Thursday, 29 September 2016

Fighting "burning injustice" the May way

How typical of a giant financial consultant, with a far from satisfactory record in social responsibility, to see the solution to the slow progress being made in reducing the gender pay gap, as getting more "girls studying Stem subjects" (Gender pay gap will take half a century to close, says study, 24/09/16). Deloitte`s idea to push females towards jobs where the pay gap is smaller, and the government`s requirement from next April "for bigger employers to publish pay gap details", ignore the fundamental problem of pay which is far too low for female-dominated jobs like caring and cleaning, and the ridiculously unfair gaps in starting salaries in professions such as health and education.
 If May really wants to fight "burning injustice", as she so publicly declared back in July, she should stop pussy-footing around with proposals that are little more than tried-and-failed, naming and shaming policies. Legislation is clearly needed to force employers to pay men and women the same pay for the same work. Anything less, I`m afraid, reveals that her Downing Street pledges are only fit for the Tories` "rhetoric file", along with their determination to end tax avoidance and evasion, and to reduce inequality.

 

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