Written answers

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Department of Justice and Equality

Gender Balance Issues

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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583. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to address the gender pay gap, which has increased to 14.4%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12173/14]

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The gender pay gap is an important issue because it impacts on women’s life long earnings, economic independence, private pension provisions and risk of poverty in older years.

The calculation of the gender pay gap is very complex. The data to which the Deputy refers were published by Eurostat in March and are provisional, as was the 2011 comparator of 11.7 per cent. The most recent “final” figure for Ireland was 13.9 per cent in 2010. Ireland continues to perform better than many other EU Member States on the gender pay gap. The EU 28 average was provisionally calculated by Eurostat to be 16.4 per cent in 2011 and again in 2012. It should also be noted that these Eurostat data are based on the “structure of earnings survey methodology” and exclude the public administration and defence sectors.

There are many complex causes of the gap, including women’s increased comparative likelihood to work part-time; to work in particular sectors; to play a disproportionately large role in the provision of caring within the family; to be under-represented in leadership and management roles and to experience discriminatory and gender-biased workplace practices and pay systems. Gender biased workplace systems can, for example, include the streaming of female graduates on graduate intake programmes into particular functions within an organisation while individualisation of pay negotiations can benefit men rather than women.

The introduction of a national minimum wage has led to an improvement in the gender pay gap in Ireland. The introduction of a minimum wage benefits those in the lowest income groups and research shows that these groups are likely to have a significant female presence. In recent years, the work of the National Employment Rights Authority in monitoring wages has assisted in ensuring that those on low pay scales, both male and female, receive the pay levels to which they are entitled.

The National Women’s Strategy includes a commitment to address the gender pay gap. Work is ongoing in the Department of Justice and Equality to foster the advancement of women into decision-making roles, which also helps to narrow the gender pay gap. The issue for the sharing of maternity leave between parents and the introduction of paternity leave are currently being examined in order to encourage more men to share the caring role within the family.

The gender pay gap is also a key priority of the European Commission’s gender equality strategy and the European Commission announced on 7th March 2014 that it has adopted a Recommendation to Member States that they take steps to increase wage transparency in order to strengthen the principle of equal pay between women and men. Member States are asked to report on progress by the end of 2015. The Commission will review progress and consider the need for further measures at that time.

My Department is examining the Commission’s recommendation and will collaborate with other Departments and with employers on the matter. In this regard, it is also appropriate to mention that the Equality Authority's Equality Mainstreaming Unit, with co-funding from the European Social Fund, supported IBEC to develop a gender pay audit tool to assist employers with measuring and evaluating gender equality and pay transparency in the private sector.

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