Shailesh Vara welcomes new duty requiring public sector bodies to publish the differences between male and female pay which will support the trend of an ever-reducing gender pay gap - already at a record low.
Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)
6. What progress he has made on closing the gender pay gap in the public sector. [901364]
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)
The gender pay gap in the public sector is 18.3%, which is a record low, and this compares to 24.5% in the private sector.
Mr Vara
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for those comments. Will she explain how the new duty introduced by this Government, requiring public sector bodies to publish the differences between male and female pay, will support the trend of an ever-reducing gender pay gap, which is at a record low?
Elizabeth Truss
The new duty we have introduced will mean more transparency, so we will be able to find out where the particular issues are in the public sector. Are there, for example, occupations such as engineering that are well paid and that women are less likely to go into, and what can we do to encourage women to apply for roles in them?