Mind your gap: the real impact of the gender pay gap

It’s been six months since organisations publicly announced their gender pay gap figures. While the heat has died down temporarily from the media the heat has turned up from employees requesting employers to address their gaps sooner rather than later – or risk the impact.

According to a new survey from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, nearly two-thirds of women would take an organisation’s gender pay gap into consideration when applying for jobs.

As the talent landscape continues to become more competitive, for employers protecting the reputation and perception of the organisation has never been more important in recruiting talented people. Those yet to take action are at significant risk of losing out to sector peers and suffering reputational damage, placing them automatically at a competitive disadvantage.

While some organisations may be very fortunate to have a full staff team and instinctively dismissive of the impact, the report also found that 58% of women would be less likely to recommend their present employer if they have a gender pay gap, and half of women say that a gender pay gap would reduce their motivation in their role and their commitment to their employer.

With women in the workforce estimated to be worth £23 billion per year, not attracting or retaining women leaders can be very costly to organisations.

For most organisations quickly changing a gender pay gap and attracting more senior women isn't as straightforward as we might like, even with the biggest budget, but there are many tried and tested alternative solutions to illustrate an organisation’s commitment to its workforce: from providing career progression to offering practical solutions to help people navigate important life milestone – such as buying a house or starting a family.

Find out more in our eBook: The loss of women in leadership and learn more about the strategies for recruiting, retaining and engaging women in the workplace.