UK to alleviate gender pay gap

In the wake of monitoring gender pay gap, Britain has decided to force large firms to reveal information about the payments made to men and women, including the public sector firms.

The news comes after a consultation led by Prime Minister David Cameron on introducing new regulations to reduce the pay gap ended last month. Based on official data, a woman gets 0.8 pounds for every one pound earned by a man in Britain.

This move has been extended to include public sector firms where men on average earn 19.1 percent more than women. While noting that income inequality was "a standing rebuke" to the country, Cameron believed that it was a major hindrance in the society and was denying women their due opportunities.

"It should appal us all that ... we still don’t have gender equality in every aspect of our society," Minister for Women and Equalities Nicky Morgan said, according to Reuters.

Similarly, Chartered Management Institute Chief Executive Ann Francke felt that the bonus gap between men and women drives the pay discrepancy. "Bonuses are also where gender bias can creep in easily as they are amongst the least transparent forms of pay,” she added.

Leading British employers group CBI believed that re-formulating rules might not work out as expected but acknowledged the importance of the income equality. "Eradicating the gender pay gap is an important goal, but to be truly effective, gender pay gap reporting must be relevant to each company rather than a box-ticking exercise,” CBI director for employment and skills Neil Carberry said.

Meanwhile, as many as 10 million workers across the country are set to be covered by transparency rules. Although details of what must be published and the commencement of the scheme are yet to be announced.

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