The Equal Opportunities Commission has urged employers to review pay systems
for gender bias, reward results rather than long hours, introduce flexible
working policies and perform open and transparent recruitment.
The EOC interviewed ten discussion groups spanning three generations in
England, Scotland and Wales and asked them about women’s and men’s experience
of work.
The survey is sceptical about the effectiveness of equal pay.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the sex
discrimination act, Julie Mellor, chair of the equal opportunities commission
said, “employers have a corporate responsibility to ensure equal pay among men
and women.
“The onus should be on employers to accommodate employees and justify it if
they can’t.
“There is lots of policy but very little practise of that policy among
employers,” she added.
The EOC urged the Government to require employers to review pay systems,
award contracts only to equal opportunity employers, adopt the EU directive
outlawing sex discrimination in the workplace and extend the power of sex
discrimination tribunals.
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By Karen Higginbottom
