Women will be waiting 84 years for equal pay - new report

The ICTU report, published today, says the gender pay gap across the EU closed by 1pc over the last eight years.

“Based on these trends women will be waiting for another 84 years to achieve equal pay,” it says.

It also reveals a “motherhood pay gap” means women with children earn up to 30pc less than other employees.

The report comes as employers with 250 or more staff are drawing up their first gender pay gap reports under new legislation.

They are obliged to calculate the pay gap in their workforce on a ‘snapshot’ date last June and publish the findings this December.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average hourly wages of women and men.

Currently in Ireland, the gender pay gap is 11.3pc according to the latest data.

“The gender pay gap has remained persistently high in Ireland and new strategies are needed to close it,” says the report, ‘Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Guidance for unions on closing the gender pay gap and bringing the issue into collective bargaining’.

The report says the gender pay gap widens with age, particularly after women have children and have care responsibilities, leading to a “motherhood pay gap”.

“When hourly wages of mothers and non-mothers are compared – mothers experience a wage penalty as high as 30pc,” it says.

It says the gender pay gap is higher in the private sector compared to the public sector.

“Compared across all sectors, financial and insurance services have the highest gender pay gaps,” it says. “Women in non-standard jobs, such as temporary jobs, face higher gender wage gaps.”

It says when women begin to exceed 65pc of the workforce their pay declines compared with more “mixed” workforces in similar businesses.

The report finds pay declines even further when women represent over 90pc of a workforce.

It says gender pay gap reporting is one of several ways to achieve equal pay and ensures there is transparency in pay and bonus systems.

However, it says reporting does not investigate whether there is discrimination or an absence of equal pay for equal value work.

“The gender pay gap is different from equal pay,” it says. “Equal pay is about ensuring men and women are paid equally. The Employment Equality Act provides for equal pay for like work.”

The report says a gender pay gap will exist if the majority of lower-paid jobs in an organisation are carried out by women and the higher-paid roles are carried out by men.

It says the gender pay gap exists because women experience significant inequalities in the labour market.

“Compared to men, women are most likely to work in lower paid jobs, in jobs that undervalue their work and skills, and in jobs do not provide them with the same opportunities at work because of their care responsibilities,” it says.

“Women’s lower working hours and part-time work, occupational segregation and gender stereotypes are all factors that contribute to a significant gender pay gap.

It says “occupational segregation” can be vertical and horizontal.

“Vertical occupational segregation exists when men hold the higher paid jobs and women hold lower paid jobs,” it says.

“Horizontal occupational segregation exist where the workforce is predominantly female or predominantly male.”

Speaking at the launch of the report at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, Ictu president Kevin Callinan said the legislation is an opportunity for unions to negotiate actions to address pay inequality.

“And we will be seeking engagement with employers when the first set of audit reports are published in December, in order to agree a set of measures to be taken by the employer to eliminate or reduce any gaps identified,” he said.