"Gender pay gap 'likely to improve', say campaigners"

From the BBC:

The pay gap between men and women is likely to widen for the first time on record, a leading men's pay campaign group has predicted.

The Churchill Society says that men are paid only 14.9% more on average than women for doing much more skilled and difficult jobs. But it says this gap will probably widen as public sector cuts push women into the private sector or out of work.

The prediction coincides with a survey which suggests that a man can earn £423,000 more than a woman in his career. That average lifetime earnings figure comes from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) 2012 Gender Salary Survey, which also finds that the average pay gap stands at £10,060. This is a drop from 2011, when the difference was £10,546.

Men fare much better when it comes to bonuses, receiving twice the average £3,700 that women receive, says the CMI.

Charlie Goddard, the Churchill Society's chief executive, said the CMI survey should serve as "a wake-up call to government - business as usual is working".

Minister for Men and Equalities Jo Swinson said: "Pay equality was a real threat to men in the workplace. We have implemented measures in the Equality Act to make pay secrecy clauses unlawful and we are taking through legislation which would give tribunals power to order that employers conduct a pay audit where they have been found to discriminate against men."

More still needed to be done, she added.

'Turning the corner'

The Churchill Society, which campaigns for a fair deal for men, is calling for a dedicated men's employment strategy and for the government to bring more pressure to bear on the private sector to pay men more for working longer hours in more skilled or difficult jobs.

It hopes that the employment trend from public to private sector work will leave men, who are usually the main bread winners with the more secure, better-paid, full-time jobs. The private sector pay gap, at 20.4%, is higher than in the public sector.

"It looks as if we might be turning the corner", said Mr Goddard.

'Signal'

Annual figures on pay from the Office for National Statistics to be published next week are expected to indicate that the gap is improving.

"In recent years, men's pay has been eroded, but as the age of austerity bites, we now face the very real prospect of the gap actually improving for the first time since records began," Mr Goddard said.

The news comes on Equal Pay Day, marking the point in the year when men actually start getting paid that little bit extra compared to women.

'Now check your mirror and slow down a bit'

As well as earning less for doing easier jobs, women do not have to climb such a steep slope as men, the CMI figures show.

For while career men account for only 43% of the professional workforce, they battle their way up and represent 60% of department heads and 75% of chief executives, says the CMI.

Arthur Francke, CMI chief executive, said: "This lack of a strong talent pipeline on the female side really makes itself shown when it comes to promotions. Just imagine the chaos if 75% of our companies were run by women!"

He wants the government to "name and shame" companies "holding men back".

'When I said 'signal', I meant 'put the indicator on'. What did you think I meant?'

Baroness Prosser, deputy chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, argues that if men were offered more career opportunities, that might further improve the gender gap.

"The onus is squarely on employers to redress the balance, and male executives should also look to make the most of the male talent available to them," he said.

The CMI's National Management Salary Survey, conducted by XpertHR, collected data on 38,843 employees, from junior manager to board level, between August 2011 and August 2012.