Gender Pay Gap

Lord Sikka Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd November 2021 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Sikka]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the persistence of the gender pay gap, and what steps they are taking to close it.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

I assure the noble Lord that we are continually looking at and assessing the gender pay gap. The national gender pay gap has fallen significantly under this Government and by approximately one-quarter in the last decade. The gap is caused by a range of factors, and reporting regulations have helped to motivate employers and focus attention on how improving equality can happen in the workplace. However, to continue making progress we need to understand in even more detail the real barriers that women face in the workplace and then take action to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

[Lord Sikka (Lab)]

My Lords, the gender pay gap continues to blight the lives of many women, denying them access to good food, housing, education, healthcare, pensions and economic freedoms. I ask the Minister to commit to two things: first, not to award public contracts to organisations that have failed to eradicate the gap and, secondly, to give women a statutory right to know the pay of male colleagues doing equivalent work, with appropriate confidentiality.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

As ever, the noble Lord is very incisive and focused on the things he wants to change. I note the two points that he makes. While I cannot commit to doing them, I will go back to the ranch, tell them that the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, is on the prowl again, and see what they say.