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Sarah Williams Gardener,   Director of Opportunity Now comments on the Single Equality Bill launched April 27 2009. 

Organisations can not possibly begin to untangle complex workplace issues like equal pay unless they have undertaken an equal pay audit.

“Pay inequality between men and women is detrimental not only to women, but also society, the economy and individual organisations. In 2009 a person’s gender should not have such a significant impact on their pay packet. Pay and reward are essential for motivating staff and engendering loyalty - ensuring equality of pay is part of being a responsible employer. 

Lack of progress in removing the gender pay gap appears to be due to many factors including complacency, fear of costs and ignorance about the importance of looking beyond headline figures to the genuine causes. Opportunity Now has always worked with employers, helping them to understand the issues which contribute to the pay gap.  These are many and complex and include occupational segregation, length of work experience and the number of interruptions to women’s careers. But there are also organisational and behavioural factors within workplaces that exacerbate and perpetuate the situation and which employers need to address.  For example, the absence of an analytical job evaluation process, lack of training on equal pay issues for those involved in pay decisions, or lack of clarity on pay at  entry, pay progression and pay protection. Other organisational factors which contribute to the disparity include having more than one pay scale across an organisation, or the indiscriminate nature of bonuses, to name a few. 

Organisations can not possibly begin to untangle these complex, yet damaging practices unless they have undertaken an equal pay audit. Ask any employer whether they have equal pay and you will be met with an emphatic yes! But if they haven't carried out a pay audit, how do they know?' It is only when employers really mine their data and get to grips with the real picture, that they can set about solving it.”