| answer text |
<p>The gender pay gap in the UK is at an historic low. In the financial & insurance
activities sector, the overall gender pay gap is (including both part time and full
time workers) down from 44.3% in 2011 to 40.2% in 2014. However, the sector still
has a completely unacceptable pay gap of around twice the national average, so more
needs to be done. We are strongly encouraging more girls to consider maths and science-related
careers through the “Your Life” initiative. Women in the sector will also benefit
from the many other measures we are taking to drive the pay gap down further, including
extending flexible working to all employees; introducing Shared Parental Leave; and
bringing in new childcare tax provisions. We are also providing free software to companies
for them to calculate any pay gaps and to analyse the causes of them.</p><p> </p><p>
</p><p>The UK takes a voluntary approach increasing the numbers of women on boards.
We are making progress with the Lord Davies business-led initiative to achieve 25%
women on boards by 2015 and have moved from 12.5% to nearly 23% of women on the boards
of the top 100 companies since 2011. For the first time, every board of Britain’s
top 100 companies has at least one woman. Government will continue to work closely
with investors, regulators, head hunters and businesses to implement his recommendation
of 25% women on boards by 2015.</p><p> </p>
|
|
