Closing the gender pay gap will help Peterborough companies become employers of choice

Employers with over 250 employees had 12 months from April 5, 2017 to publish their gender pay information and every year subsequently.
Clare Eager of PeopleHR.Clare Eager of PeopleHR.
Clare Eager of PeopleHR.

This August, that information is now nearly 16 months out of date – what have employers been doing?

If a gender pay gap was identified, have they been sitting back and keeping quiet and hoping any gender pay gap just goes away, or have they been taking active steps to reducing their gender pay gap.

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I am sure you will have heard of the BBC and the publicity in relation to how much their employees get paid and the disparity between the genders, in favour of their male employees.

The BBC have reported for both 2017 and 2018 and have demonstrated a decrease in their mean gender pay gap from 10.7 per cent in 2017 to 8.4 per cent in 2018.

The BBC has committed to closing the gender pay gap by 2020 and it looks like they are taking the right steps towards achieving that goal.

Why has the BBC decided to take these steps to rectify their gender pay gap?

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Why do they feel the need to change and act on this difference? They do not have the widest reported gender pay gap from 2017, so why does it matter?

It matters because the BBC want to be an employer of choice for their employees.

Gender pay equality is a diversity issue, and for organisations like the BBC, there are three key benefits to promoting gender equality.

The first is reputation, by demonstrating gender equality, the organisation and their brand’s reputation is significantly improved in the outside world.

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The second is recruitment. By having a reputation that says the brand is gender equal, then the organisation is likely to attract from an improved pool of talent, as more people will want to work for this employer.

Thirdly, retention. By having a strong gender equal brand that attracts the right talent, it is easier to achieve a higher retention level as employees feel valued and supported and will wish to remain as an employee.

The BBC is facing up to their gender inequality and by doing so are enhancing their reputation, and not just relying on the existing “brand” elements that attract people to work for them.

They have seen that it is not an employer-led but an employee-led recruitment market and I hope that other organisations are taking similar steps to rectifying their gender pay issues.

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