Government plans to tackle gender pay only superficial, experts warn

New regulations requiring companies to report pay gaps between men and women are potentially 'superficial' and will not necessarily tackle the complex reasons why females still have lower salaries, new research shows. Employers told researchers from the University of Bath, the University of Exeter, and Cardiff University, that the Government's proposals would over-simplify issues, just advertise pay rates without giving context and may not benefit all female staff. Innovative research. The study has been undertaken as part of a research collaboration facilitated by the GW4 Alliance, which brings together four of the most research-intensive and innovative universities in the UK; the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. Companies with 250 or more employees will soon be required to give overall statistics about levels of pay for each gender. The GW4 experts have said real change could come about if employers were required to present this data in a more expansive way, accompanied by a reflective report explaining gender pay gaps alongside an action plan of how they intend to close them. They interviewed employers, running an online survey which was completed by 150 HR managers across all industries.