Susanne Shah comments in Women in Business about gender pay gap

As firms continue to release their gender pay gap reports, and at least 1500 missing the deadline, the full extent of pay discrepancy in the UK is becoming clear.

Women in Business spoke with Susanne Shah to gauge regional business opinion on the issues surrounding equal pay and status.

Susanne, like the various other North-East based business leaders featured in the piece, argued that fully capitalising on the talent and experience of women is good for individuals, employers and our economy:

“As long as there is a pay gap, it cannot be said that women are valued as highly as men in the workplace. It is unacceptable that the contributions of women are still not fully appreciated. If workplaces caught up to the times, loosening these rigid, patriarchal models then they would unlock so much talent and really prosper. “Remuneration for employment should be judged on skill, talent and expertise in a certain field and should have nothing to do with a person’s gender. I believe we should all have a strong moral compass and strive for equality."

Whether mandatory reporting will do much to close the gap remains to be seen but the question of whether the government should do more to bring about pay parity remains a controversial one.

What is certain is that the glaring distinctions in men and women’s pay, outlined in black and white in the recent reports, cannot be ignored.