A report from the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee is looking at ways to address workplace inequality has said large private sector companies should be required to carry out equal pay audits.
One of the recommendations in Women in the Workplace is that those businesses with 250 or more employees should undertake and publish data on its pay rates for male and female staff, so as to highlight where pay gaps exist.
The committee wants the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to publish the details of those businesses that are non-compliant, as well as those who demonstrated equal pay best practice, in order to show that equal pay is good for business.
Dawn Nicholson, partner at PwC, described the proposals as 'a huge step in the right direction' and said requiring companies to examine their gender pay gaps in the workplace would ensure faster progress towards equality.
'The current voluntary approach set out by the government is not sufficient, has not had the desired effect and needs to go further. Greater reporting transparency will force many companies to reassess whether their pay practices are fair and will almost certainly cause a shift in gender pay patterns. Such reporting can also yield valuable information about the workforce and identify "hotspots" and any areas of concern,' Nicholson said.
The BIS select committee said it was also concerned about the fall in the number of women appointed to FTSE 100 boards since December 2012. While it supported the voluntary approach outlined in the Davies report, it stated that the government needs to monitor regularly the proportion of women holding both executive and non-executive positions and 'needs to set out clear figures, and a timescale, to outline to businesses what will be done if those targets are not achieved'.
In addition, the report calls on government to take steps to address the under-representation of women in some parts of the economy. These include the provision of 'comprehensive careers advice' and setting targets for encouraging women into apprenticeships in sectors in which they are currently under-represented.
The select committee also proposes that employees should be able to request flexible working from when they first join an employer, rather than being required to have worked for six months beforehand.
Adrian Bailey MP, chair of the committee, said: 'The government has demonstrated a welcome commitment to improving the representation of women on boards. It must now show the same commitment to addressing their under-representation in certain sectors of the economy. This should include a willingness to set targets and, if necessary, to regulate.'
