The EOC in fresh bid to challenge the gender pay gap

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) this week marked the 25th anniversary of the Sexual Discrimination Act with a new advertising campaign designed to narrow the gender pay gap by changing public perception of what constitutes a healthy balance between work and private life.

The EOC was set up in 1975, with the aim of working towards the elimination of discrimination. However, according to new research carried out by NOP over quarter of a century later, women are still paid on average some 20% less than men.

Julie Mellor, Chair of the EOC has identified a gap between people's belief in the importance of equal opportunities and the reality of their daily lives as a major obstacle to achieving equality.

It's time to change the rules. This doesn't just mean changes in the law, but also and most importantly, changes in attitude, values and working practices. We have drawn up a ten-point plan with proposals for action by individuals, employers and the government. Everyone needs to engage with the task of transforming their ways of thinking if we are ever to achieve equality, says Mellor.

The Confederation of British Industry countered the allegations from the EOC, Susan Anderson, Director of Human Resources Policy said: All the research to date shows that the key cause of the pay gap is occupational segregation. Women are more likely to work in lower paying sectors and the fact that women take time out of the labour market because of family responsibilities.

The EOC's new ten-point wish list is directed against precisely this form of segregation. The organisation argues that although the government's recent attempt to introduce statutory paternal leave is an attempt to address the problem, women are still obliged to take more time off work than men, and are being penalised as a result.

An EOC spokesperson commenting on the new advertising campaign said: A lot of the government's recent actions such as the parental leave green paper, and reducing the red tape in equal pay and sex discrimination cases make a good start, but they don't deal with the root causes.

To really tackle the situation employers need to reassess any payment bias in their remuneration packages. It has to be accepted by them that this is a priority to retain good employees. To achieve this, employees need to know that they are being treated fairly and justly.

Those looking to the law for help in closing the gender pay gap are likely to come away disappointed. Discrimination in the legal professions is alive and well. When a survey of 209 lawyers asked if there is a glass ceiling curtailing the promotion of female lawyers, the results were telling. Seventy-five per cent of women said there is, while only 24% of the men agreed.

Today more women than men graduate with law degrees, and more gain first and upper second class grades. They accounted for 51% of those admitted to the rolls of solicitors in 1998, and 46% of those called to the Bar in that year. However, only 25% of women solicitors in private practice are partners.

The EOC is not the only organisation in the country to bring the gender pay gap under scrutiny. In September, a report from the Industrial Society stated: The fact that most decision-makers within organisations are male is likely to be perpetuating male ideas about the superiority of male working patterns and male performance at work. The consequences are that better paid jobs are given to men because of their perceived financial responsibilities.

They also reinforce employers' expectations that the ideal employee has a single-minded commitment to work, and can be expected to work long hours, shifts and overtime without protest - beliefs which discriminate against women with family or caring responsibilities.

Mellor explains that the new EOC ad campaign challenges the idea that having children needs to be a problem at work. Most people carry out a daily balancing act between home and work. We want employers to help not hinder staff in their desire to be good parents as well as good employees.

The EOC's research showed that the vast majority of employers (93% overall) believe their pay systems are fair, but they have little evidence to prove it - only 35% had undertaken an analysis of pay by gender.

Julie Mellor says: The voluntary Code of Practice on Equal Pay is being used by one in five employers and has proved useful to them. But more employers should be using it. Simplifying the code may help.

Currently nine out of ten respondents stated that they did have a responsibility to implement equal pay policies. However, only 18% had a specific responsibility to supervise an Equal Pay Policy.

We must support the optimism about the future expressed by the young people in these focus groups, and ensure their eyes remain open to the vast range of choices they really do have. Sex equality cannot be achieved until it is the norm for women and men to be active across the whole range of caring and paid work responsibilities, she added.