Out-Law News 1 min. read

Major companies sign up to Government gender equality reporting plan


The Government has published a framework to help companies to create and publish reports about gender equality in companies.

Tesco, BT and Unilever are among the first companies to sign up to use the 'Think, Act, Report' framework (11-page, 166KB PDF), which aims to "improve transparency" on equality issues in the private and voluntary sectors.

The framework was developed by the Government Equalities Office and conciliation service Acas. It is designed to help employers to identify barriers facing their female employees, take action to address those barriers and report publicly on their progress.

The reporting outline is simple and mainly focussed on large and medium sized businesses, the Government said.

Acas has made new employer guidance on gender equality reporting available on its website.

Home Secretary Theresa May described the initiative as "vital".

"I am delighted that some of the UK's most recognised and successful firms have volunteered to publish data on gender equality. Business should be congratulated for making this positive step towards greater transparency, which will help close the gender pay gap," she said in a statement.

"Over recent years, women have made great strides in the workplace but there is still a long way to go."

May described the new initiative as one of "a series of actions" the Government was taking to tackle gender inequality in the workplace.

It is promoting access to flexible working arrangements, as well as working to implement the recommendations from the Lord Davies report into women on boards, she said.

Lord Davies has asked the chairmen of the FTSE 350 leading companies by share capital to set out the percentage of women they aim to have on their boards in 2013 and 2015, with the top 100 companies aiming for at least 25% female representation by 2015.

However earlier this month a report by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, revealed that only eight of the top 100 UK companies had formally announced that they will meet Davies' targets.

The Home Office will also conduct a survey of employers with 150 or more employees to monitor the number of employers who are carrying out gender equality reporting, it said.

It will report its findings in September 2012.

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