Slow Progress For The Gender Pay Gap

Over the past few weeks, the Gender Pay Gap reporting deadlines passed in the UK. However, despite the headline figures suggesting that the gender pay gap is now at the lowest level since gender pay gap reporting became mandatory, there are indications that progress is not being accelerated by the reporting process, as originally hoped.

What is the Gender Pay Gap?

In the UK, the Gender Pay Gap Regulations require employers with 250 or more staff to disclose their gender pay gap data. In 2017, when the government implemented the regulations, it was confirmed that the gender pay gap was already at a record low of 18.1%. At the time, mandatory reporting was heralded as a key part of the government's efforts to eliminate the gender pay gap and ensure that women had the same opportunities as men to fulfil their potential in the workplace.