Management and unions 'have not thought enough' about equality

The blame for women being paid less than men lies on the shoulders of both employers and unions, according to the head of the Women at Work Commission.

Speaking ahead of next week's launch of the Commission's investigation into the gender pay gap, Baroness Prosser said initiatives such as the NHS's Agenda for Change had highlighted just how big pay differences could be, because considerations about equality had historically been ignored.

"If you look at what's happened in the public sector, in the NHS and Agenda for Change, thousands of pounds have been paid out to women whose jobs have been traditionally undervalued," Prosser said. "Those jobs were jointly evaluated and graded by management and union, so somewhere along the line they have not thought enough about equality."

Tony Blair will launch the Women and Work Commission report next week and signals the government's intention to carry out its recommendations for closing the gender pay gap. These include the appointment of 'equality representatives' at all medium and large employers.

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