IMPACT is in the process of preparing its submission for the Government's consultation process on measures to close the gender pay gap in Ireland. The consultation process was launched by the Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation, in partnership with the Department of Justice and Equality.

IMPACT's submission will demonstrate that the union has been working, in several different ways, to close the gender pay gap. In the first instance, it has been doing this by pursuing pay improvements for its membership, 75% of whom are women.

IMPACT’s ‘Early IMPACT’ early years campaign is another good example of an area in which IMPACT is placing a particular emphasis on tackling the gender pay gap. Early Education is a professional arena in which 98% of employees are women, and is a sector characterised by low rates of pay and substandard working conditions.

The high cost of childcare itself contributes to the wider societal gender pay gap by requiring that parents – most often mothers – either not work outside the home or work part-time. In seeking and advocating for more investment in the early years sector, IMPACT is fighting to close the gender pay gap on two fronts – both for the women who deliver the vast majority of childcare services and for women who, in being unable to afford childcare, are forced to reduce their income.

IMPACT has also put an emphasis on the gender pay gap in the local authority sector. The union commissioned an interim report by Camille Loftus on the issue of gender inequality in local authorities. Based on the findings of the research, IMPACT criticized Government for failing to collect details of the gender pay gap and gender-based occupational segregation in local councils, and to require local authorities to publish such data.

The union also accused local authorities of failing to implement their own family-friendly employment policies, the implementation of which would help remove barriers to women’s career advancement in the sector.

IMPACT’s 2017 local government divisional conference passed motions condemning the erosion of family friendly policies in local authorities, and calling on the union to initiate a nationwide campaign on the issue.

Another area in which IMPACT has placed an emphasis on the gender pay gap is in the union’s work with regard to low pay. IMPACT has been a vocal member of the campaign for a national living wage. Given that 73% of people currently on the minimum wage are women, the introduction of a living wage would have a major impact on the gender pay gap.

IMPACT has also been campaigning vigorously for the introduction of gender pay gap reporting laws. This campaign has included online elements, traditional lobbying, the drafting and partial passage of legislation and a motion to the Irish Congress of Trade Union’s 2017 conference.

IMPACT believes that mandatory gender pay gap reporting is the single most effective tool at our disposal in the fight to close the gap.
IMPACT’s submission will detail the work that the union has done and will make the case for gender pay transparency.