Although more than 10,000 UK businesses with 250 or more employees filed their gender pay gap data by the official deadline of 4 April, a number of large organisations have failed to do so.
Overall, 78% reported that, on average, they paid men more than women. The median hourly pay gap across all employers was 18.4% among full and part-time workers and 9.1% among full-time workers alone. The largest pay gap, of 85.2%, was reported by NWN Media, a regional news business owned by Newsquest.
Only 14% of companies paid females more than males on average, while 8% reported having no pay gap between the sexes at all.
As for those employers that had failed to publish their gender pay gap data, Leanne Raven, employment lawyer at Stephenson Harwood, told People Management that she expected the light would be shone most heavily on those “that have published results showing a significant gender pay gap in favour of men”.
She added: "The pressing issue for those employers will be what steps, if any, they are seen to be taking to tackle this gap."
Experts are recommending strategies such as flexible working, re-evaluating recruitment processes to avoid male-focused preconceptions about roles and tackling unconscious bias with internal training.
According to new research, however, many business leaders deny there is a pay gap within their own organisations. Of the 504 financial decision-makers surveyed by YouGov Omnibus across a range of business sectors, a huge 78% believe that gender pay gaps existed in UK companies in favour of men, 13% said there was no gap and 7% did not know.
When asked about the situation within their own organisations though, just over one in five admitted to a gender pay gap between females and males, while more than three out of five did not believe any disparity existed at all.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
Although more than 10,000 UK businesses with 250 or more employees filed their gender pay gap data by the official deadline of 4 April, a number of large organisations have failed to do so.
Overall, 78% reported that, on average, they paid men more than women. The median hourly pay gap across all employers was 18.4% among full and part-time workers and 9.1% among full-time workers alone. The largest pay gap, of 85.2%, was reported by NWN Media, a regional news business owned by Newsquest.
Only 14% of companies paid females more than males on average, while 8% reported having no pay gap between the sexes at all.
As for those employers that had failed to publish their gender pay gap data, Leanne Raven, employment lawyer at Stephenson Harwood, told People Management that she expected the light would be shone most heavily on those “that have published results showing a significant gender pay gap in favour of men”.
She added: "The pressing issue for those employers will be what steps, if any, they are seen to be taking to tackle this gap."
Experts are recommending strategies such as flexible working, re-evaluating recruitment processes to avoid male-focused preconceptions about roles and tackling unconscious bias with internal training.
According to new research, however, many business leaders deny there is a pay gap within their own organisations. Of the 504 financial decision-makers surveyed by YouGov Omnibus across a range of business sectors, a huge 78% believe that gender pay gaps existed in UK companies in favour of men, 13% said there was no gap and 7% did not know.
When asked about the situation within their own organisations though, just over one in five admitted to a gender pay gap between females and males, while more than three out of five did not believe any disparity existed at all.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
