Transcript Slide 1
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/tar Think, Act, Report is a voluntary initiative to drive greater transparency on gender employment issues. Why do we need to Think, Act, Report? Despite progress over many years, the gender pay gap (the difference between men’s and women’s average earnings) is still 19.5%. This is partly because the vast majority of low-paid jobs, in areas such as secretarial work, are still done by women. But the evidence also suggests that, even when they are working in better-paid professions, women generally occupy less senior positions than men, and are less well paid than their male peers for comparable jobs. Greater transparency about these issues is the best way to address them. What is Think, Act, Report? Think, Act, Report provides a simple, step-by-step framework to help companies think about gender equality in their workforces, on key issues such as recruitment, retention, promotion, and pay. The initiative encourages them to share their progress on these issues. The Government understands that companies will be in different situations, and many will not be in a position to publish data on everything. It is up to individual firms to decide what information they publish. What are the benefits of joining Think, Act, Report? There are strong reputational benefits for being recognised as thinking and acting on the barriers facing women, and reporting on progress. Making public the work you are undertaking to support and promote your female employees helps to make your organisation a more attractive place to work, thereby helping you to recruit, retain and develop talented female staff. More than that, research shows that companies with more diverse boards achieve higher sales and higher returns. It also shows that women make 70 per cent of household purchasing decisions. Companies need decision-makers who can understand and respond to their customers. If you are already one of the best employers for women, why not champion the principles of Think, Act, Report? Be a leader in your sector and encourage others to follow. By promoting their involvement in the Think, Act, Report initiative, companies will get a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on all the good work they are doing. www.homeoffice.gov.uk/tar The Think, Act, Report model is simple. Organisations should: 1) Think – about gender equality, especially the position of female employees in the workplace in areas such as recruitment, retention, promotion, and pay. 2) Act – where the need for action is identified. 3) Report – the steps they are taking and the progress they are making. This information doesn’t need to be included in annual reports – companies may choose to do this on their website, or in their promotional material. Organisations supporting Think, Act, Report decide for themselves what information to make public, choosing the measures that are most relevant and appropriate for them. A key aim of the initiative is to share examples of what works – best practice and case studies. Below are some suggested measures, but they are by no means prescriptive or exhaustive. Narrative: measures that provide useful contextual information. This might include an overall narrative description of the work you are doing to improve gender equality, including examples of best practice or, for example, the results of employee or sector-specific surveys, and any follow up actions. Workforce: measures related to representation, composition and structure of the workforce. You may wish to include information about the composition of the workforce as a whole; representation at different levels by role and or pay band; measures relating to promotion rates by gender; or figures relating to the uptake of flexible working across the company. Pay: measures that capture the pay differences between men and women, and reward measures capturing wider pay and benefits. Your organisation may already be collecting information on pay differences to include in this measure. This might include the difference between men’s and women’s starting salaries; or the difference between average basic pay and total average earnings for men and women, by grade and job type.