Report: Equal Pay Day 2020 report

The Fawcett Society has launched it’s latest report to mark Equal Pay Day 2020, the day on which women in full time work effectively stop getting paid compared to men. The report highlights the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on equality in the workplace.

Key findings:

• 43% of working women and 50% working BAME women are worried about their job or promotion.
• One in three working mothers have lost work or hours due to childcare.
• There is a growing role for dads and flexible working is the new norm are signs of hope.

The report sets out the four biggest fears, and the steps government should take to stop them from being realised, such as the gender pay gap widens and women face increased discrimination at work. However, it also acknowledges that there are optimistic signs of change. To support these changes it calls on the government to make the following policy changes:

• Strengthen flexible working legislation.
• Reform parental leave to encourage fathers to take on more childcare.
• Reintroduce and extend gender pay gap reporting requirements to include ethnicity pay gap reporting.
• Government should sustainably invest in our social care infrastructure to ensure a Real Living Wage for all care workers as a minimum.