Women earn around 80% less in performance related pay at some of the UK’s leading finance companies, claims a report produced today by the EHRC.
Overall, research carried out in the Commissions’ Finance Sector Enquiry showed that more than 8 out of 10 women are paid lower salaries when starting jobs than men. Part of the pattern behind this suggests that age may be a factor, as an unusually high proportion of women in the sector fall into the 25-39 age group: the age at which women tend to have childcare responsibilities.
The differential performance gap in pay is dramatically revealed in some of the data collected, which showed that women employees earned an average of £2,875 in annual performance related pay, compared to an average of £14,554 for men. There was also a gap of 39% in pay between men and women, rising to 40% for total earnings, taking into account performance related pay, bonuses and overtime.
Even taking account of childcare and caring commitments that can put women at a disadvantage, along with the nature of the jobs held by men and women in the City, this is still a startlingly huge difference.
It is difficult to see how such a large differential can be explained or justified. This is particularly the case in the significant differentials between starting salaries for men and women.
We have already seen some big tribunal cases where women have successfully taken cases in relation to bonuses, and their receiving much smaller amounts. Key here is the question of openness and transparency, with few employees usually knowing what each other earns in individual companies.
This could change, with the EHRC potentially using its legal powers to open this area up once and for all. The Chairman, Trevor Phillips, has said:
‘What we can do if we want to is start comparing individual institutions to published information. We can compel them to give us information which will reveal what is going on inside their companies. Fines are not a problem for these companies. It is illumination they dislike.’
(Quoted in the Sunday Times 6-09-09)
Nerves may be jangling in the City with such an eventuality.
Tags: EHRC