Government hosts Symposium on the Gender Pay Gap

Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, and Minister of State with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton, are today (10 January 2018) hosting a symposium on the gender pay gap in Iveagh House in Dublin.

Moderated by broadcaster and journalist, Mr Cathal Mac Coille, the symposium brings together over 130 participants including politicians, senior policymakers, business representatives, trades unions and academics.

The event was opened by Minister Flanagan and Minister Humphreys.

Minister Flanagan welcomed this timely opportunity to focus on what is one of the greatest challenges that we still face in fostering gender equality in Ireland, and said:

"In this significant year, making a century since women achieved equal voting rights in Ireland, the time is right to make a great stride forward in advancing the gender equality agenda and implementing the commitments in the Programme for Government in this regard."

"Today’s symposium is intended to raise awareness of the factors underpinning the gender pay gap. However, it also seeks to go further than that. We want to set a challenge to identify the actions that can be taken to address the gender pay gap in Ireland. We have brought everyone together for this symposium as experts in their own individual fields - from the worlds of politics and government, of business, trade unions, the professions, academia and civil society. I look forward to what promises to be a dynamic sharing of expertise and diverse perspectives."

Minister Humphreys said:

"Closing the gender pay gap will create a better and fairer society, but it also makes good business sense, bringing greater profitability to the economy as a whole. I am currently developing the Action Plan for Jobs for 2018, and will be listening carefully to the outcomes of today’s symposium as I set out to further progress gender equality through the Action Plan. We have already seen good progress in the area of female entrepreneurship and I want to build on that work."

Minister Flanagan briefed attendees on the submissions received to the public consultation held between August and October 2017 seeking views on measures to tackle the gender pay gap. The symposium also heard from Mr Andy Klom, Deputy Head of the European Commission Representation in Dublin, about the initiatives under consideration in the European Commission to address the gender pay gap.

Participants heard from a wide range of speakers and panelists:

Dr Orlaigh Quinn, Secretary General, Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation
Morgan O’Donnell, Statistician, CSO
Dr Micheál Collins, UCD
Dr Christine Cross and Dr Caroline Murphy, UL
Dr Isabella Biletta, Eurofound (on behalf of Dr Christine Aumayr-Pintar)
Orla O’Connor, Director, National Women’s Council of Ireland
Áine Myler, Director General of the Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland
Mary Connaughton, Director, CIPD Ireland
Dr Kara McGann, Senior Policy Executive, Ibec
Patricia King, General Secretary, Irish Congress of Trade Unions
Emma Kerins, EU and International Affairs Manager, Chambers Ireland
Senator Ivana Bacik
Emily Logan, Chief Commissioner, IHREC

Minister of State Stanton, who will made the closing address, welcomed the work underway in the European Commission in this field.

He emphasised the need for a whole of government approach, arguing that the gender pay gap is not the result of just one factor, and stating:

"We need to take action now to make equality truly a reality for working women. Today’s symposium has offered useful perspectives on the way forward. The government will be bringing forward a range of actions to tackle this issue, starting with legislation on wage transparency."

ENDS

Notes to the Editor:

Public consultation on measures to address the gender pay gap – Key Points

The public consultation on measures to address the gender pay gap received 38 submissions from employers, unions, civil society, professional bodies and individuals from varied backgrounds. Responses largely reflected six of the contributory factors identified by the EU Commission in its research as the main causes of gender pay gap.

These were:

occupational and sectoral segregation – whereby women and men carry out different jobs and often work in different sectors, with more women than men in lower-paid employment
undervaluing of work and skills associated with women
a lack of women in senior and leadership roles
difficulties balancing work and family responsibilities, including access to childcare
gender roles and traditions, such as the association of caring responsibilities with women
perceived discrimination in the workplace

Respondents also identified a range of issues associated with another of the factors identified by the Commission, namely workplace practices and pay systems.

The issues highlighted were:

that more women than men were in part-time employment
the prevalence of precarious work and zero-hour contracts
unconscious bias
lack of flexible work practices
non-transparency of pay structures
initial and unequal salary negotiations disadvantaging women

172 individual actions were proposed to address the problem of the gender pay gap:

45, or a quarter of the suggested actions, were directed at non-transparency of pay structures
occupational and sectoral segregation, including the prevalence of women in low-paid work, was referenced in 25 suggested actions, or 14% of the total
24 actions, or 14% of the total, were directed at gender roles and traditions, such as at the association of caring responsibilities with women
a further 17 actions, 10% of the total, addressed difficulties in balancing work and family responsibilities and in getting access to childcare
unconscious bias was addressed by 16 actions, or 9% of the total

Actions relating to pay transparency were raised repeatedly in submissions. These included improving data collection and government statistics, undertaking company wage surveys disaggregated by gender, encouraging transparent pay scales, promotion of information and awareness of the gender pay gap, and sector-specific recommendations.

Other examples of actions put forward were:

suggestions to increase paternity leave and to introduce mandatory shared parental leave
promoting continuous unconscious bias training at all levels in business and education
introducing gender-neutral job evaluation criteria, and introducing affirmative recruitment systems
promotion of STEM subjects and apprenticeships to girls and young women, and reviewing the subjects offered by girls’ schools to ensure a full offering of STEM subjects
various actions to address the availability and affordability of paid childcare
tracking gender trends against economic cycles

Government hosts Symposium on the Gender Pay Gap

Notes to the Editor:

Public consultation on measures to address the gender pay gap – Key Points

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