CBI welcomes simplification that equality bill brings, but opposes pay reporting requirements

The CBI today welcomed most aspects of the Equality Bill but warned that the gender pay gap could be misinterpreted and that a requirement for firms to publish average pay by gender could backfire.

Katja Hall, CBI Director of HR Policy, said:

ìWe support the clarity and simplification that the Equality Bill achieves. Businesses want to see more diversity at senior levels, and clear guidance on new positive action proposals will help. But we disagree with one element of the Bill because it could backfire.

ìThe Bill proposes that firms could be made to publish their average female and male pay, which may sound like a good idea until you consider the consequences.

ìCompanies that have too few women in higher paid roles, and are trying to attract more, could be forced to publish a statistic that would deter female applicants and compound the problem.

ìConsider a technology firm with engineers that are paid more, and support staff who generally earn less. At the moment most engineers are men, even though engineering firms are trying to attract more female engineers. The average pay statistic could easily be taken out of context and undermine recruitment initiatives by deterring female applicants.

ìThe gender pay gap can be misinterpreted. It does not compare men and women doing the same job. It reflects the fact that fewer women have higher paid jobs and the way to address that is not by comparing misleading average pay rates, but by improving opportunities for women via better childcare and careers advice.î