Isn’t it time we closed the gender pay gap?

Recently the BBC published salaries of its highest paid executives the disparity in wages was met with predictable outrage. What came out was the huge gulf in gender pay within the organisation, male presenters on the whole being paid more considerably than females. It is now over 47 years since the Equal Pay Act which prohibits less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions. Yet many UK organisations including the taxpayer funded BBC have continued to ignore this. The question we are probably asking is why is this?

Research from the industry professional body the CIPD has suggested that women tend to be moderate on what they ask for, which can have both a medium and long term effect. The BBC has stated it will close the gender pay gap by 2020, but why the delay we have to ask ourselves.. The answer probably lies in the fact that short term fixes would either result in increasing women’s salaries, which would have a large cost ramification or reducing men’s, which would have a legal ramification. There is no easy answer or quick fix, the situation just should not have arisen in the first place.

Women have a long standing history or being treated less favourably than men, indeed still in many countries they have many restrictions on what they can or can’t do. Women in Saudi Arabia need a guardian’s permission to marry, divorce, travel, open a bank account and it is still illegal for a women to drive a car.

The average age women are marrying in the UK is now 32 compared to 27.7 in 1990, women’s representation in the labour force is increasing steadily.

Women have a long-standing history in the workforce, in all roles from front-line worker to visionary founder, influential behind-the-scenes patron to front-and-centre CEO. As women, however, what are the influences, barriers and benefits to our leadership? Do we use or even acknowledge our strengths and skills?

This is a time of great change in the workforce, in part because of the increase in numbers and influence of women in the workplace. Flex time, day-care and caregiver support, and telecommuting are a few examples of workplace initiatives that benefit everyone, but evolved primarily due to the roles and influence of women who are often juggling multiple home, workplace, and community responsibilities. However, there are some areas in which women could still be more visible and vocal, including pay disparity.

At Churchill Square Training and Development we have  a one day or eLearning course that will explore the history of women in the workforce and offer personal opportunities for exploration, identification, and development of leadership strengths and skills.

Contact us today to find out more on our ‘Women and Leadership: Owning your Strengths and Skills Course’.