Gender Pay Gap
WE ARE ALL EQUAL. (Just some more than others) W
e have come a fair way in the quest for equal pay. But dig deeper and discrimination and unfair treatment are shockingly - still very much alive. Earlier this year, Birmingham Council - the largest local authority in the UK and in Europe- declared itself bankrupt and, sensationally, blamed women demanding equal pay as the main cause. There are three phases to securing the pay rise you deserve. In 2009, over 1000 women employees of the Council brought a claim against their employers over bonuses. In the 80s, 90s and even beyond, there was a belief - not just with Birmingham but with many councils - that men did ‘proper’ work like road sweeping or collecting rubbish while women did ‘soft’ work like cleaning, and it was only the real workers who should be rewarded with bonuses. These bonuses also were meant to incentivise productivity amongst men, something that was not required with the women who were more naturally productive. This was just one of several cases brought by women and since then the Council has spent over £1.1 billion to settle such claims and has an expected deficit of £87 million for the next financial year. The Council blames the women. There was no blaming itself for not paying equally and fairly to start with.
Translate these into how they can be perceived/used at a job interview and it could lead to someone with more masculine tendencies to demand and therefore get more whereas someone with more feminine tendencies to be grateful simply to be offered an opportunity and therefore to ask and receive less. Employers need to recognise the value in both perspectives, to have the ability to use them how and where they are most needed and not to financially reward or penalise because of them; a lesson Birmingham would have benefited from. Ruby Dinsmore, partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper, reinforces the concept that certain traits can lead to receiving lower pay.
“There really is a split between the sexes when it comes to negotiating pay, not only when starting employment, but also once they are in employment. Men are often far more forceful when it comes to negotiations and much more ‘men and women both have feminine commercial in their approach, which and masculine attributes’ generally results in higher salaries and better packages.”
Daphne Romney KC says that it was the cases against Birmingham (which she was involved in) that encouraged a lot of other discriminated women in lower paid jobs to take action.
“This pattern of men doing ‘proper’ work and women doing ‘less important stuff’ has continued and what happened with Birmingham is now expanding into the retail sector. 70% of shop workers are female - it is a similar percentage with council workers - and most of them are part-time because of childcare responsibilities. Today, Asda has 55,000 claims in the employment tribunals. Some of these have been going on for ten years and with interest accruing at 8% a year in discrimination cases, the longer you kick the can down the road the more expensive the settlement will be. I have had cases where the ladies actually got more in interest than they did in what they were recovering. If Asda loses, it will cost them billions. Because the whole of society seems to be broken down into men’s jobs and women’s jobs -with the former being regarded as more valuable instead of as equal value - there is a whole swathe of potential litigation. It’s the same in the NHS. The maintenance guys get more than the nurses.” This devaluation of the more ‘feminine’ type of work touches on something we need to address in order to get true equality and fairness in the workplace and in society. Men and women both have masculine and feminine attributes in differing percentages. Both are necessary for business - and society - to flourish. Recognising the value of both and not holding one in greater esteem is the way towards true equality. Eminent consultant psychiatrist and Jungian analyst, Dr Spyros Karvounis explains: 14 | LegalWomen
“Feminine and the masculine perspectives are not the woman or the man and both women and men access them equally. A feminine trait is to be more appreciate, a masculine one to be more demanding, aggressive.”
According to Linda Wong, a partner at Leigh Day, gender stereotyping and occupational bias ensure the pay gap persists. The unfair share of childcare otherwise known as the ‘motherhood penalty’ is another main driving force of the pay gap. Day is one of the lead lawyers in the Asda equal pay case (the biggest private sector equal pay claim in UK history) and also in a similar claim against Sainsburys. “Equal pay legislation has been in place since the 70s yet we are still fighting for equality today. With cases such as Asda and Sainsburys, the point is being forced across - which is sometimes the only way to change societal views. Historically it was men who held the most senior roles and women held the majority of the part time positions - something which remains true today. Women have gaps in their tenure when they have children. One way of addressing the gender pay gap is for the Government to better the equality relating to childcare. Statutory paternity leave being up to two weeks while statutory maternity leave of up to 12 months is ridiculous in the ongoing challenge to balance caring responsibilities” Legislation - on face value - seems to support parity of pay. The Equality Act of 2010 replaces previous legislation on equal pay, including the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and the equality provisions in the Pensions Act 1995 giving women a right to equal pay for equal work. It also makes it a legal requirement for employers to publish their gender pay gap data yearly.
