A question we are often asked is, “What is causing our gender pay gap? We understand which areas of the business have a wider pay gap, but do we know the root cause?”
This is a difficult question to answer purely by looking at the initial gender pay results. Often the gender pay gap is being caused by either a diversity or equal pay issue.
Gender diversity is the primary cause of the Gender Pay gap – i.e. where organisations have a higher proportion of males at higher paid / senior roles. However, in some cases, there may be equal pay issues – i.e. where males, performing similar jobs at similar levels, are paid more than their female counterparts.
Equal pay issues can also extend beyond gender, for example, they may be driven by service, age, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation and even by whether an employee works full time or part time.
With gender pay gap reporting requirements being at the top of most HR agendas and pay equality being at the forefront of media attention at present, equal pay is being pushed up the agenda too.
