UK: Compulsory audits on equal pay will force firms to give women more

Article here. Excerpt:

"Companies will be forced by law to disclose how much they pay men compared with women in a surprise government move to narrow the pay gap.

Compulsory “gender pay audits” will seek to shame employers who routinely pay women less, and spur more women to demand pay rises.
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The new law will apply to companies with 250 or more staff, who will be given until 2013 to comply. After that they will face civil or criminal prosecution. It will also apply to public sector bodies with 150 staff or more.
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Ministers would like to see a simple comparison of average hourly earnings of men and women, across the whole company, published in the annual report.

Although ministers recognise that career choices made by women, who often still favour low-paid professions, account for part of the pay difference, they believe that companies are still paying men more than women for similar work, in the belief that that no one will discuss their salary level so they will not be caught breaking the law."