Today is International Woman’s Day which is being celebrated
by myself and many other people all over the world. I am encouraged to see the
vast support this has had however we should not only celebrate the progress
that has been made so far but equally take note of the gaps in gender equality
that still remain. The theme for International Women’s Day 2017 is
#BeBoldForChange – encouraging people to step up and take ground breaking action
to help drive gender equality.
Unfortunately, the gender wage gap is currently still around
15%, meaning women only earn 85% of what men do. According to the World Economic
Forum, this wage gap won’t close until 2186. This shocking prediction
highlights the need for immediate and necessary action.
I am pleased that from the 6th April 2017,
employers in the UK with more than 250 staff will be required by law to
publish the following four types of figures annually on their own website and
on a government website:
·
Gender pay gap
·
Gender bonus gap
·
Proportion of men and women receiving bonuses
·
Proportion of men and women in each quartile of
the organisation’s pay structure.
I hope that this change will bring gender equality issues to
the forefront of employers minds and encourage them to put an end to inequality
in their workplaces. I also believe this law should be extended to cover all
businesses regardless of size given that unequal pay and sex discrimination are
not limited to businesses with a larger workforce.
Despite this change being a step in the right direction, the
UK Government must also take into account that inequality affects people of all
genders and backgrounds, limitations of the reporting system should be
considered as it is vital we learn more about the full scale of this issue.
It is also necessary to offer more protection to those who
take career breaks to start a family or care for children. According to a
survey by the National Childbirth Trust, one in three women find it difficult
or very difficult to return to work after maternity leave. Despite the strengthening
of legislation surrounding this issue, I further encourage the UK Government to
use its investigatory powers to determine why so many women continue to share
these unfortunate experiences on such a large scale.
Gender equality must be made a priority and I hope to see
robust changes which significantly reduce the World Economic Forum’s daunting prediction.
I fully support the #BeBoldForChange campaign for International Women’s Day
2017 and will continue to support any future campaigns that promote gender
equality.