Almost one year on and the gender pay gap is wider than ever

Depressingly, the gender pay gap is wider than ever, according to latest Financial Times research.

Almost a year on since the implementation of businesses having to report their gender pay gap and four out of ten companies stating that the gap has increased.

Why, when so much focus on businesses to improve gender equality has this happened, and where is is all going wrong?

“Despite claims that gender diversity within the financial landscape in particular is fast on the rise, The Financial Times’ latest research reveals that this is not the case,” said Hephzi Pemberton, funder of Equality Group. “They stated that that men still outnumber women 3:1 within the [finance] sector and women still only hold 27.2 per cent of the most senior jobs, a mere 0.4 per cent increase from the previous year. With this trivial improvement, why is it that finance executives are claiming that this year marks a change in position towards gender equality?

“Again, news that the gender pay gap has widened has proved that critical action is required imminently at both an industry and policy level to begin to increase diversity within the industry. This isn’t a problem that’s exclusively female, I believe it also transcends into issues of race, class and ethnicity. It is dangerous to state that the industry is positive about its ability to close this void when no substantial driving force for change has been implemented.”