Analysis shows the gap Caldlerdale businesses are paying between men and women

The Government must not “drop the ball” when it comes to ensuring gender pay equality, after exclusive analysis showed that more employers paid men more than women last year. in the UK.

Thousands of businesses across the country are still failing to close the gender pay gap, including more than 300 in Yorkshire, analysis by JPIMedia has revealed.

However, the true scale of the issue is not known as the Government removed the legal requirement on large employers to disclose their gender pay gap figures for 2019/20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fawcett Society, UK’s leading charity campaigning for gender equality, said it’s vital the gender pay gap data continues to be published.

Head of Policy and Campaigns, Gemma Rosenblatt, said: “The picture from this incomplete data isn’t good, with more employers reporting that men were paid more than women than last year.

“It shows why it is important that the Government doesn’t drop the ball on the gender pay gap. The coronavirus pandemic has hit women’s incomes hard, so it’s more important than ever that this data is published.”

In Yorkshire, more than 79 per cent of businesses had a pay gap favouring men in 2019/20 - 325 companies. Just 30 businesses had no pay gap and 52 had a gender pay favouring women.

Some employers reported paying women an average of just £3.59 for every £10 then paid men.

While the figure is not exhaustive as the Government has dropped the legal requirement for large employers to disclose their gender pay gap for 2019/20, around half of employers nationally have done so.

Across the UK, more than four-fifths (81 per cent) of employers who had submitted reports by June 1 had a pay gap in favour of men, analysis by JPIMedia shows. Just 12 per cent of employers had a pay gap in favour of women, while only 7 per cent had no gap.

The gender pay gap does not look at whether men and women are paid the same for equal work. Instead, it measures the difference between the average wages of men and women.

Of the Yorkshire companies who revealed data, many of those with the largest gaps were academy trusts, including Knaresborough’s Elevate Multi Academy Trust, which reported the average woman was paid £3.59 for every £10 the average man made. Elsewhere, Hull Collaborative Academy Trust’s (HACT) figure was £4.40, a slight improvement on the 18/19 figure of £4.23. Elevate and HACT were approached for comment.

The National Education Union (NEU) Yorkshire and Humber senior regional officer, Kate Harr said the gender pay gaps in multi-academy trusts were exacerbated two main factors - firstly that the CEOs tended to be male, who “despite government warnings” have seen salary increases with many being paid over £150,000, and secondly, that women teachers in their 50s at the top of pay scales are often subject to “draconian capability and performance management issues” that often result older women leaving the profession, and therefore being prevented from reaching senior leadership positions.

She added: ”The NEU would call upon Multi-Academy Trusts to work with us to implement a fair and equitable pay system for all.”

At the other end of the scale, some Yorkshire councils - Hull, Barnsley and Calderdale, reported no pay gap whatsoever, and others, Hambleton, Harrogate, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Scarborough and Craven, had pay gaps in favour of women.

A Local Government Association spokesperson said: “Councils have done much to address gender pay disparities through fundamental reviews of pay and grading structures.

“We believe that while more progress has been made in local government than in many other sectors, we cannot be complacent.

“Councils value a diverse workforce and encourage and promote equality in all staffing decisions. Gender pay reporting will ensure the talents of men and women are recognised equally and fairly in all workplaces, including in local government, and help to ensure that councils draw talent from both sexes across different levels of income and seniority.”

Baroness Berridge, Minister for Women, added: ”Tackling the underlying issues that hold women back in the workplace will be important as we look to recover from this crisis.

“We recognise the unprecedented pressure and uncertainty that is currently facing employers, which is why we have taken the decision to suspend the enforcement of gender pay gap reporting this year.”

The UK Government’s Equalities Office said employers are still able to report their gender pay gap data should they wish to.

Since 2017, any organisation with 250 employees or more has been obliged to report their gender pay gap.

This analysis has been done by using the organisations’ median hourly pay gap. This shows the difference in pay between the earnings of the middle ranking man and woman.