Jersey's government rejects calls to force businesses to report gender pay gap data
In a scrutiny meeting on Tuesday 6 May, the island's Assistant Chief Minister Carina Alves said legislation of this nature would "place too much burden on businesses and entail quite a significant cost to government".
The Government has since added that this decision aligns with the goals of their common strategic policy, which stated they would not be overly bureaucratic and interfere too much in the private sector.
What is the gender pay gap?
The gender pay gap is the difference in average hourly earnings between men and women.
However, it is not just about men being paid more for the same job.
Factors like taking career breaks to raise children, the over-representation of women in lower-paying sectors, and a hesitancy to hire women in high-earning managerial positions also contribute.
In the UK, the gender pay gap was 7% in April 2024.
What is gender pay gap reporting?
In the UK, it is a legal requirement for companies with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap data.
It is argued that this transparency makes it easier to compare salaries, expose inequality, and introduce measures that will help create change.
The European Parliament also introduced legislation in March 2023 which forced EU companies to disclose information that makes it easier to compare salaries and imposes regulations if they report a gender pay gap of more than 5%.
However, neither Jersey nor Guernsey has equivalent laws.
What is the gender pay gap in the Channel Islands?
Whilst Jersey's government say they have no plans to enforce pay gap reporting, they explain they are leading by example in publishing their own gender pay gap data annually.
Statistics Jersey also produces pay gap reports using data from income tax returns and social security contributions.
In 2024, the pay gap in Jersey was 7.8%.
The States of Guernsey say they do not currently collect data that allows them to reliably report on the gender pay gap.
Local campaigners say forcing businesses to report pay gaps would bring greater transparency and be a critical step towards achieving gender equality.
Countries in Europe have shown that the shift can bring about change - Luxembourg currently favours women with a pay gap of -0.9% after making unequal pay illegal in 2016.
Alex Ruddy, Chair of Jersey's Institute of Directors and co-founder of campaign group 'Mind the Gap', says transparency is a necessary step towards achieving equal pay, improving childcare and maternity policies, and enabling career progression.
"Reporting your gender pay gap is not going to solve everything - it's a small step towards gender equality and recognising that diversity on boards or in businesses is a good thing", she says.
"It is a demonstration by a business of the steps they are taking to address the gender pay gap."
She adds that all female professionals will have encountered issues relating to pay inequality, maternal leave, or career progression at some point.
"It's about ensuring that people realise that those 'career gaps' - when you've spent time away from work to have children - are valuable, and it doesn't belittle the professional qualifications you'd previously held or the work you'd undertaken to get there."
Mind the Gap is currently working alongside the Government to provide incentives and toolkits for local businesses with the hope this will allow them to publish their own statistics and take the steps towards pay equality.
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