The United Kingdom has issued new regulations that require employers with 250 or more employees, including covered U.S.-based employers doing business there, to calculate and disclose on an annual basis the pay gap between men and women across the employer’s U.K. workforce.
The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 went into effect on April 6, 2017, and requires covered employers to publish pay gap data on both the government’s gender pay gap website and the employer’s own public website.
According to the U.K. government, the goal of the regulations is to spur pay competition among employers, prompt employers to proactively address gender pay gaps, and implement systemic reform to encourage women into higher-paying positions.
In a recent related development, the Democratic-controlled California Assembly on May 31 approved and sent to the state Senate a bill (A.B. 1209) that would impose similar requirements on California employers with 250 or more employees.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.