Government contracts worth £125bn a year should be withheld from companies that pay women less than the men, a cross-party committee of MPs say. It found that 30 years of equal pay legislation have done little to erode the earnings gap. Full-time women workers, who are clustered into lower-paid occupations, earned 17.2% less than men last year. And part-time female employees earned 35.6% less than their male counterparts. The committee that scrutinises the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said the worst discrimination was in the private sector. It urged the government and public authorities to use the leverage of their £125bn purchasing power to make companies show "active commitment to equality". The CBI said companies might be asked about diversity policies when tendering for public contracts, but this information was usually disregarded. "It does nothing for this whole issue of diversity if, having put in your bid, you know [the contract] has just gone to the lowest bidder."
The Guardian