Almost eight out of 10 companies and public sector bodies operating in Britain pay men more than women overall, said data published Thursday confirming long-standing gender inequality in the workplace. Prime Minister Theresa May introduced laws last year to force all employers with more than 250 staff to submit their gender pay gap details to the Government Equalities Office, which has now published a slew of data.
Some 10,015 businesses complied with Wednesday's midnight deadline for submissions, while those who failed to do so face the prospect of legal action. Some 78 percent of commercial businesses and public sector organisations pay male staff more than female colleagues, according to Thursday's data cache.
However, 14 percent of respondents revealed that they pay women more than men, while eight percent had no gender pay gap. The average gap - or percentage difference between the average male salary and the average female salary - across all companies that submitted details stood at 12 percent.
May this week vowed to tackle the "burning injustice" of the gender pay gap - and has compared the battle with the women's suffrage campaign a century ago.
Britain's second only female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher wants to push toward pay equality, meaning the same money for a comparable job - from back-office staff to highly-paid board members.