Cork East Fine Gael TD and Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton and Minister for Justice and Equality, Charles Flanagan TD have today announced the launch of a public consultation on tackling the gender pay gap.
Minister Stanton said: “The Government wants to make this issue a priority so we can move to a society where men and women earn equal pay for equal work. That is why Minister Flanagan and I are launching this public consultation in conjunction with the Tanaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation whose Department will coordinate engagement with the private sector.
“The consultation will open for submissions on 14th August and will run for a total of six weeks. We are asking employers, trade unions, educational institutions and members of the public to make submissions on what they believe can and should be done to narrow the gap between male and female earnings. If we are to introduce targeted measures to effectively tackle this issue we need to address all the factors which contribute to the gender pay gap.
“The Programme for Government and the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2010 (http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/National_Strategy_for_Women_and_Girls_2017_-_2020.pdf/Files/National_Strategy_for_Women_and_Girls_2017_-_2020.pdf), which I launched with the Tanaiste in May, both contain clear commitments to advancing gender equality. Addressing the pay gap is an integral part of achieving equality between men and women. It will also being concrete economic benefits for women and families and children will learn the important message that they can expect to be treated fairly in the workplace, regardless of their gender.
“Narrowing the pay gap is in all our interests. This consultation presents an opportunity for people to put forward their views and help us to develop robust policies for a whole of government response. Following the consultation, in the autumn we intend to hold meetings with all key stakeholders and gather hard data to support focussed initiatives to reduce economic gender inequality.