#PayMeToo: Female MPs launch campaign to close gender pay gaps

The campaign is being led by Labour MP Stella Creasy
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A campaign to force employers to publish details of their gender pay gap has been launched by a cross-party group of female MPs.

The #PayMeToo campaign aims to support women in lobbying their bosses to end gender pay discrepancies at their companies.

The campaign, which is being led by Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, aims to offer advice for what to do next, including working with trade unions and women’s networks.

It is backed by Labour MPs Jess Phillips and Lucy Powell, Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, the Liberal Democrats’ Jo Swinson, Christine Jardine and Layla Moran as well as the Scottish National Party’s Hannah Bardell and Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts.

Ms Creasy told The Guardian: ““If we are serious about tackling the gender pay gap then we have to do more than publish data – we have to show we’re watching what happens next.

“Women are already telling us that they are being told not to ask difficult questions about this for fear of affecting their careers and we want to be clear that trying to silence employees isn’t the right response.

“Every woman has her own story of experiencing pay discrimination in their careers, including me – now they need to know they have MPs ready to listen to them and act.”

She issued a warning to employers who are not doing enough to try to achieve pay equality. Ms Creasy added: “If you have a gender pay gap you should expect to be challenged to address it and held to account if you try to stop your staff speaking up, whether by trade unions, women’s networks or parliament.”

Private firms have until midnight on 4 April to report their pay gaps. If they fail to release they date they will face hefty fines from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Companies with fewer employees are not legally obliged to publish the details but are being encouraged to.

Last week, data published by public sector organisations revealed that almost nine in ten bodies pay male staff more than women.

The average pay gap across the public sector was 14 per cent.

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