Commenting on the gender pay gap reporting deadline today (Thursday) for companies with more than 250 employees, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:

“Working women deserve equal pay. But the gender pay gap is still a huge issue.

“At current rates of progress, it will take more than 20 years to bring men and women’s pay into line.

“That is not right. We cannot consign yet another generation of women to pay inequality.

“It’s clear that just requiring companies to publish their gender pay gaps isn’t working. Companies must now be required to implement action plans to close their pay gaps. And bosses who don’t comply with the law should be fined.

“The painfully slow progress shows why initiatives such as Labour’s gender pay gap review are vital.

“And Labour’s New Deal for Working People would be a huge boost to working women.

“It would introduce a day one right to flexible working and fair pay agreements to boost pay and conditions in social care – a predominantly female workforce.

“It would also see the introduction of mandatory action plans to close gender pay gaps and extending reporting to disability and ethnicity pay gaps.”