INTRODUCING a political lead for diversity and inclusion, and allowing flexible working would go some way to closing the gender pay gap, a backbench Scrutiny panel has said.
The Gender Pay Gap Review Panel found that little progress had been made to close the gap since it published its first review in 2019.
That review found that the average gender pay gap stood at 18.3%, with a subsequent report showing that it had grown to 24.3% in 2020.
The panel found there were a number of contributing factors to Jersey’s gender pay gap, including gender stereotypes at school, unconscious bias in the workplace, more women taking on domestic and caring responsibilities and the socio-economic impact of the pandemic which fell ‘disproportionately on women’ who took on more home-schooling responsibilities.
The government has previously said it was committed to closing the public sector gender pay gap.
Deputy Louise Doublet, who chairs the Gender Pay Gap Review Panel, said: ‘It is disappointing to see not only the lack of progress that has been made to close Jersey’s gender pay gap since our first review, but that this gap has only widened.
‘It is evident that, along with factors such as gender stereotyping from school age, unconscious bias in the workplace, and women taking on more domestic and caring responsibilities, the Covid-19 pandemic has negatively contributed towards the growing gender disparity.
‘We are, however, pleased to see a number of government initiatives being introduced to tackle this. We hope that our recommendations will not only assist the government in achieving its goal of closing the gender pay gap but ensure that, through statutory reporting, other businesses are held accountable and work towards achieving gender equality in Jersey.’
The panel has made several recommendations in its latest review and has called on the government to:
– Introduce flexible working practices which are inclusive to everyone.
– Commission an independent review of childcare in Jersey which includes accessibility, flexibility, quality and affordability to better inform future policy-making decisions.
– Introduce statutory gender pay-gap reporting in Jersey as a matter of urgency, and consult businesses to determine the appropriate threshold level for reporting.
– Introduce a political lead for diversity, equality, and inclusion.
– Gather relevant data and publish gender statistics to implement a gender mainstreaming approach.
