Women: Economic Policies

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, we are ending the pay secrecy clauses and working with businesses to ensure that they voluntarily work towards ensuring that pay between men and women is far more equalised. The equality duty that we will bring in in April will ensure that organisations are more transparent in how they are engaging across the board, not only on gender issues but on minority and disability issues, to make sure that everyone will be able to access a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

[Baroness Gale]

My Lords, why out of the £16 billion being brought back into the Treasury from direct tax benefits will £11 billion come from the tax benefits to which women were entitled?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I go back my first response. We have taken 880,000 of the lowest paid workers out of income tax. The majority of them will be women.