Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is making available tools and resources to help the county’s businesses tackle pay inequality between men and women.
The move is a response to official figures, which show little progress in reducing the gender pay gap since the Government brought in a requirement for larger employers to report the difference between median male and female pay.
New figures show that 78% of employers continue to pay men more than women and, in 45% of firms, the gap is growing.
Overall, the pay gap in favour of men is almost unchanged at 9.7% compared with 9.6% a year ago.
The Chamber’s Chief Executive Rob Johnston said: “Not only is this unfair, it is a waste of potential.
“Cumbria has a shrinking working-age population. This makes recruitment more difficult and means it is in the interests of employers to maximise the potential of all their staff.
“One way to do that is to ensure that the women in your workforce get every chance to progress and make the most of their capabilities.
“We’ve assembled a selection of tools, case studies and other information to help businesses reassess their working practices to help women progress.”
These resources are available to download on the Chamber’s website, www.cumbriachamber.co.uk
Rob added: “Employers don’t deliberately set out to pay women less than men.
“Often a gap opens when a woman takes maternity leave. Her career can lose momentum, she misses out on a promotion and perhaps she returns to work part-time in a less senior role.
“This isn’t about positive discrimination. It’s about creating an environment and culture that enables you to get the best out of all your employees, male or female.”
The gender pay gap varies between sectors.
Hospitality, a big employer in Cumbria, has one of the smallest gaps but, on average, men still earn more than women.
Manufacturing, another major employer in the county, has one of one of the widest pay gaps.
Suzanne Caldwell, the Chamber’s Deputy Chief Executive, said: “Simple measures such as flexible hours and part-time working can help to retain and develop female employees.
“Over time this should be more than balanced out as some of them move into higher-paid positions.”
