Women in the financial sector earn £250,000 less than male colleagues during
their working lifetimes because of the gender pay gap, according to the MSF
union.
Research by ICM shows a 55 per cent pay gap between men and women in the
sector and over half the women questioned said they felt discouraged by talk
about pay.
The union blames the overall 18 per cent gender pay gap on a culture of
secrecy that has developed in workplaces since the 1980s, encouraged by
individual contracts and merit-related pay.
MSF general secretary Roger Lyons told the TUC conference, "This is
daylight robbery equivalent to the pensions misselling scandal, which is
seriously affecting women’s wealth.
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He added, "Reward systems are deliberately complex and staff are
actively discouraged from discussing their salary and conditions with
colleagues."
The MSF is calling for the Government to introduce mandatory equal pay
audits, as Personnel Today did earlier this year.
