IMPACT wants the Irish Government to introduce regulations requiring employers to disclose information on the gender pay gap in their organisations. The call came after similar regulations were drafted in the UK, where they are set to come into effect in April.

When implemented, the UK regulations will require employers with 250 or more staff to publish details of the average hourly pay of women and men in their employment, and to calculate the gap between the two.

With Ireland’s national gender pay gap stubbornly stuck at 14%, IMPACT official Ger O’Brien said Ireland would benefit from similar transparency. “The disclosure of data like this is key to addressing the gender pay gap. What gets measured gets done, and publishing this kind of information would represent a real and concrete action on the part of employers, which would go a long way towards achieving the ultimate goal of equal pay for men and women,” she said.

The Programme for Government commits the Irish administration to “promote wage transparency by requiring companies with 50 or more employees to complete a wage survey.” But IMPACT says it must go further and require them to publish the data, rather than just collect it.

Read the UK regulations here.