Ms Orla O'Connor:

The question of who the beneficiaries will be is important. It will certainly benefit women who are working in the companies in question to have transparency but, from a wider viewpoint, it will help women returning to work and applying for new positions because they will have a clearer picture of the employer they are dealing with. It will also help all of us who make decisions about policy and will enable us to get deep into the causes of the gender pay gap.

The narrative is important because it is how we explain what is happening within a company. The action plan is also necessary, however, because we have to ask what people will do to reduce the gaps in their companies. It needs more than an explanation and the legislation needs to put some obligation on an employer to say what they are going to do about any gaps that exist.