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| Labour MP blasts law firm's 'meaningless' gender pay gap report | Labour MP blasts law firm's 'meaningless' gender pay gap report |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| The chair of the Commons business select committee has accused top City law firm Slaughter & May of masking the true extent of its gender pay gap with “bogus” data. | The chair of the Commons business select committee has accused top City law firm Slaughter & May of masking the true extent of its gender pay gap with “bogus” data. |
| Rachel Reeves said the law firm’s decision not to voluntarily publish the data of its partners – who are the most well paid and senior members of the firm – meant that its reported pay gap was “meaningless”. | Rachel Reeves said the law firm’s decision not to voluntarily publish the data of its partners – who are the most well paid and senior members of the firm – meant that its reported pay gap was “meaningless”. |
| This year, for the first time, all companies and public bodies with more than 250 employees were legally obliged to publish the gap between the average amount paid to a man in their business compared with the average for a woman. | This year, for the first time, all companies and public bodies with more than 250 employees were legally obliged to publish the gap between the average amount paid to a man in their business compared with the average for a woman. |
| The gender pay gap is the difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women. The figure is expressed as a proportion of men’s earnings. According to the ONS, the gap between what UK male and female workers earn – based on median hourly earnings for all workers – was 17.9% in April 2018, down from 18.4% in April 2017. Data in 2018 showed that men were paid more than women in 7,795 out of 10,016 companies and public bodies in Britain. | |
| All companies and some public sector bodies in Great Britain, except Northern Ireland, with more than 250 employees had to report their gender pay gap to the Government Equalities Office for the first time by by 4 April 2018. The second year of gender pay gap reports - and the first indicator of how public bodies and companies are performing - must be filed by April 2019 | All companies and some public sector bodies in Great Britain, except Northern Ireland, with more than 250 employees had to report their gender pay gap to the Government Equalities Office for the first time by by 4 April 2018. The second year of gender pay gap reports - and the first indicator of how public bodies and companies are performing - must be filed by April 2019 |
| Commonly known as the average, the mean is calculated by adding up the wages of all employees and dividing that figure by the number of employees. The mean gender pay gap is the difference between mean male pay and mean female pay. | Commonly known as the average, the mean is calculated by adding up the wages of all employees and dividing that figure by the number of employees. The mean gender pay gap is the difference between mean male pay and mean female pay. |
| The median gap is the difference between the employee in the middle of the range of male wages and the employee in the middle of the range of female wages. Typically the median is the more representative figure, because the mean can be skewed by a handful of highly paid employees. | The median gap is the difference between the employee in the middle of the range of male wages and the employee in the middle of the range of female wages. Typically the median is the more representative figure, because the mean can be skewed by a handful of highly paid employees. |
| The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that, while it would approach employers informally at first if they failed to publish figures by the deadline, businesses could ultimately face “unlimited fines and convictions”. However, information published following a freedom of information request by the Guardian showed that no companies have been fined to date despite hundreds failing to accurately file their gender pay gap figures on time. | |
| In evidence to the select committee on Tuesday, Louise Meikle, director of human resources at Slaughter & May, said the firm had not published partners’ pay as it was not part of the statutory duty and it was unclear how it should be calculated to ensure fair comparison with similar firms. | In evidence to the select committee on Tuesday, Louise Meikle, director of human resources at Slaughter & May, said the firm had not published partners’ pay as it was not part of the statutory duty and it was unclear how it should be calculated to ensure fair comparison with similar firms. |
| She said: “We’re not trying to hide the statistics about gender balance at the top.” Meikle added that law firm would happily publish data if it had clear guidance on how to do so. | She said: “We’re not trying to hide the statistics about gender balance at the top.” Meikle added that law firm would happily publish data if it had clear guidance on how to do so. |
| But Reeves suggested Slaughter & May was not revealing the true proportion of women at the top of its organisation and had published “bogus numbers”. | But Reeves suggested Slaughter & May was not revealing the true proportion of women at the top of its organisation and had published “bogus numbers”. |
| “What is being masked is the true gender pay gap,” Reeves said “Data you’ve published shows that in the top quartile of your organisation 46.7% are women. We know that is just not true at Slaughter & May because you’ve just told us that 76% of partners are male so that’s pretty meaningless isn’t it?” | “What is being masked is the true gender pay gap,” Reeves said “Data you’ve published shows that in the top quartile of your organisation 46.7% are women. We know that is just not true at Slaughter & May because you’ve just told us that 76% of partners are male so that’s pretty meaningless isn’t it?” |
| The gender pay gap data compares men in all roles with women in all roles, rather than those in similar jobs, in a bid to highlight the prevalence of men in high-paid management roles and to encourage change. | The gender pay gap data compares men in all roles with women in all roles, rather than those in similar jobs, in a bid to highlight the prevalence of men in high-paid management roles and to encourage change. |
| Companies are also obliged to provide data on the proportion of men and women in the best and least well paid roles. Legally, they did not have to include partners’ pay, but two of the other four “magic circle” big City law firms, Clifford Chance and Linklaters, did so voluntarily.” | Companies are also obliged to provide data on the proportion of men and women in the best and least well paid roles. Legally, they did not have to include partners’ pay, but two of the other four “magic circle” big City law firms, Clifford Chance and Linklaters, did so voluntarily.” |
| Gender pay gap | Gender pay gap |
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