Equality: Hung Parliament

Baroness Gale Excerpts

Thursday 29th June 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I thank the noble Baroness for her comment. I think it is well beyond my brief, and indeed my pay grade, to comment on such broad issues, but I am sure she will raise them again.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

My Lords, the Conservative manifesto at the last election said that the Conservative Government would be,

“unafraid to confront the burning injustices of the gender pay gap”,

and would work to close that gap by requiring,

“companies with more than 250 employees to publish more data on the pay gap between men and women”.

What practical steps are the Government taking to tackle the wider issue of economic inequality for women, especially with the gender pay gap at 18.1%? Will this be compromised in any way now that there is a hung Parliament, with a Government depending on the votes of the DUP?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I thank the noble Baroness for that question. The gender pay gap is the lowest it has ever been and we are committed to eliminating it entirely. She is quite right to say that it is currently 18.1%. I remind noble Lords that just 10 years ago it was at 25%. Through our leadership in the previous Parliament, we introduced the world’s first gender pay gap reporting. It is now operational and in its first year, and I look forward to seeing the results in 12 months’ time. The information will be published on a government-supported website. The Government remain absolutely committed to tackling the gender pay gap, and the arrangements with the DUP will not cause our commitment to waver. Indeed, I hope that our actions will have its support.