More needs to be done to bang employers’ heads together over equal pay audits, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
A study by the employers’ organisation has found most small businesses, and even those putting new pay structures in place, simply presume that systems are non-discriminatory.
A large number had no plans to carry out an equal pay audit in the near future, it also reported.
The danger of this complacent attitude was that the gap between the average pay of men and women would stubbornly remain, increasing the likelihood that the Government would introduce compulsory equal pay audits.
A quarter of the employers polled said their top management did not see the need for an equal pay review, the CIPD added.
CIPD diversity adviser Dianah Worman said: “There is still a huge lack of awareness about how equal pay audits can expose underlying bias in the way organisations value female employees.
“When employees don’t feel valued it destroys the way they feel about their employer and damages the trust between employers and workers, which undermines staff commitment, motivation and retention.”