Scrutiny responds to public sector Gender Pay Gap report
10 May 2021
The Gender Pay Gap Scrutiny Review Panel has welcomed the publication of the 2020 States of Jersey Gender Pay Gap report, which was published on 26 April 2021. The report shows that the difference in the average (median) pay between men and women in the workforce is 14.2%[1].
The Review Panel undertook a year-long analysis of Jersey's gender pay gap in 2018 and presented its final report in 2019. The Panel made a number of recommendations, including that a public sector gender pay gap report should be published on an annual basis. The Panel found that the Government should lead the way on publishing this type of data in the hope that business and organisations in the private sector follow suit.
The Panel will now undertake a follow-up review of its recommendations to assess whether any progress has been made to close the gender pay gap in Jersey, including whether the Government publishing its data has encouraged other organisations to do the same.
Deputy Louise Doublet, Chair of the Gender Pay Gap Review Panel, said "When we published our findings in 2019, I indicated that we would be following up the review once our recommendations had taken effect. I also said that if we observed that the Government was not taking the necessary steps to close the gender pay gap, we would explore the possibility of introducing statutory measures to initiate the change required, which could include an obligation on businesses to publish their gender pay gap statistics. Some trailblazing companies in Jersey already voluntarily publish these statistics – I congratulate them and urge others to follow suit. Doing so sends a strong message about a company's approach to gender equality and is an important step towards tackling inequality in Jersey."
[1] When GPs – who were temporarily employed by the government last year as part of the Covid-19 response – were included, the gap was 15.2%
