More than two-thirds of employees would consider looking for another job if there was an unfair gender pay gap at their company.
This is according to Automatic Data Processing’s (ADP) 2019 Workforce View report which showed that 68 per cent of workers would potentially leave their job if a gender pay gap exists in their company.
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the progress on closing the gender pay gap is moving at a very slow pace, women currently earn 8.9 per cent less than their male colleagues. This is only an improvement of 0.6 per cent from 2002.
The figure jumps up to 79 per cent of women, who would consider leaving a job if they found out their gender to be paid unfairly.
The European Commission found that women are paid 16 per cent less than men across the continent.
Jeff Phipps, managing director at ADP UK, said:
Disappointingly, it seems that progress towards closing the gender pay gap has begun to stagnate, regardless of the introduction of pay gap reporting. Despite widespread calls for change, the gender pay gap appears deeply ingrained in workplaces in the UK, but employers cannot afford to be complacent. They need to recognise what’s at stake in failing to address gender inequality within their companies.
Employees are prepared to vote with their feet when it comes to unfair pay, which risks severe engagement, performance and reputational issues for the companies concerned. The Workforce View report shows that workers’ will not stay quiet- or stay put- in workplaces that don’t take inequality seriously. Communities, the Government, and businesses need to work together to redefine gender roles in society, and provide policies that ensure women are supported and able to progress into senior and executive level roles. Pay gap reporting within businesses alone will not be enough to adequately address the problem – a social and political perspective is vital.
The report was based on the results of asking the opinion of 10,585 working adults in eight territories across Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
