Disclosure law on gender pay gap a big step towards parity

Gender Pay Gap Information Bill requires employers with 250+ staff to disclose pay gaps between male and female workers

Doone O’Doherty, partner, PwC Ireland People and Organisation.

Public and private sector employers with more than 250 employees are now required to publicly disclose the pay gap between male and female employees on an annual basis.

This follows the recent signing of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill into law by President Michael D Higgins. What this effectively means is that gender pay gap reporting is now mandatory in Ireland.

While as of yet in its infancy, the new amendment could easily see employers being taken to the High Court for failing to reveal information on gender-based pay gaps. Of course, this legislation does not in itself eradicate the pay gaps, but it does mean that offenders risk exposure if they are not prepared to deliver relevant data if/when requested to do so by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

The new amendment gives powers to the IHREC to request of the High Court to order any offending companies to publish gender-based pay data.

The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 will require organisations to report on the gender pay differentials in their organisations, setting out pay differences between female and male employees. This will include bonuses.

Doone O’Doherty, partner, PwC Ireland People & Organisation, this move to more transparent and accountable pay information reporting should be seen as a significant step towards wider workplace equality.

Doone said: “There’s no doubt that, for many organisations, mandatory gender pay gap reporting will be challenging. This will be particularly in the first years of its implementation as companies grapple with not just gathering the necessary data, but also determining the reasons behind the gap and the actions to be taken to close it.

“There is an expectation that, for many, the first reporting results may not necessarily be positive. However, the reporting requirements will provide an opportunity to review policies and strategies, consider the challenges faced and the actions required to close the gap in the coming years.” 

 Of course, gender pay gap reporting on its own will not solve the problem of workplace inequality and significant changes will take time.

However, those organisations who embrace pay gap reporting and use it as an opportunity for real change, rather than as a box-ticking exercise, are the organisations that are more likely to prosper.

PwC Ireland publicly reported its gender pay gap for 2020 to be 4.7%, an improvement from 5.7% in 2019.

“This has focused our efforts and key aspects of the ongoing PwC Ireland Gender Pay Action Plan,” said Doone. "These actions include a commitment by PwC’s leadership team to pay parity for their people and ensuring that insights from the gender pay gap analysis are addressed over time through the execution of its action plan." 

PwC has also committed to ensuring that its recruitment processes, from graduates to experienced hires, are open and attractive to all. It says that it will continue to develop their people and ensure a gender-balanced and inclusive mix of talent.

PwC also says that it now allocates work in a way to promote equal opportunities for career-enhancing roles and review the gender balance on career-defining engagements. It is also applying a diversity lens to its appraisal and reward processes.

Ivana Bacik said in 2017 that the then 14.4% gender pay gap meant women were effectively working for free from November 9th each year.

Oireachtas discussion around gender pay gaps came to prominence in 2017, when Labour's Ivana Bacik first led the push for the current Bill.

Then a Senator, and now of course a TD following her victory in the Dublin Bay South by-election, said that most companies had already been making preparations to be transparent on any gender pay gaps.

She said that Ireland's then national gender pay gap of 14.4% “effectively means women work for free from November 9th each year. Put another way women stop getting paid at around 4pm every day.” 

 Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, welcomed the passage of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Minister O'Gorman said: “With the passage of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill, pay transparency is now one step closer. Reporting of the gender pay gap by employers will provide accountability and transparency, helping to ensure that employers address the gender pay disparity between men and women.

“The passing of this strengthened legislation is testament to this Government’s commitment to gender equality, and I am determined to continue making progress on this.”