Gapsquare Blog

Law firms are pro-active in looking at their data for answers on the gender pay gap, but can they lead the way?

Over the past year, all UK law firms with over 250 employees have had to disclose their gender pay gap as part of a new set of pay transparency regulations. These firms have been pro-active in doing so and have reported various pay gap figures. In the top 25 law firms by turnover, some have reported pay gaps as high as 39% median (Linklaters), and others as low as 12% median (DLA Piper).

People will make or break a business. More diverse people will go even further and make a business innovative, challenging and perhaps even more importantly, profitable. On average, a business with diverse teams will have access to increased market share and 9% higher EBIT.

But how can we build more diverse businesses when current data shows companies have high gender and ethnicity gaps? These manifest themselves both in low proportions of diverse employees as well as high pay disparities for these groups. It does not seem businesses are making the most of powering growth with the right people. 

"217 Years, for the women you work with to be operating on a level playing field, for our daughters to be in with the same chance at success as our sons."

 

Want to learn more about the gender pay gap? Watch the Invest In Diversity Video Series below.

Today is a milestone day for Gapsquare as we launch an enhanced version of our software – version Emmeline - our most expansive pay gap analysis tool yet.

The name is in honor of Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the suffragette movement who helped some women get the right to vote. In 1999 Time named Pankhurst one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, stating that "she shaped an idea of women for our time; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back”.

This is very relevant for our software as we have developed it to be used by businesses to shake their operations into a new world without the gender pay gap. The software helps businesses make the most of their female talent, and therefore ensure growth beyond any competitors.

So what is so different in Emmeline compared to Gapsquare V2 we had until now? Everything. Below are the three key points that set Emmeline on the path to narrowing the gender pay gap and how they will help you with your gender pay analysis.

When it comes to equal pay and the gender pay gap, this year started with a reminder how far we are from equality and inclusion in employment (again). We've all read the open letter from BBC China editor Carrie Gracie, in which she spoke out about leaving BBC because of pay transparency and gender pay gap issues. “I simply want the BBC to abide by the law and value men and women equally” Gracie said.

Much like last year, we look forward to a year of growth at Gapsquare. As part of this growth, we plan on taking the product into a new phase and exploring new geographies. Our growth in the UK market is set to continue at the same rate as last year – an astonishing 300%.

When it comes to looking beyond the UK – “Hallo Deutschland!” as 2018 will see Gapsquare used by more German companies. In the summer 2017, the German Government has introduced new legislation making pay transparency mandatory for companies with over 200 employees - Act to Promote Transparency of Pay Structures (Entgelttransparenzgesetz).

Want to receive Gapsquare updates in around the pay gap? 

“Technical skills have always been in demand, but Boards need to create a culture, an ecosystem, around digital and digital thinking and this means increasing their functional diversity. If organisations are not disrupting their industries through digital innovation then they will be disrupted – so Boards need to keep pace to survive.” 

These are the words of Harvey Nash,  in “Diversifying Diversity – the next Board frontier”, who also mentions that those with digital expertise, capable of getting ahead of the game on digital technology, are yet to be effectively included in boards as technology “does not have the history and framework of qualification and knowledge of, say, finance that has been bedded into Boards for centuries”. 

At Gapsquare, a tech-based data-analysis company that is working to end the gender pay gap, this is interesting for two reasons:

Last week, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities Justine Greening signed public-sector ‪#GenderPayGap regulations into law. Public-sector bodies will now have to calculate their gender pay gap figures and published them with a written statement on the organisation’s website.

This international Women’s Day we are delighted to announce that Gapsquare is growing and Sian Webb will be joining our team in April.