On April 4, the final Gender Pay Gap data was reported, and the results weren’t shocking as it told a story that we have all known for quite some time. Men who hold the same position as women and do the same amount of work, are often paid much more than their female counterparts with the UK’s mean gender pay gap (GPG) being 15%. This data was the result of more than 10,000 UK businesses, all with more than 250 employees submitting their wage reports as required by a new law.
Although the findings weren’t as surprising as many had thought, as most women already know about the gender pay gap, what was surprising was the “glass pyramid effect” which showed more males holding higher management positions in a corporation that females, even though there were enough qualified women employed by the specific corporations. The mean gender pay gap reflected this over representation of men in the top and upper middle pay quartiles in most organisations. This data also suggests that there needs to be a focus on encouraging the promotion and training of more women into management.
Experts state that those companies that have met the deadline for reporting their gender pay gap have taken an important first step in acknowledging the scale of the issue. It is now up to them, and the thousands of other companies who have yet to report their gender pay gap data to take action and work towards the future.
For us to close the gender pay gap here in the UK, employers need to be proactive and begin making the necessary changes now. Rather than ignore the problem and create a “long term plan”, those employers who have seemingly embraced gender inequality for so long, need to stop the cycle holding back the recruitment, promotion and retention of talented women.
While many see the gender pay gap as a purposeful result of a discriminatory culture, there is a way to end the gender pay gap much sooner than many companies would like. This is where artificial intelligence and its lack of any emotion or discriminatory hiring practices comes into play. With AI, every employee is the sum of their skills, education and abilities. Whether the candidate is male, or female makes no difference to the computer. Many feel that this could be the only way to solve the gender pay gap and ensure that every potential employee receives fair and equal treatment when it comes to the recruitment and hiring process.
We must all take it upon ourselves to be advocates for women in the workplace and begin to change the corporate environment and the way we fill management positions throughout every industry.
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