September 19, 2011
The Home Secretary Theresa May has called upon businesses to publish information relating to the differences in pay received by men and women.
Speaking as she launched a voluntary programme to encourage firms to report more widely on gender equality in the workplace, she said: "In a difficult economic climate, everybody is looking for what is going to make a difference, in a difficult economic climate you want to be attracting the talents of the best people and this can be a tool in doing that."
The approach is in direct opposition to proposals introduced by Labour’s ex-women’s minister Harriet Harman to force companies to publish such figures as well as move towards compulsory gender quotas in boardrooms.
Instead Mrs May asked business chiefs yesterday: “Go out and spread the message, not that it is an equality thing to do, because that tends to frighten the horses.
“But actually go out there and give the message that we have heard directly from companies and from the Confederation of British Industry that this makes good business sense.”
Currently only one in eight directors of FTSE 100 firms are women. Previous Labour guidelines suggested that firms should increase this figure to one in four, or face laws enforcing the appointments.
Katja Hall, chief policy director of the CBI, said the revised proposals would be better received by businesses. She said: "We are very pleased that the framework is voluntary, we think that is important, because this will help ensure that businesses have actually bought into the process and that they do not feel that this is something that is being dumped on them."
