Mark Pack

According to a poll carried out last month by MORI, the majority of people believe that men are paid more than women for doing equal work.

The poll found that 52% of people disagree with the statement that men and women receive the same pay for doing jobs of equal value. Overall 40% think that men and woman are paid equally. There is however a big gender gap – 48% of men think men and women are paid equally but only 32% of women.

The poll also found that 85% of people agree with introducing “a legal requirement for employers to conduct annual pay checks to see if they are unfairly paying men and women differently for work of equal value, and to rectify the situation if so.”

Mandatory pay audits have been a bone of contention during the passage of the Equalities Bill through Parliament. Lynne Featherstone (the party’s Equalities spokesperson) has been arguing for much tougher action than the weak audit proposals being put forward by the Government – though without success so far.

Further details of the MORI poll are here.