is stalling, and at a time when more women face losing their jobs more than ever before, the government must do more not less to tackle the problem.
Preethi Sundaram is policy and campaigns officer at the Fawcett Society.
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