Labour pledges to close gender pay gap by 2030
2 min read
The next Labour government will aim to close the gender pay gap by 2030, the party has announced.
The party accused the Government of putting women in work at the "bottom of the list of priorities" as they vowed to tackle gender pay disparity by the end of the next decade.
It comes as the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the mean gender pay gap for full-time workers in 2019 sits at 13.1%.
The party said the "ambitious target" would be achieved through a range of previously announced measures, including the introduction of a £10 'real living wage' and an extension of Statutory Maternity Pay from 9 to 12 months.
And they hit out at the Government after fresh analysis from the Fawcett Society found it would take 60 years to close the gap unless more radical action is taken.
Announcing the pledge on Equal Pay Day, Shadow Employment Rights Secretary, Laura Pidcock, said: "For too long the interests of working women have been at the bottom of the list of priorities for government.
"Labour in government will be uncompromising in tackling the structural barriers that is holding so many back."
She added: "Employers will no longer be able to treat the issue of the gender pay gap as an afterthought. Instead, they will be expected to take proactive steps to close it.
"Labour will deliver the real change that women need in the workplace."
Other measures pledged by the party to tackle gender pay disparity including the formation of a "Worker's Protection Agency" which would be handed powers to fine firms which fail to tackle the gender pay gap.
Meanwhile, larger firms would also be required to obtain government certification on gender equality as well as introducing a menopause policy to reduce stigma in the workplace.
Dawn Butler, Labour's Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary, added: "It's not good enough that under the current government's plans, it will take another 60 years to close the gender pay gap.
"Labour's real living wage, robust gender pay auditing - including fining organisations that fail to take action, will help us deliver real change and meet this ambitious target."
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