Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Sobel Excerpts

Thursday 22nd February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Bambos Charalambous (Enfield, Southgate) (Lab)]

7. How many and what proportion of employers within the scope of the gender pay gap regulations have published gender pay gap data.

[Alex Sobel (Leeds North West) (Lab/Co-op)]

8. How many and what proportion of employers within the scope of the gender pay gap regulations have published gender pay gap data.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

13. How many and what proportion of employers within the scope of the gender pay gap regulations have published gender pay gap data.

--- Later in debate ---

[Amber Rudd]

The hon. Gentleman asks an important question. We have put in place ground-breaking legislation to ensure that we close the gender pay gap. The Equality and Human Rights Commission will oversee any sorts of sanctions that are necessary. I hope that it will be its intention, as it is ours, to use persuasion and demonstration of the law to get participation, but of course it can use the full force of the law if it finds that the legislation is not being complied with.

[Alex Sobel]

What measures are the Government undertaking to work with private sector business, civil society and others to close the gender pay gap?

[Amber Rudd]

It is incredibly important that we do address closing the gender pay gap. Transparency is one of the key ways that we will achieve that. Having this compulsion of reporting on gender pay is an important first step, but we will take it further. We will engage with businesses to see what measures they will be putting in place to address the gender pay gap. My experience, when I talk to businesses about this, is that when they realise that they have such a gender pay gap—to some, it is a revelation—they are moving to put in training and other measures to address it.