Companies with fewer than 250 employees have been encouraged to publish their gender pay gap data to help improve workplace equality.
The Prime Minister wants companies to do more to tackle the gender pay gap, such as improving the talent pipeline for women, making flexible working a reality for all employees and publishing pay gap data.
‘We need to see a real step-change in the number of companies publishing their gender pay data and offering progression and flexibility for all employees,’ said May. ‘That’s why I am calling on more businesses, both small and large, to take action to make sure the gender pay gap is eliminated once and for all.’
The government introduced a legal requirement for all employers with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay and bonus data by April 2018. However, the Prime Minister is encouraging smaller companies to follow their lead and voluntarily publish their pay data as well.
The call follows figures from the Office for National Statistics which show that the UK’s overall gender pay gap has risen marginally to 18.4%. However, the gap for full-time workers has fallen to a record low of 9.1%, down from 9.4% in 2016.
