New research shows discrimination is not causing the gender pay gap
Research published on October 21 by the Institute for Economic Affairs concluded that ‘we should make far less of a song and dance about the gender pay gap’. The Report, Should we Mind The Gap, suggests that the gaps in pay that do exist are principally explained by differences in working conditions and the values, preferences and choices of individual men and women, which are beyond the reach of government. Co-author of the report Professor R. Shackleton, advised: ‘the widespread belief that the gender pay gap is a reflection of deep rooted discrimination by employers is ill-informed and an unhelpful contribution to the debate. The pay gap is falling but is also a reflection of individuals’ lifestyle preferences’.
‘Boomers’ want careers with meaning and impact later in life, but will nonprofits hire them?
A US survey conducted by MetLife Foundation, a grant giving organisation, and Civic Ventures, a think tank, found that now faced with the prospect of a longer working life, the ‘baby boomer’ generation has become eager to seek out a second career that provides a more fulfilling experience. With recruiting talent a key human resources concern for employers, the survey asked 427 non-profit employers about their attitudes to hiring from the emerging demographic of those aspiring towards a second career in the third sector. Whist some employers expressed ‘serious concern’ that late-career workers could demand higher salaries, lack professional/technical skills and could have higher insurance/benefit costs, 7 out of 10 non-profit employers rated the experience this group could bring to the job as a significant benefit, with 67% expressing a similar sentiment about workers’ commitment and reliability.
IFC and MI-BOSPO report shows women entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina face challenges
On October 22, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and MI-BOSPO, a leading micro-credit organization in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has found that the number of women entrepreneurs in the country is growing despite challenges involving licensing, taxation, labour, and access to finance. The report notes that women make up 52% of the country’s working-age population, but their labour-force participation rate is only 43%. The report is part of an IFC investment and technical-assistance program designed to strengthen MI-BOSPO’s position as a financial service provider to help economically empower women in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Contact:
International Finance Corporation www.ifc.org
Equal pay audits shunned by private sector
A quarter of private sector firms believe equal pay audits are “unnecessary”, according to research by Personnel Today’s sister publication Industrial Relations Services (IRS).
Of 103 employers polled by IRS, 24% said salary structures that rewarded workers fairly regardless of their gender were attainable without formal audits. Of those firms that had undertaken audits, two-thirds (69%) found that men were being paid more than women for work of equal value within their organisation. But among employers where pay inequalities were detected, there was little evidence of organisations doing anything to redress the balance.
Research published by Business in the Community (BITC) found that 81% of companies now publicly report on health, compared to 68% last year. However, only 40% report on employee health and wellbeing in their company reports, and only one, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, reports on the financial impact of health programmes. BITC’s Business action on health campaign aims to make employee health and wellbeing a boardroom issue by 2011 and has worked with the government’s Health Work Wellbeing initiative to develop standards for reporting on health at work.
Contact:
Business in the Community www.bitc.org.uk
+44 (0)2075668650
Managers embrace e-learning
Management’s use of e-learning has surged in the last 12 months according to research launched on October 10, at the Chartered Management Institute’s Annual Conference in Birmingham. According to the survey of more than 1,000 managers, 51% now say they use online videos to develop new skills, up from 21% 12 months ago. A third (34%) said they use social networking sites to boost knowledge, compared to just 12% last year.
The survey also found 24% of managers use e-books and 27% seek learning advice through online discussion forums. When asked as to their motivations behind engaging with digital techniques, employers focused on cost-effectiveness, suggesting that adding e-learning to their established initiatives enabled them to ‘deliver more for less’ and provides greater Return on Investment.
Sainsbury’s staff offered help with maths and English
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is set to become the first retailer to offer its entire 150, 000 workforce the chance to gain the equivalent of GCSE qualifications. The move, announced November 6, was applauded by government, which is set to invest £1billion a year by 2010 in its employee skills development scheme ‘Train to Gain’. McDonald’s, Network Rail and airline Flybe became the first three companies to win government approval to accredit in-house training courses earlier this year.
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