The Gender Pay Gap: acts must follow facts in our large companies in Folkestone & Hythe District

As the only female member of the Shepwayvox Team I say the lies that the gender pay gap is perpetuated by feminists who use statistics dishonestly to further their cause is NOT true. I am not a feminist nor am I using statistics dishonestly. The chart below is what these companies have reported.

It’s fair to point out the flaws in the statistics. The median gap is calculated by lining up all men’s and women’s wages from top to bottom, and comparing the number that falls in the middle for each gender. As with all averages, it smooths out nuances and doesn’t account for differences in specific job roles, age, or previous experience. However, that said the figures are an important indicator of structural inequality not just within the companies above but all companies who have to report.

But is clear that working for Holiday Extras Ltd, based in Newingreen, things have got worse for women. For every £10 a man earns a woman earns £6.23. That has serious implications for female pensions later on in life too

Turner Schools reported a pay gap of 20% in favour of men, which means for every £10 a man earns a woman earns £8. This is a School already having difficulties with staff retention and such discrimination only compounds why female staff might not want to join an academy

As you can see the Gender Pay Gap has increased at Church & Dwight based in Folkestone for every £10 a man earns a woman earns £9.05.

Thankfully Saga‘s figures have improved slightly. However, when the board of directors is six men to three women, is it any wonder the the Gender Pay Gap at Saga persists

Yet going the other way, the Gender Pay Gap at Folkestone & Hythe District Council for every £10 a man earns a woman earns £10.72

The only company which does not discriminate is Red Eagle Ltd bases in Shakespeare Terrace. They have as the statistics prove paid men and women equally, truly an enlightened company.

Employers should definitely recognise there is a strong risk to their reputation and brand. Many at the top of the companies set out in the chart above would no doubt say they don’t have an equal pay problem. However, have any of them conducted an equal pay audit?

Just knowing that there is a gender pay gap in the companies in the chart is one thing. Shrinking it is something else. Forcing employers to be transparent is a very good idea, and the numbers in the chart above are important. If you don’t know what is going on, you can’t challenge it – either from within or outside and of the companies mentioned.

It is self evident men in the companies mentioned in the chart above dominate the most senior and highest-paid roles in all sectors.  It is my belief as the only female Shepwayvox Team member that the Equality and Human Rights Commission should be given stronger powers to enforce and investigate – and the resources to use them.

Both conscious and unwitting discrimination by bosses of the companies in the chart above is one reason for disparities in pay. But there are structural reasons why women are over-represented in lower-paid and part-time jobs, which only policymakers can fix. If unpaid, caring work including parenting could, over time, be more evenly distributed between men and women, and personal life better balanced with paid work, it would benefit us all.

The Shepwayvox Team – only female member

Journalism for the People NOT the Powerful.