Louis Howarth, C3265309

Managing Workplace Diversity Re-sit Louis Howarth C3265309

Louis Howarth, C3265309

Managing Workplace Diversity

Asses the factors affecting the gender pay gap between men and women in the UK labor market.
Introduction This assignment will look at what diversity is and the history of diversity, the history of gender discrimination and the current problems with the gender pay gap in the UK and the law affecting the pay gap. Case studies and diagrams will be used to show examples of the gender pay gap and to help analyses the current situation in the UK with the gender pay gap. What is Managing Workplace Diversity? Managing diversity is the process of considering diversity in relation to management practices, to deal with the changing demographic of employees, customers and inequalities in the work place (Gatrell & Swan 2008 p6). The dimensions of managing diversity include but are not limited to age, gender, sexual orientation, race, income, religious beliefs, physical abilities and educational background. It is critical that organizations can manage these dimensions, if managed incorrectly organizations may suffer from high labor turnover and legal action may be taken against them. On the other hand if an organisation is successful at managing diversity it can lead to job satisfaction, higher moral within teams and better productivity. The History of Diversity Managing diversity is an offshoot of human resource management. It originated in America in 1987 due to a report produced by The Hudson Institute called Workforce 2000. The Hudson Institute is an organisation that is dedicated to Innovative research and analysis that promotes global security, prosperity and freedom (Hudson.org 2011). The workforce 2000 report predicted the changing demographics of the labor market in the USA, It is thought that the concept of
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diversity arrived in the UK in the 1990s due to the workforce 2000 report. Since the 1990s, discrimination in the work place in the UK has been recognized. New government legislation is brought in to help minimize discrimination although the UK labor market still seems to suffer with discrimination. This assignment will be focusing on gender discrimination with attention to the gender pay gap, what is the government doing to prevent the pay gap and why the problem persists. Where did gender discrimination in the workplace come from and how did it start? According to Gatrell and Swan historically women have been associated with homemaking and men with employment. This is thought to be due to the exclusion of children from the workplace, meaning that typically the woman in the relationship would be responsible for looking after the children whilst the male works. This dates back to Victorian times were women where automatically allocated the task of producing and raising the next generation, along with other minor jobs such as cooking and cleaning (Gatrell & Swan 2008 p15). This was properly due to the biological differences between men and women such as build of body and mental process. This is thought to be the reason that women and men are stereotyped in the way they are today. Legally females where viewed as inferior to men until towards the middle of the twentieth century (Gatrell & Swan 2008 p15-16). By the 1960s womens rights in the UK where becoming an important issue and acquired the name feminism. Feminism activists where campaigning for equal rights in law, same pay as men and the freedom to plan their own families. Government Legislation & The Gender Pay Gap Analysis It wasnt until 1975 that the first gender discrimination acts came into force in the UK. The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 states this it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against you due to your gender, marital status or if you have had gender reassignment (Legislation.gov 1975) . For the purpose of this assignment I will be looking at the gender related parts of this act to draw conclusions on the pay gap between men and women in the UK and Laws preventing the pay gap.
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The Equal Pay Act of 1970 states that it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate between genders in terms of working conditions and pay. This was the first piece of UK legislation that made it illegal to discriminate against women, before this it was common that women would be discriminated against, employers could deny women a promotion or wage rise due to their gender. The Equal pay act of 1970 caused a lot more attention to the gender pay gap, this attention still carries on today. The introduction of these laws gave women protection in the workplace against discrimination for the first time in history, if a woman thought she was been discriminated against she could now take the organisation to a tribunal, the case would be assessed and the necessary action taken to solve the dispute. These acts shaped the future for anti-discrimination legislation. In 2005 the Independent newspaper published an article titled Thirty years on, women still face discrimination in the workplace (The Independent News Paper 2005) The article goes on to discuss how thirty years later from the introduction of the Equal Pay Act 1975 why there is still a substantial pay gap between men and women in the UK labor market. Below is a chart that shows the difference between the gender pay gaps as a median hourly pay. This helps to show the movement in the pay gap since January 1997 to January 2010. FIGURE 1

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Source: guardian.co.uk/ info from Office for National Statistics As you can see from fig1 above, the gender pay gap is constantly decreasing apart from years 2000-2001 & 2007-2008 where the pay gap saw an increase of 0.1 and 0.2 per cent. In 2010 the median annual salary for a male working full time was 28091 compared with 22490 for women, this is a difference of 19.9% (The Guardian Online). If the pay gap continues to decease at the rate it did from 20092010 it will be gone within 6 years from now. The chart above also show a breakdown of pay for selected jobs in different industries, this gives us an idea of what industries the biggest pay gaps are in. As you can see metal making and treatment process operatives is where the biggest gap is. This is due to the industry been viewed as a predominantly male industry full of predominantly male jobs. This is due to the nature of the jobs within the industry, the jobs usually require a male with a large build to lift heavy materials and operate machinery. This is not to say that a woman wouldnt be capable of performing a job in the industry but numbers of women interested in this sort of work are small. In 2011 a report has been carried out by Lord Davies called Women On Boards, the report looks at the number of women at the top of the corporate hierarchy in the UK (Department for Business Innovation and Skills). The FTSE 100 is used as an example to demonstrate the numbers of women at the top of the hierarchy. In 2011 only 18 FTSE 100 companies had female directors, does this prove that there is still gender discrimination in the work place? Some would say that this is a clear example of discrimination; others would say that this is due to womens lack of enthusiasm to reach the top positions. Lord Davies has suggested that FTSE 100 companies aim to have at least 25% female board contribution by 2015. Is this now trying to push women to where they dont belong? Surely if women are needed at the top and aspire to be there they will get there accounting there not discriminated against, couldnt this cause discrimination towards men in the selection process? For example if a FTSE 100 company decides it requires a new board member, might they now feel pressured to employ a women rather than a man? It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years due to the report by Lord Davies.
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The reason for the diminishing gender pay gap is due to labor markets becoming more understanding of the concept of diversity, and government law been amended to better remedy the problem of discrimination in the workplace. In 2010 new government legislation was passed, The Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act brings together nine separate pieces of legislation into one single Act simplifying the law and strengthening it in important ways to help tackle discrimination and inequality (Government Equities Office). This quote from the Government Equities Office helps show that the government is keen on tackling discrimination in the workplace. The new act combines old legislation such as The Equal pay Act and The Disability Discrimination Act in to one piece of legislation to make it easier for companies and the general public to understand the law. Now the government have produced an up to date act and removed any confusion from employers minds, we should see a steeper decline in the pay gap between men and women in the coming years. However, although legislation drives compliance it doesnt necessarily drive commitment to the fundamental changes that are required (Institute of Leadership and Management). Although the government has introduced new measurers in 2010 to minimize discrimination in the work place (Equality Act 2010), there are theories that suggest even if women are not discriminated against in the recruitment process they will face an obstacle called the glass ceiling. This means that a womens progression to the top of the corporate hierarchy is halted by the sexist attitude held by men in senior positions, this is why the glass ceiling is often described as a barrier which is transparent, but impassable (Gatrell & Swan 2008 p12). Women can see the top of the corporate hierarchy but find it almost impossible to break through the glass ceiling and hold a senior position.

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There are different theories surrounding the glass ceiling, one theory suggests that women reach a glass ceiling due to the sexist opinion of men above them in the hierarchy due to their focus on male dominance, power and responsibility. Another theory states that women hit a glass ceiling due to lower confidence and career ambition. Some women also think they are help back due to pregnancy, if a women has several pregnancys it may holt her job progression due to substantial time off. According to studies carried out by the Institute of Leadership and management (the I-L-M) womens career ambition lags behind that of mens at every stage of employment (Institute of Leadership and Management). This could be the reason that women with similar status jobs to men get paid less, they are less ambitious to achieve. Figure 2 below shows the results of a survey carried out by the I-L-M in 2010.

As you can see from figure 2, more women believe there is still a glass ceiling then men at all age intervals, this is probably due to the fact that women face gender pay discrimination usually, not men. The biggest believers that a glass ceiling still exists are people aged 45 and over in both women and men. This may suggest
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that this was the problem in their generation at a younger age and they have seen no improvement over the years. The under 29s where least convinced of there still been a glass ceiling, however still approximately 63% of younger women are still adamant there are barriers to women progressing to top level management. The new equality act of 2010 should shed light on the situation over the next few years. If the pay gap falls at an increased rate from 2011 onwards, this shows that women where and still are been discriminated against in the work place. It will also show that government law has taken affect in necessary ways to stop discrimination. Company Policy & Tribunal Cases Company pay policy is hard to get hold of as most companies dont publish it to the general public on the internet however, some universities do publish them. Leeds Metropolitan University has theres online. See appendices 1 for Leeds Mets equal pay policy, important facts are highlighted. As you can see from the policy it demonstrates that the organisation recognizes discrimination in the workplace. An organization has policies like this to show anyone with an interest that they are socially responsible and a law abiding company, this policy makes a statement and gives an idea of how the organisation operates. Documents like this really help to show that a pay gap isnt present within an organisation. So why dont all companies publish equal pay acts? The Equality Act 2010 contained a clause forcing employers to publish gender-based pay data but due to the recession this policy was relaxed so many companies havent published them. Tribunal Cases A good example of a gender discrimination case is the female council workers of Birmingham, Abdulla v Birmingham City Council. The case was based around equal pay for women and took place in 2010. Birmingham city female council workers won the case to be paid the same amount as their male colleges, which could mean a pay out from the council of up to 200 million pounds. The female workers argued that they were doing jobs with the same pay grade as men, such as cleaning services and lollypop ladies yet they were missing out on up to 160%
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of bonuses from their basic pay. Its stated in the article that male refuse workers were taking up to as much as 51000 a year home while women on the same pay grade received 12000 (Guardian 2010). The problem here is that Birminghams city councils pay scheme was old and did not comply with current legislation. The basic pay for female and male employees was the same but the bonus schemes where different. Males that carried out unpleasant jobs such as refuge workers and street cleaners were entitled to bigger bonuses. The female workforce saw this as unfair and took action against the council. The misunderstanding was within the city councils pay policy, the fact that the jobs between each gender where in the same pay grade meant that offering different bonuses was against the Equal Pay Act 1975, therefore was deemed as discrimination by the tribunal. Birmingham city council over looked the fact that the Equal Pay Act doesnt only cover salary but any form of payment within the employment contract. The gender pay gap is more complex than it seems, as you can see from the tribunal case above pay grades come into play. A pay grade can be descried as different classes in to which similar or the same values fall, all jobs in the same pay grade have the same salary range (missouristate.edu). This causes confusion as two totally different jobs can have the same pay grade, this means that the salaries would be the same. For example in the case above, a lollypop lady had the same pay grade as a refuge worker, can these jobs really be compered? Some may argue that refuge work is more physically demanding therefor should be paid more, however some may argue that a lollipop lady is also a physically demanding job. Both jobs are also potentially dangerous so maybe they should have the same pay grade. When a male and female are in the exactly the same job role they should be on the same pay grade, paying a female any less to do the same job as a male is blatant discrimination and is against the law, the tribunal case below is a good example of this. This is what the government is hoping to abolish with The Equality Act 2010. Pullen v Onyx, 2006 Elizabeth Pullen was a successful regional director working for Onyx, she managed a workforce of up to 300 people and earned 42,000 a year. When she was made
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redundant in 2003, she discovered that two other regional managers (both male) where offered double the severance pay she was. Later on she also discovered that the male regional mangers where paid 15,000 more than her a year. The case went to court and Elizabeth Pullen won and was awarded 75,000 of compensation. The Equal Opportunities Commission are said to have stated that this case is fine evidence of the gender pay discrimination. (The Times Online/ The Independent). This is a fine example of direct discrimination in the workplace, in this case the employer was totally in the wrong. Senior directors of Onyx had directly allowed a female in exactly the same position as other males to be paid less. This is a direct breech of The Equal Pay Act of 1975 and therefore deemed as illegal. The Equity Act of 2010 has been publicized a lot and people no their rights now more than ever, this will make it hard for any employer to discriminate against women from the recruitment process right up until the higher ranks. Conclusion The current picture is that the gender pay gap is constantly declining all the time in all industries. The government is making a real effort to stop discrimination in the work place, and is working towards a more equitable labor market for everyone by introducing new measures all the time. With the introduction of the Equity Act 2010 everyone is hoping to see a steeper decline in discrimination in the workplace and less organisation been taken to tribunals. This should be evidential when the statistics for 2011 are released by the national statistics office. Hopefully within the next five to six years the gender pay gap will have been abolished, men and women will be paid exactly the same for the same or similar jobs throughout the UK. Although the pay gap will slowly disappear I feel more problems will arrive with regards to pay grades. People will argue that different jobs should be on the same pay grade when they are entirely different and this will bring discrimination back to light again. The attention of the government and press will turn more towards discrimination in the recruitment process and the effects of the glass ceiling as the gender pay gap may no longer be present. Although the pay gap may disappear in the next few years
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discrimination in the work place as a whole is here to stay. As discrimination isnt always purposeful it can occur by accident meaning that it is highly unlikely that the work place will ever be 100% discrimination free.

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Bibliography
Gatrell, C. & Swan, E. (2008) Gender and Diversity in Management. London, Sage Publications ltd Helen Pidd and agencies. (2010). Female Birmingham council workers win 200m equal pay case. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/apr/28/payfemale-staff-birmingham-council. Last accessed 23/6/2010. N.a . (2009). Glossory . Available: www.missouristate.edu/human/Glossary.htm. Last accessed 26/6/2009. Marcus Leroux . (2007). I was paid 13,000 less and got half the redundancy. Available: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article2388418.ece. Last accessed 26/6/2011 Marie Woolf. (2006). Women earn up to 1m less than men. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/women-earn-up-to-1631m-lessthan-men-467778.html. Last accessed 26/6/2011. Robert Verkaik. (2005). Thirty years on, women still face discrimination in the workplace. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/thirtyyears-on-women-still-face-discrimination-in-the-workplace-520948.html. Last accessed 23/6/2011. Simon Rogers. (2011). International women's day: the pay gap between men and women for your job. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/mar/08/international-womensday-pay-gap. Last accessed 24/6/2011. Stephen Hicks and Jennifer Thomas. (2010). Presentation of the Gender Pay Gap. Available: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/PresentationoftheGenderPayGap. pdf. Last accessed 25/6/2011.

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UK Government . (1975). Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Available: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/65. Last accessed 23/6/2011. UK Governement . (2010). Equality Act 2010: What do I need to know?. Available: http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010/equality_act_2010_what_do_i_ n.aspx. Last accessed 24/6/2011. Lord Davies. (2011). Women on Boards . Available: http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/topstories/2011/Feb/women-on-boards. Last accessed 25/6/2011.

Appendices 1

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LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY EQUAL PAY POLICY

Equal Pay Statement Leeds Metropolitan University (hereafter the University) supports the principle of equal opportunities in respect of the principles of equality and the management of diversity in employment. It believes that all staff should receive equal pay for the same or broadly similar work, for work rated as equivalent and for work of equal value, including male and female staff, those from different racial groups, those with or without disabilities, those of different sexual orientations, different religions or beliefs, and different ages. We understand that equal pay between men and women is a legal right under both domestic and European law; and that other legislation is in place in the UK, on race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, part-time and fixed-term employees, which includes pay as part of its remit. It is in the Universitys interest and in accordance with good practice that pay is awarded fairly and equitably. The University recognises that in order to achieve equal pay for employees doing equal work it is essential to operate a pay system which is transparent, based on objective criteria and free from bias on the grounds of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and age; and which does not discriminate unfairly between those on different contractual arrangements. Action to implement policy In order to put our commitment to equal pay into practice the University will: operate a pay system which is determined through the use of a job evaluation scheme. examine existing and future pay practices for all employees including part-time workers, those on fixed-term contracts or contracts of unspecified duration, those on term-time only or hourly-paid contracts, and those who are absent on pregnancy and maternity leave continue to undertake regular monitoring of the impact of our practices e.g. a programme of equal pay audits to examine existing and future pay practices inform employees of how these practices work and how their own pay is arrived at provide training and guidance for managers and supervisory staff involved in decisions about pay and benefits The University intends through the above action to avoid unfair discrimination, to reward fairly the skills, experience and potential of all our staff and thereby to increase efficiency, productivity and competitiveness and enhance its reputation and

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