Want to start fixing gender pay gap? Do not ask female job applicants what they earn currently
Women often start work on a lower salary than men, move to a new job and are paid based on their previous wage, as opposed to what they or the role are worth, the Young Women’s Trust says
London — Asking job applicants what they earn entrenches the gender pay gap because women often start work on lower salaries, a British charity said on Wednesday, calling for an end to the practice. The UK has one of the widest gender pay gaps in Europe and a survey by the Young Women’s Trust, which helps women living on low pay, found almost half the country’s employers asked the question during interviews. "Women often start work on a lower salary than men, move to a new job and are paid based on their previous wage, as opposed to what they or the role are worth," said the charity’s head, Carole Easton. "We have to break the cycle that traps women in low pay," said Eaton in a statement, adding that ending the practice, already banned in California and the city of New York, was key to closing the UK’s gender pay gap. Including wage details in job adverts — which 42% of employers surveyed said they did not do — would also help, she said. Britain outlawed sex discrimination in the 19...
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